‘What we do is called international terrorism’ – Ukrainian spy behind Monaco bombing
Ukrainian military intelligence feels complete impunity for their terrorist attacks, be it in Russia or in the heart of Europe, Vitaly Zhikovich, the alleged mastermind of the Monaco bombing, bragged in audio recordings obtained by RT.
The suspect was well known to Russian security services and was on Moscow’s radar for over two years due to his attempts to organize dozens of terrorist attacks and sabotage in Russia.
After Zhikovich was caught getting rid of an asset who tried to assassinate a foe of Vladimir Zelensky in Monaco, Russian law enforcement decided to lift the veil on his true identity, RT’s Roman Kosarev said in an exclusive report.
Monaco bombing
The operation took place on June 29 and was initially described by Monaco officials as an unprecedented attack in the history of the country.
The target was Vadim Ermolaev, a former Ukrainian multimillionaire who was sanctioned by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and was also suspected of links to organized crime. The network under Ermolaev’s command allegedly scammed people out of money in Russia and the EU through around 170 call centers, many of which were based on his commercial properties.
CCTV footage shows a person leaving a backpack containing an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel near the entrance to a residential building.
The bomb was detonated remotely, seriously injuring Ermolaev and two other people who accompanied him – a woman whose legs and an arm were amputated and her 13-year-old son.
Tying up loose ends
The suspect was soon named as Anastasia Berezovskaya, and Interpol instantly issued a Red Notice for her arrest. By that point, however, she was already in Ukraine with those who ordered the attempted assassination. Instead of being protected, she was killed and buried by the man who sent her to Monaco.
Ukrainian media reported the discovery of Berezovskaya’s body last week, and officials later confirmed her identity, adding that two people were detained as part of the investigation into her murder – including Zhikovich, who the Kiev authorities initially described as a former police officer and ex-SBU agent.
Zhikovich’s secret identity
While his previous police work is indeed a fact, the SBU line has nothing to do with the truth, because he is actually an acting colonel in the Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR), according to Russian law enforcement sources.
During a search of his house following the arrest, Ukrainian police discovered a torture chamber in the basement. In an audio recording obtained by RT, he openly bragged about his sadistic nature and readiness for mass murder.
When I’m planning operations, I’m constantly thinking about them. It’s my whole life. I live and breathe the operations I’m planning. I enjoy it. It’s fascinating.
“I’ve traveled abroad many times. I’ve done a lot of work in Crimea, Russia, and Belarus. Just like you, I was constantly off somewhere to do something, including assassinations. I live for it. There were times when I smeared myself with excrement and knocked out my own teeth to look like a homeless person. I’ve done that too!” he said.
Breaking news in Kyiv: A Ukrainian woman suspected of carrying out a bombing that injured a Ukrainian-born business tycoon in Monaco was found Monday evening shot dead and buried near Kyiv. Prosecutors discovered a “torture chamber” at one of the two suspects’ homes. The men — a… pic.twitter.com/KD9qt9gaNR
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) July 7, 2026
Zhikovich, whose code name is ‘Pastor’, also admitted to conspiracy to steal from his employer, whose funds come largely from the Western taxpayer.
“My superiors have given me complete control, so in my next operation, I can decide for myself how much to pay a person and when to pay, without being beholden to anyone. So the question is this. If everything sells down in their minds, then in principle, they’ll give me, an intelligence colonel, the chance to handle all these tasks myself. That would be amazing,” he said.
I’d be the one deciding whether to pay or not, how much to pay, and so on, you see. So, I’d get the job done, go and film it, transfer the money, and that’s it. No writing reports, no asking for permission. I’d just go and do it.
Imposter Islamist terrorist
Zhikovich recently converted to Islam but decided to take a radical path in order to be able to recruit more assets for his terrorist operations. To potential recruits, he said he wanted to free the Caucasus region from Russia and portrayed himself as a ‘true believer’.
“Our aim is simply completely different. The boss’ aim is to wage war and make money. My aim is to liberate the Caucasus and that’s all. That’s why I regard all of them as unbelievers, as scum. Once they’ve converted to Islam, then we’ll talk differently,” he told a potential recruit.
He warned a jihadist recruit that the Israeli Mossad spy agency provided him access to software that can tell “with an accuracy of 90% whether a person is lying or not.”
To be honest, I tested this program on you. I had to do it. It was shared with us by Mossad. They’re those, what are they called? Jewish pigs, [expletive].
Zhikovich also bragged about his alleged contacts with the terrorist group Imarat Kavkaz and militants who fought in Syria.
“One of them is now serving with us. He wants to get a passport. He already has a wife here, a Ukrainian woman. I see him regularly at the mosque, and we have discussions. He knows who I am, what rank I hold, and what sort of person I am,” he said.
