Monaco's tranquil streets were shattered on Monday night when a parcel bomb exploded in a residential building on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla. The blast caused significant structural damage, shattered windows, and forced a hurried evacuation, leaving the Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner and their teenage son heavily injured.
Emergency services rushed to the scene within five minutes and treated three patients in critical condition in Nice, the nearest French city. Police recovered a backpack containing bolts and pellets and identified the package as an explosive device.
Monaco’s head of government, Christophe Mirmand, confirmed that video footage shows a suspect dropping the backpack in the lobby before leaving on foot toward Beausoleil, a French commune just across the border. A manhunt involving over 100 officers in public and private forces is underway in the area to locate the individual.
Yermolaiev, a 58‑year‑old real estate developer from Dnipro, has been living in Monaco for several years and was recently a top‑ranked Ukrainian oligarch on Forbes lists. He holds interests in the wine industry in Crimea and has faced sanctions from Kyiv since 2023.
Monaco’s Prince Albert II and the government have condemned the attack as a “heinous crime,” and the incident marks the first violent act of its kind in the principality's modern history. Officials and international groups are coordinating to understand the motive and to ensure the safety of residents.
