Monaco explosion wounds Ukrainian oligarch as authorities probe 'deliberate' attack

A parcel bomb blast wounded a Ukrainian oligarch and two others in Monaco on Monday, authorities said, in an unprecedented act that has rocked the super-safe principality.

A couple and a teenager were wounded in the explosion that struck around 9:00pm local time (19:00 GMT) in a residential building on a street along the border with France.

French media outlets BFM TV and Le Figaro newspaper said the target of the attack was ​Vadym Yermolaiev, who was a major real ‌estate developer in Dnipro. He left Ukraine several years ago, renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and became a citizen of Cyprus. He was placed under Ukrainian ‌sanctions in December 2023, which Ukrainian security services reportedly said stemmed from his alcohol business activity in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Monaco's 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 Nunez said police were working "to find the perpetrator, who has fled".

A couple in their 50s or 60s suffered life-threatening injuries, while a 13-year-old suffered less serious injuries in the explosion, Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand said, without disclosing their identities.

He said the teenager was "very likely related" to the pair. 

An AFP photographer at the scene saw a heavy police presence with access to the area cordoned off, while a helicopter circled overhead.

Around 50 firefighters and 80 security personnel were deployed at the scene.

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Bolts, buckshot 

Public prosecutor Stephane Thibault said a suspect had left a bag or package in the building's lobby before leaving.

Nothing appeared for the moment to indicate why the building might have been targeted, he added.

The Monaco government said the "strong explosion" was caused by a "parcel bomb".

"A suspect was seen on video surveillance fleeing towards the municipality of Beausoleil in France," it wrote on X.

Mirmand said witnesses had provided information to identify the suspect.

The explosive device apparently contained bolts and buckshot, Mirmand said.

Emergency services treated four other people for shock and cuts from windows shattered in the blast, he said.

"This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality," he added.

Mirmand told a news conference late Monday that intelligences services were working to understand the victims' background and "determine if others might be facing specific threats".

He said the prosecutor would give another news briefing on Tuesday.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters)