Authorities in Monaco and neighboring France are actively searching for a man believed to have detonated a makeshift bomb in the heart of the affluent Mediterranean principality, resulting in serious injuries to multiple individuals.
The explosion, which occurred around 9 PM local time on Monday in a residential building, injured three people, including a teenager, according to officials in Monaco, a renowned sanctuary for billionaires and their opulent yachts on the French Riviera.
Reports from the AFP news agency indicate that Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev was among those injured.
Initially, Monaco’s Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, described the blast as “an attack,” but later clarified it as a “deliberate explosion.”
A couple in their 50s or 60s sustained life-threatening injuries, while a 13-year-old, likely related to them, experienced less severe wounds, according to Mirmand, who did not reveal their identities.
Mirmand noted that the explosive device appeared to contain bolts and buckshot.
“This marks the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has occurred in the principality,” he stated.
A source close to the investigation, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed to AFP that Yermolaiev was among the injured.
Yermolaiev, a multimillionaire resident of Monaco, has faced sanctions from Kyiv since December 2023, reportedly due to his alcohol business activity in Russian-occupied Crimea, as stated by Ukrainian security services.
Monaco’s public prosecutor, Stephane Thibault, reported that a suspect left a bag or package in the building’s lobby before departing.
French newspaper Le Figaro revealed that video surveillance footage captured a man dropping a backpack at the entrance of the residential building shortly before the explosion.
Monaco’s Prince Albert II condemned the incident as a “heinous crime” and expressed that it has shocked the entire Monegasque community.
An aide to French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nunez conveyed that police are diligently working to locate the fugitive perpetrator.
An AFP photographer on-site observed a significant police presence, with access to the area restricted, while a helicopter hovered above.