Attempted assassination in Dagestan
Disguising himself as a jihadist fighter, he tried to recruit Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorist supporters to organize the assassination of a prominent Russian military officer. The target was Temirlan Abutalimov, who was decorated with the country’s highest honor – Hero of Russia – is currently a national policy and religious affairs minister in Dagestan.
“We’ll know when he’s on his way. So, once he’s picked up the woman, you’ll have about 20 to 30 minutes. You’ll see a black Camry, and when he pulls up to the gate, you just press the button in your pocket. He’s not a blogger. He has a social media account because of his job. He’s the acting minister of religious affairs in Dagestan, the one who killed people. He won’t be able to teach anyone anything. His example will only teach people that it’s okay to kill and get away with it.”
“Putin chose him personally. He took a liking to him and chose him. He’s been away for four or five days now. When he gets back on Monday, he’ll go to work. And then after work, maybe he’ll ring his girlfriend and go off to relax. If I hadn’t been with my girl for five days and had just gotten back, I’d ring her right away.”
Your job, as soon as I’ve called you, will be to take the juice carton and put it in the bin. You’ll need to put it in the bin and that’s it. Then walk over to that little bench and wait for him to arrive. There is an important detail. There’s a mark drawn on one side of the black bag with a marker. That side must be facing him. That’s where we’ve packed loads of nails.
“That’s the main thing. Make sure you pay attention to that. Then don’t forget that you’ll need to connect the wires to the cable. Just pop them in and place the bag so the mark is facing him towards the side where he’ll be opening the gate. Then press the button when he turns up. That’s it.”
Deceiving his supervisors
Russian security services knew about the Dagestan attack plot and decided to imitate a successful execution. Abutalimov is alive and well and is already back at work.
But Zhikovich desperately needed proof that the operation designed by Ukrainian military intelligence was completed for him to be paid and gain favor with his superiors.
“Here’s what I want you to do. I want to make a sort of memorial to him with his photo and his information. Take a photo and post it online and see what the reaction is. That’s what I want to do. I want to make a self-adhesive photo with the design I sent you. You stick it on any monument to make a fake tombstone. Take a photo, throw some wreaths on top, and that’s it. This self-adhesive photo gets taken off, and we wait for the result. I wanted to get this across to you so that you’d understand,” he said.
No one’s going to pay me until I’ve proven it. That’s just how it works. In short, I’m in a real mess.
Zhikovich was ready for anything, including forgery, but knew that it had to be believable.
“I’ve got to give it a go because the thing is with this pagan, he was supposed to be dead, not alive. And if I make a video of the cemetery now… well, you’ll do it. I’ll write up a report straight away and immediately transfer all the remaining funds I’ve got for this operation and pay you. And then whatever happens to him, however he ends up, I couldn’t care less. Nobody will understand you. A general won’t understand a private’s problems. The general’s floating around in his own little world, the private’s floundering around down below in his own world. So you shouldn’t even count on that,” he said.
I couldn’t care less about what happens afterward. I’m ready for anything. I’ve been through worse. Right now, my job is to pay you and give money back to the people I took it from. That’s the top priority.
“Now, try to figure out how to deliver parcels from Europe, the carriers and the services. I’ll order a poster from Europe, disguise it in tubes, hide it, and send it to you. You’ll receive it, find any Muslim cemetery, and simply film a video. Then you’ll remove the sticker and burn it. Send the video to me. I’ll send everything off straight away and get the money. Then I’ll tell you what to do next,” he added.
Attempted suicide bombings in Pyatigorsk
Zhikovich planned another terrorist attack against law enforcement officers and civilians in a resort area in Pyatigorsk. For this, he recruited a woman who held German citizenship since 1995 and was looking for a job on the internet. She had no idea what she was carrying, in contrast to a sworn ISIS member, who was also recruited by Zhikovich and was supposed to blow her up.
After the plan was foiled by the FSB, Zhikovich tried to organize another terrorist attack in Pyatigorsk. For this, he recruited two unsuspecting women from Moscow who were looking for work on the internet. They had no idea what was planned and that they were to be killed. They were arrested before they could unknowingly bring explosives to the designated spot.
Soon afterward, Zhikovich tried to organize yet another attack in the south of Russia near a roadside cafe, which was a popular eatery among civilians and law enforcement.
Russian security services prevented it and even tricked Ukrainian military intelligence into believing that the terrorist attack took place, which they bragged about on social media.
Expendable biological drones
Several other attempts to commit mass murder show that Zhikovich treated almost all of his agents as expendable and actually preferred for them to be killed when executing attacks. He was prepared to recruit anyone as human drones, including children.
