Manhunt launched after Monaco blast targets Ukrainian-born oligarch
Written by: Manon Cruz, Juliette Jabkhiro and John Irish
MONACO, June 30 (Reuters) – Police in Monaco and France were searching for a suspected bomber after three people were injured in an explosion in the wealthy principality on Tuesday that two sources said was an attack on a Ukrainian-born oligarch.
Monaco prosecutor Stephane Thibault said the suspect was believed to have fled to France on foot following the attack involving a package bomb on Monday evening.
Known for its casinos and luxury yachts, tight security and the lavish lifestyle of its super-rich residents, the principality is surrounded by the Mediterranean on one side and France on the other, and there is no border control between the two countries.
CODE NAME, BORN IN UKRAINE
A source familiar with the investigation said that the man injured in the attack was Ukrainian-born oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev, and the partner of the woman injured in the same attack was seriously injured from the waist down.
A police source confirmed that the injured couple were Yermolaiev and his partner, while the third person, who suffered less serious injuries, was his son.
Yermolaiev was granted Cypriot citizenship in 2019 and was placed under Ukrainian sanctions in 2023, which Ukrainian media said was for doing business in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The Ukrainian embassy in Paris said it was checking the identities and nationalities of those involved.
Thibault declined to confirm the identities of the victims, who have not yet been questioned by police, but said the man injured in the attack had been living in Monaco since at least 2021.
He said all three were still in the hospital. He said the woman, whose name he did not give, was in critical condition and the man’s condition was no longer considered critical.
FOLLOWING THE SUSPECT
Thibault told a news conference that the attacker left a package in front of the building shortly before the arrival of three people living in the ground-floor apartment, at which time the package exploded.
It was learned that the attacker was suspected of attempted murder.
“In coordination with the French authorities, we are making efforts to identify and arrest him. I hope this will happen quickly, given the resources we have available,” Thibault said. he said.
Monaco’s Prince Albert described the attack as a “disgusting act” and said it was a shock to everyone in Monaco.
In February, a man suspected of killing a former pro-Russia Ukrainian politician outside a school in a wealthy suburb of Madrid in 2025 was arrested in Germany.
(Juliette Jabkhiro, John ​Irish, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Dominique Vidalon in Paris, Manon Cruz in Monaco, Anna Pruchnicka in Kiev; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
