In an unprecedented incident in Monaco, a blast from an explosive device injured Ukrainian tycoon Vadym Yermolaiev and two others, authorities reported on Tuesday. This intentional act has sent shockwaves through the principality.
The explosion, which occurred around 9 pm local time on Monday (5 am Tuesday AEST), injured three individuals, including a teenager. It took place in a residential building situated near the French border.
A source with knowledge of the investigation, who preferred to remain anonymous, informed the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news outlet that Yermolaiev was among the injured parties.
Christophe Mirmand, Monaco’s minister of state, initially referred to the incident as an “attack” in comments to the AFP, but later revised his language, characterizing it as a “deliberate explosion”.
Prince Albert II of Monaco has condemned the event, labeling it a “heinous crime” and expressing that it has deeply unsettled the Monegasque community.
An aide to France’s interior minister Laurent Nunez said police were working “to find the perpetrator, who has fled”.
An AFP photographer at the scene saw a heavy police presence with access to the area cordoned off, while a helicopter circled overhead.
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 said.
A couple in their 50s or 60s wounded in the blast were in life-threatening conditions, while a 13-year-old who was “very likely related to the couple” suffered less serious injuries, Mirmand said, without disclosing their identities.
Emergency services treated four other people for shock and cuts from windows shattered in the blast.
The explosive device apparently contained bolts and buckshot, Mirmand said.
“This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality,” he said.
Yermolaiev, a multi-millionaire Monaco resident, has been subject to sanctions from Kyiv since December 2023, which Ukrainian security services reportedly said stemmed from his alcohol business activity in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Mirmand said the prosecutor would give a news briefing on Tuesday local time.