Monaco: A suspected targeted bombing in Monaco has left three people injured, including a reported Ukrainian construction tycoon, prompting an attempted murder investigation. Authorities said the suspect acted alone and fled into neighbouring France after planting an explosive device outside a residential building.
Monaco's chief prosecutor said on Tuesday that the suspect who planted the explosive device, which injured three people, including a reported Ukrainian tycoon, acted alone and remains at large.
Police in the principality have opened an attempted murder investigation into Monday's incident but are not treating it as a terrorism case, Prosecutor Stephane Thibault told reporters. The motive remains unclear.
One of the three injured is a woman who remains in life-threatening condition, he said. Another victim, a man, is no longer in critical condition, while a child sustained injuries that are not life-threatening. He did not disclose their identities.
Authorities said the suspected attacker fled into neighbouring France.
Media reports identified Ukrainian construction tycoon Vadym Yermolaiev as one of the injured. Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that he was placed under Ukrainian sanctions in 2023 over alleged business ties to Russia.
The injured woman is being treated at a hospital in Nice, while her partner and a 13-year-old child sustained less serious injuries but remain hospitalised, Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand told French broadcaster LCI on Tuesday.
The explosion occurred at around 9 pm on Monday at the entrance to a residential building near the French border.
Law enforcement officers were deployed across Monaco and surrounding areas on Tuesday morning. French and Monegasque authorities are searching for the unidentified suspect, whose motive remains under investigation.
According to surveillance footage, the three victims were "apparently returning home peacefully" when they were caught in the blast as they crossed the entrance to their apartment building, Mirmand said.
The victims are regular residents of Monaco, although investigators have not yet determined whether the family had received any prior threats.
"It appears that the family was specifically targeted," Mirmand said, adding that surveillance footage showed the suspect had walked around the area several times before the attack.
"In the minutes before the explosion, he was apparently waiting for the victims," he added.
The attack has shocked the wealthy Mediterranean principality. Prince Albert II described it as "an odious act" and said all state agencies had been mobilised to ensure public safety.
A French national police official confirmed that a search operation is underway to locate the suspect.
Who is the injured VIP?
Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian-born businessman from the city of Dnipro, built his fortune through the Alef Group, a diversified holding company with interests in commercial real estate, manufacturing and agriculture. He became one of Ukraine's best-known property developers and has regularly featured among the country's wealthiest businesspeople.
In an interview with Forbes Ukraine, Yermolaiev said he renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and became a Cypriot citizen in 2017.
In December 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed sanctions on Yermolaiev as part of a broader package targeting individuals and companies Kyiv said had business links to Russia or Russian-occupied territories.
Monaco, home to around 38,000 residents, is renowned for its tax-friendly policies, the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix, and its glamorous royal family. The principality is also considered one of the world's safest places, aided by an extensive CCTV surveillance network covering most public spaces. Only about one-fifth of Monaco's residents are citizens of the principality.
