Blast in Monaco injures Ukrainian businessman and family members

A parcel bomb exploded in a residential building in central Monaco near the French border, injuring three people and sending police in Monaco and France into a cross-border manhunt. The blast hit around 9 p.m. local time on June 29, 2026, and Monaco officials said the device contained bolts and metal shot. Two of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries. A teenager was less seriously hurt and was related to the couple.

Monaco prosecutor-general Stéphane Thibault said a suspect was seen leaving a bag or package in the lobby before fleeing. Monaco video surveillance showed the suspect escaping toward Beausoleil, just across the border in France, where police joined the search. Emergency services later treated four additional people for shock and cuts from shattered glass, and the injured were taken to hospital in Nice. French authorities deployed around 50 firefighters and 80 security personnel at the scene.

The alleged target was Vadym Yermolaiev, a wealthy Monaco resident and major real-estate developer in Dnipro. Yermolaiev left Ukraine several years ago, renounced Ukrainian citizenship and later became a Cypriot citizen. Ukraine sanctioned him in December 2023 over his alcohol business activity in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Christophe Mirmand, Monaco’s Minister of State, said it was "the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality." Prince Albert II called it "a heinous crime" and "a shock to the Monegasque community."