A parcel bomb exploded Monday evening at a residential building in Monaco, seriously injuring Ukrainian-born real estate developer Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner, and their 13-year-old son.
Yermolaiev, 58, is a wealthy businessman from Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city. He built his fortune primarily in real estate and has significant interests in the wine and alcohol business in Russian-annexed Crimea. Forbes Ukraine ranked him the country’s 39th richest person in 2020 with an estimated net worth of $230 million. He renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and acquired Cypriot nationality. In 2023, Ukraine’s government imposed sanctions on him citing alleged ties to Russia.
The blast occurred shortly before 9 p.m. at an apartment building on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla, near the French border. Yermolaiev and the two family members were among those hurt. Monaco public prosecutor Stéphane Thibault confirmed the device was a parcel bomb containing bolts and pellets. Authorities said the suspect acted alone, was captured on video surveillance dropping a backpack in the building lobby moments before the explosion, and then fled on foot into neighboring France.
A manhunt is underway in southern France, with French police focusing efforts around the commune of Beausoleil. The incident is being investigated as attempted murder. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said its embassy in France was coordinating with Monaco authorities to formally identify those injured. Monaco’s Minister of State Christophe Mirmand told media outlets the suspect appeared to have crossed into France after the attack.
