In brief
A parcel bomb detonated Monday night in a Monaco residential building, leaving wealthy Ukrainian billionaire Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner and their 13‑year‑old son badly injured. Authorities say the blast was an attempted murder rather than a terrorist act, and investigators are searching for the lone suspect who apparently fled toward the French commune of Beausoleil. The explosion was discovered in the underground parking of the building, and footage shows a man dropping a backpack before the blast. Monaco’s government has deployed over 100 police and emergency responders, while the Ukrainian foreign ministry reports the injured are in hospitals in Nice. The incident is described by Monaco’s Prince as a “heinous crime” and has prompted calls for heightened security in the principality.
BREAKING NEWS: On Monday evening a parcel bomb exploded in the underground parking of an apartment building on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla, just steps from the France‑Monaco border. The blast shattered windows, sent shards flying and lodged a severe shockwave through the building’s 11th floor.
Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, 58, a former real‑estate developer from Dnipro who now holds Cypriot citizenship, was among the three people declared seriously injured. His partner and their 13‑year‑old son were also badly hurt, with the youngest suffering deep lacerations.
French authorities treated the incident as an attempted murder. Monaco’s public prosecutor, Stéphane Thibault, said a suspect was seen leaving the scene on foot and heading toward the French commune of Beausoleil. Video footage captured a man dropping a backpack in the lobby just before the explosion.
Nearly 100 police, firefighters and medical teams swarmed the site within minutes, while a medical helicopter hovered overhead as emergency crews transferred victims to hospital.
Ukrainian officials said the embassies in France and Monaco were coordinating to identify the injured. Yermolaiev, a Forbes‑listed billionaire with interests in Crimea’s wine industry, has faced sanctions by Kyiv since 2023.
Monaco’s head of government, Christophe Mirmand, called the incident “a very heinous crime” and declared that law‑enforcement forces would intensify the search in France. Prince Albert II described the event as a “shock to the entire Monaco community.”