According to Le Figaro, citing its sources, Monaco authorities believe the Ukrainian security service was involved in the bombing that targeted fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolayev.
According to the newspaper, investigators believe the bombing was more of a warning to Yermolayev than an assassination attempt against him.
Earlier, Monaco authorities announced that the explosion on Monday evening left three people injured—two adults and a minor—without disclosing their identities. According to Le Figaro, Yermolayev suffered severe leg injuries, while his partner had her leg and foot amputated, and the businessman's 13-year-old son sustained burns all over his body.
Yermolayev, 58, who has lived in Monaco since 2021, belongs to what Ukrainian media have dubbed the “Monaco Battalion,” a sarcastic reference to those wealthy Ukrainians who have taken refuge on the French Riviera.
In 2019, Yermolayev renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in favor of Cypriot citizenship, and Kyiv authorities have imposed sanctions on him since December 2023 after accusing him of continuing his business activity in the alcoholic beverage sector within the Crimean Peninsula after its annexation by Russia in 2014.
Ukrainian media reported that the attack on Yermolayev may be linked to the fraudulent call center activity in the city of Dnipropetrovsk , in which Yermolayev and his son Artem are widely believed to be involved.
Monaco authorities have opened an investigation into attempted murder, but have not classified the incident as an act of terrorism. The search continues for the suspected bomber. Initial reports indicate the man crossed the border into France by land and hid in the town of Beausoleil, near the Monaco border, while Le Figaro reported he may have fled to Italy, whose border is only about 12 kilometers from Beausoleil.
