Jun 30, 7:07 AM
Monaco's Safest Street No More: Parcel Bomb Wounds Ukrainian Tycoon and Teenager
The explosion in a residential building along the French border injured a couple in their 50s or 60s and a 13-year-old. Prince Albert II called it a "heinous crime."
Monaco is known for its safety. Its casinos, its luxury yachts, its royal family. Not for parcel bombs. But on Monday night, that changed. A residential building on a street along the French border became the scene of an unprecedented attack.
A couple in their 50s or 60s suffered life-threatening injuries. A 13-year-old was also wounded. And among the victims was Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian multi-millionaire who has been subject to sanctions from Kyiv since 2023 over his alcohol business activities in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The explosion struck around 9:00 p.m. local time. Public prosecutor Stephane Thibault said a suspect had left a bag or package in the building's lobby before fleeing. Video surveillance captured the suspect escaping towards Beausoleil in France. The device contained bolts and buckshot, according to Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand.
"This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality," Mirmand told reporters.
Prince Albert II described the incident as a "heinous crime" and "a shock to the entire Monegasque community." An aide to France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said police were working to locate the perpetrator.
Around 50 firefighters and 80 security personnel were deployed. A helicopter circled overhead. Emergency services treated four other people for shock and cuts from shattered windows.
Nothing appeared for the moment to indicate why the building might have been targeted, Thibault said. But intelligence services are now working to understand the victims' background and determine if others might be facing specific threats.
Yermolaiev has been a Monaco resident for years. But his past has caught up with him. Ukrainian security services reportedly sanctioned him in December 2023 for his business activities in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Whether that has any connection to Monday's attack remains unknown.
For now, Monaco is in shock. A quiet residential street is a crime scene. A Ukrainian tycoon is in hospital. A suspect is on the run. And the principality, which has long prided itself on its safety, is confronting an act of violence unlike anything it has seen before. The investigation is only just beginning.
Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com
