High-profile bomb blast victims from Ukraine placed under high-security services protection

MONACO: A targeted parcel bomb explosion occurred at a residential building on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla in Monaco. The blast injured three people, including Ukrainian construction tycoon Vadym Yermolaiev, 58.

An injured woman in the Monaco bombing remains in critical, life-threatening condition. She is now fighting for her life after losing both legs, while a 13-year-old child's life is not in danger, reports say.

While both are being treated at a hospital in Nice, France, the shockwave of the bombing in the peaceful state of Monaco has rocked France, and to a certain extent, the European Union.

However, it is now made known to the media that the bombing is not a terrorist act, but an act of revenge against the Ukrainian oligarch.

It was first revealed that the critically wounded woman was his wife, but Ukrainian media later said the woman with Yermolaiev at the time of the attack was not his wife, Anna.

They state that Anna was in another location at the time of the attack.

Speaking to Ukrainian media, Anna said: “We are currently in a state of severe stress and are actively cooperating with the investigation and law enforcement agencies”

The head of Monaco's government, Christophe Mirmand, explicitly stated that this parcel bomb is the first time in history that an attack of this nature has ever occurred in the principality.

The teenager wounded in the attack is also said to be the son of the wounded woman.

Vadym Yermolaiev, the woman, and the teenager were wounded after a backpack full of nuts and bolts exploded in the foyer of an apartment block. 

According to a source close to the investigation cited by Le Figaro, the 13-year-old boy was thrown nearly 50 feet by the blast, while his mother was likely injured while attempting to shield him.

Mirmand confirmed to French broadcaster LCI on Tuesday that the mother is currently hospitalised in Nice. 

While Mirmand did not disclose her condition, a French source reported that her injuries required the amputation of her limbs, including her legs.

CCTV footage captured the suspect at the iconic Sun Palace flats, but he remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous by police.

Investigators believe the attack was premeditated; Minister of State Christophe Mirmand noted that the suspect circled the neighbourhood several times before the blast, effectively staking out the area and conducting surveillance on his targets.

Yermolaiev made his fortune in commerce following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He has amassed a large number of enemies since fleeing his native Ukraine about a decade ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky authorised sanctions against him in December 2023 because he was still doing business with Russia in Crimea.