An explosion at a residential building in Monaco has left three people injured, including Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev, in an incident that the authorities say was almost certainly an attack targeting the tycoon.
Mr Yermolaiev’s wife suffered very serious injuries in the attack and was being treated in a hospital in Nice, according to Christophe Mirmand, the minister of state for Monaco. Local media reports said she underwent a lower-limb amputation.
The tycoon and a 13-year-old child suffered less serious injuries, including burns and shrapnel wounds, but remain in hospital, Mr Mirmand said.
Authorities said four other people were suffering from shock and cuts as a result of broken windows.
Authorities said they were looking for a sole suspect who placed an explosive device at the entrance to a residence on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla, near the border with France, before fleeing on foot.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it is in touch with authorities. It said, citing information it received from local emergency services, that all three are members of one family, without naming them.
The Monaco prosecutor, Stephane Thibault, said the incident was not a terrorist attack, adding that inquiries were focusing on a sole suspect believed to have carried it out.
Mr Mirmand added: “This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality.”
The blast happened shortly before 9pm local time. Surveillance footage showed an unidentified man leaving a backpack at the entrance of the building before fleeing, according to Le Figaro.
The package left in front of the building was reportedly filled with bolts and metal pellets, along with explosives, to maximise damage.
Following the incident, a suspect was seen crossing the border toward the nearby French town of Beausoleil on foot, Mr Mirmand said.
Mr Mirmand said it was “very likely an attack”, adding that French and Monaco authorities are jointly searching for the attacker, whose motive is under investigation.
“No event of this nature has ever happened in the Principality before,” Mr Mirmand told French news channel BFM TV.
Monaco’s government said it cordoned off all the nearby areas and the six other unoccupied flats inside the building had been secured.
Monaco’s leader Prince Albert II called it “an odious act” and “a shock to the entire Monegasque community”. He said all the country’s services were mobilised to ensure security.
“We trust in [the authorities] to quickly bring to light the circumstances of this tragedy, identify those responsible and provide all of the answers, at every level.”
“More than ever, the principality of Monaco will remain united and determined in the face of violence and crime. The security of our community has always been a priority; it will remain that way more than ever, regardless of the threats.”
The mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti, expressed solidarity with the emergency services across the border, saying the incident was a “tragedy that strikes Monaco”.
Silvano Ippolito, a resident in the area, described graphic scenes in the aftermath of the attack to BFM TV. He said he initially suspected the explosion was a gas leak.
Then he saw “a woman slumped over and covered in blood” on the stairs of the building. He also saw “a little boy who was bleeding on the ground with a person who was trying to help him”.
Mr Yermolaiev is a major real estate developer in Dnipro. He founded the industrial and trading group Alef and features on Forbes list of Ukraine’s wealthiest individuals. His fortune was estimated at $220m in 2021.
He left Ukraine several years ago, renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and became a citizen of Cyprus.
In 2023, he was placed under Ukrainian sanctions by president Volodymyr Zelensky, who imposed a 10-year sanctions package over allegations tied to his alcohol business operations in Russia-occupied Crimea.
The French Riviera became a popular destination among wealthy Ukrainian families after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In an investigation published by Ukrainska Pravda on wealthy Ukrainian businessmen, oligarchs, and politicians fleeing to luxurious lives on the French Riviera, Mr Yermolaiev featured as part of the so-called “Monaco Battalion”.
