A Ukrainian oligarch with Cypriot citizenship appears to have been the target of a bomb attack in Monaco that left three people injured. The man in question is businessman Vadim Yermolayev, who, with a net worth estimated at $823 million, is ranked as the 23rd richest person in Ukraine by Focus magazine (2020).
Specifically, Yermolayev renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and became a Cypriot citizen, while in 2023, the Ukrainian government imposed sanctions on him due to the ongoing activities of his spirits company in Crimea.
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According to the information available so far regarding Monday’s explosion, the bomb exploded at 9:00 p.m. local time at the entrance to an apartment building in Monaco, injuring Yermolayev, his partner, and his 13-year-old son. He and his partner are in critical condition.
FLASH — Backpack bomb explodes in Monaco: Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Ermolaev is among the three injured. (BFM TV) https://t.co/2JB7ZaqzW8 pic.twitter.com/LadZ2lWCvs
— Focus (@FocusMedia_Fr) June 29, 2026
Condemning the “heinous crime,” Prince Albert II spoke in a statement of “shock throughout the Monegasque community,” adding that “the Principality of Monaco will remain united and resolute in the face of violence and crime,” and that “the safety of our community has always been a priority” and “will remain so more than ever, whatever the threats may be.”
The explosive device was inside a bag or package that someone had left at the entrance to the property before fleeing.
About fifty firefighters, including more than ten who traveled to Monaco from France, were mobilized to assist the victims, while some 84 members of the security services arrived on the scene.
An Agence France-Presse photographer observed a large deployment of security forces, who cordoned off the area where the explosion occurred, and saw a helicopter flying over the neighborhood.
According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, “cooperation” between the police forces of the two countries is underway to “locate the fugitive perpetrator.”
Mr. Mirmand said that eyewitnesses described him, and he was captured on security cameras in Monaco and in Bosoleil, a neighboring French community where he went on foot.
The three injured were transported to Nice, about twenty kilometers from Monaco; the teenager was taken to a children’s hospital.
First aid was administered to four other people, one of whom was in shock and the other three had abrasions from broken glass, Mr. Mirmand explained.
There are six apartments in the building, but the three victims were the only people present, he noted.
The mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti (LR), referred to the incident on X as an “attack” and a “tragedy that has struck Monaco.”
SEE ALSO: Ukrainian oligarch and two members of his family targeted by bombers in Monaco | AlphaNews
