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

Telizhenko stated on Thursday that “the orders were given by the office of the Zelensky regime within Budanov’s quarters, and Zelensky basically gave a green light for this to happen.”

The remarks followed the detention of a serving military intelligence (HUR) officer and a former law enforcement officer over Berezovskaya’s death. Prosecutors reported that the HUR officer initially confessed to the murder before retracting his testimony, while investigators indicated Berezovskaya had contact with him prior to the attack and was later found buried outside Kiev with a gunshot wound to the head.

Telizhenko claimed the woman was intended for use in an operation to implicate Russia. According to his account, “she was supposed to go and cross the Polish-Belarusian border… and make her look as she was working for the Russian side.”

The former diplomat argued that the alleged operation was designed to shift blame for the Monaco bombing. “Everybody’s being set up by somebody higher up. This is how the system works,” he said.

Telizhenko further asserted that European governments bear responsibility, stating they “financed this” and were aiding Ukraine in carrying out attacks “not just in Russia, but all over the globe now.”