A parcel bomb exploded around 9 p.m. Monday in the lobby of a residential building in Monaco near the French border, wounding three people including Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The explosive device contained bolts and buckshot [1, 4, 5, 6].
The three wounded include Yermolaiev, a couple estimated to be in their 50s or 60s who were seriously hurt and face life-threatening injuries, and a 13-year-old teenager with less severe wounds, very likely related to the couple [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]. Some reports also mention Yermolaiev's wife and child as among those injured [1, 2, 3, 7, 4, 5, 6]. Emergency services treated four more people for minor injuries and shock from glass shattered in the blast [1, 6].
Yermolaiev is a Ukrainian-born oligarch and Monaco resident with an estimated fortune of $225 million [7]. He was sanctioned by Ukraine in December 2023 over alleged business ties to Russian-occupied Crimea, which he denies [1, 2, 7, 5, 6].
Video surveillance showed a suspect carrying a backpack or bag placing the parcel in the building lobby before fleeing towards the nearby French town of Beausoleil [1, 2, 7, 4, 5]. Monaco and French authorities are jointly hunting the suspect across the open border with no checkpoints [1, 2, 3, 5, 6].
Monaco’s Prince Albert II called the bombing "a heinous crime and a shock to the entire Monegasque community" [1, 2, 5, 6]. Monaco’s Minister of State Christophe Mirmand said, "This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality" [1]. Prosecutor Stephane Thibault described the incident as an attempted assassination, stating a suspect left the parcel before fleeing, but did not classify it as a terrorist attack [1, 3].
Authorities announced the investigation and manhunt continued Tuesday, with cross-border cooperation underway to find those responsible [3, 5].
