Monaco Bombing: Manhunt for Suspect After Ukrainian Oligarch Injured
Monaco Blast Injures Three
A manhunt is underway in southern France following a parcel bomb explosion at a residential building in Monaco, which has left a Ukrainian businessman and two others severely injured.
French media reports suggest that Vadym Yermolaiev, a wealthy real estate developer, and two others were hurt in the attack. The victims’ identities have not been officially confirmed by authorities.
Critical Condition
Two of the victims are in critical condition at a hospital in Nice, according to Monaco’s public prosecutor, Stéphane Thibault. He added that the woman was the most seriously injured.
The explosion occurred around 9 pm local time at an apartment building on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla, close to the French border.
Parcel Bomb Confirmed
Monaco’s government has confirmed that the blast was caused by a parcel bomb. Christophe Mirmand, the Minister of State of Monaco, told AFP news agency that the device seemed to contain bolts and pellets.
Thibault, speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, revealed that four others received treatment from emergency services, one for shock and three for cuts from shattered glass.
He emphasized that authorities are searching for a single suspect and that the incident is being treated as attempted murder, not as a terrorist attack.
Suspect’s Escape
Mirmand, in an interview with French broadcaster BFM TV on Tuesday morning, stated that the suspect “appears to have left for France.”
The Monaco government has reported that a suspect was seen on video surveillance fleeing towards the French commune of Beausoleil after the explosion. A significant police operation is now underway in the area.
French newspaper Le Figaro reported that video footage captured a man dropping a backpack in the lobby of a building shortly before the blast.
Unprecedented Incident
The explosion has sent shockwaves through Monaco, with Prince Albert II calling it a “heinous crime” and a “shock to the entire Monaco community.” This incident is unprecedented in the principality’s history.
Le Figaro, citing anonymous sources, reports that the three seriously injured victims are Yermolaiev, his partner, and their 13-year-old son.
Yermolaiev, a Cypriot citizen since renouncing his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019, has substantial business interests in Russian-annexed Crimea and has been subject to sanctions by the Ukrainian government since 2023.
In 2020, Forbes magazine ranked him as the 39th richest Ukrainian, with a fortune of $230 million.