An explosion occurred in a residential building in Monaco after an unidentified person left a bag near the lobby and fled, BFM TV and Monaco-Matin reported. According to preliminary information, the bag contained an explosive device.
The authorities in Monaco confirmed that three people were injured, but have not officially disclosed their identities. Media reports say the victims were of Ukrainian origin. Nice Matin reported that the injured were likely members of the same family: a man and a woman aged between 50 and 60, as well as a teenager.
A source cited by the Ukrainian outlet Novini.Live said the blast may have been an assassination attempt targeting Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolaev. He is described as one of the largest developers in Dnipro. A year before Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the Ukrainian edition of Forbes estimated his fortune at 221 million dollars.
Yermolaev himself had previously said that he renounced Ukrainian citizenship in 2017 and has held only a Cypriot passport since then. In 2023, the Ukrainian authorities imposed sanctions on him. According to the SBU, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, he re-registered his alcohol business on the peninsula under proxy owners and continued operating under Russian law.
The suspect who left the bag is now being sought. After the explosion, Monaco activated its “red plan”, an emergency protocol for incidents that could lead to a large number of casualties. At the same time, Monaco’s prosecutor’s office said it does not currently consider the explosion an act of terrorism.