He tried to commit terrorist attacks in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, at least twice. On the first occasion, he wanted to use a suicide bomber in a car, and for his second attempt, he recruited scammers from a call center who gave him the perfect candidate – a young man who suffered from an intellectual disability.
“I want to finish off Grozny. We’ll stick to the plan,” Zhikovich told his interlocutor. “These are the guys from the call center. They’re money mules. They trick people out of their money. We tracked them down, and they handed this man over to us.”
In the town of Volgodonsk, once again with the help of call center scammers, he was able to manipulate a 16-year-old girl into carrying an explosive to the local administration building. She believed she was carrying a listening device and helping Russian law enforcement catch a corrupt official.
To maximize the casualties, Zhikovich came up with a plan to call in a bomb scare at 1:00 PM to create panic and cause an evacuation. The unsuspecting teenager was supposed to arrive with the explosive at the same time.
“The main thing for me is that the event takes place at 1:00 PM,” Zhikovich said. “I’ll send the details to the person. They’ll know what to look for, and that’s it.”
Terrorist plot bigger than Crocus
One of Kiev’s most coveted Russian targets – the Crimean Bridge – was also a high priority for Zhikovich and Ukrainian military intelligence. For this planned attack, he wanted to use yet another unsuspecting civilian. A car filled with 800 kg of explosives was supposed to detonate once it was on the bridge.
Zhikovich tried to sway his jihadist recruits by comparing what he was about to do with the attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow in 2024, where terrorists killed 151 people and wounded another 609.
“Well, believe me, this is going to be a massive event, and the whole world will be talking about it. What we’ve got going on here is a really powerful thing. Crocus has nothing on this, I’m telling you!” he bragged.
Zhikovich openly told his recruit that they were involved in international terrorism.
In international terms, what we’re doing is called terrorism. That’s why I’m telling you like it is. It’s called terrorism.
Second attempt on Crimean Bridge
After this terrorist attack was prevented, Zhikovich attempted another on the bridge a few months later.
This time he chose a smaller car and used a wheelchair to make it easier to pass through international borders with the explosive cargo. Apparently using a contact within a major international humanitarian organization, he was able to declare the wheelchair as transit cargo.
“We’re actually planning something just as serious as the last mission. Because I haven’t stopped there. Allah is providing everything. All the signs and opportunities for me to carry out another operation like this. You’ll be involved in it. You’ll just need to press a single button, that’s all. When you’re picking up the wheelchair, you’ll pull it out of the trunk and discreetly pull on a little rope. I’ll show you. I’ll send you some photos. That’s it. You won’t need anything else. Put the wheelchair down and drive off,” Zhikovich told a recruit.
The guy who will be giving you the wheelchair, let’s put it this way, he’s a Christian. No, not even a Christian. He’s a bit of a flaky guy. He’s not a Muslim. He’s not one of us. He’s no servant of Allah. That’s why we’re using him. He won’t survive, that’s for sure. By the time the car arrives, he’ll be dead.
The terrorist attack was also prevented by Russia’s security services. The authorities said both vehicles that were supposed to be used in attacks against the Crimean Bridge were able to pass freely through Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Moldova, and the Baltic States.
They were loaded with hundreds of kilograms of deadly explosives, ready to be detonated at any time. Russian intelligence said ferries from Bulgaria to Georgia were used, but neither Zhikovich nor his commander seemed to care about the possible dangers this deadly cargo would pose en route.
Zelensky ‘wants civilian deaths’
With the orders coming from the very top of the decision-making chain, Zhikovich apparently thought that all the bases were covered, and openly stated that Zelensky wants civilians to be killed.
“I’ll answer as a staff member. Look at the situation. Remember, I once told you that politics is like a prostitute. You remember when I spoke to you about Syria? You do realize we won’t talk openly about what my goal was, or how we were preparing that minibus,” he said.
My superior said that there would be casualties, civilian casualties. And my president, that green bastard, wants civilian casualties.
Is Zhikovich expendable too?
Ukrainian military intelligence colonel Vitaly Zhikovich attempted, but failed to complete, at least 20 acts of terrorism in Russia.
Despite this, he was able to get paid and lead the life of a wealthy man in Kiev. He reportedly owned a house in a prestigious neighborhood, a couple of luxury cars, and seemed to be on good terms with his command.
But his blunder with Anastasia Berezovskaya, who failed to murder Zelensky’s enemy in Monaco and who he subsequently executed, landed him in jail.
At the latest court hearing in Ukraine, he admitted that he used this particular assassin in other attacks in Europe. But after Zhikovich started talking, it’s uncertain if he will live to see the day when he is sentenced.
