Ukrainian billionaire Vadim Ermolaev has been identified as the target of a bomb attack in Monaco that left him and his wife critically injured, with the couple’s teenage son also caught in the blast as a manhunt for the suspect continues across the French-Monégasque border.
The explosion, which detonated at around 9pm on Monday on Rue Révérend-Père-Louis-Frolla, was caused by a backpack bomb containing shrapnel including bolts, which a suspect placed at the entrance of a residential building before fleeing toward the French town of Beausoleil. The attacker remains at large, with police from both Monaco and France involved in the hunt.
Ermolaev, a prominent real estate developer and founder of Ukraine’s Alef Corporation, who has previously ranked among the country’s wealthiest individuals, was struck along with his wife and their son, understood to be around 13 years old. The two adults are in a critical condition, while the child’s injuries are reported to be less severe. Monaco prosecutor Thibault Stéphane confirmed the details to Le Figaro, with bomb disposal experts and judicial police working at the scene.
Ermolaev has been known to spend time on the French Riviera and in Monaco, a low-crime enclave on the Mediterranean coast that rarely sees incidents of this nature. Monégasque authorities are treating the attack as likely targeted, though the precise motive — whether related to business disputes, personal conflicts or other factors — remains under investigation.
Monaco activated its “red plan” emergency protocol in response to the blast, designed to mobilise a graduated increase in emergency resources when multiple casualties are involved.
The Mayor of Nice, Eric Ciotti, described the incident as an “attack” and wrote on X: “The attack carried out this evening is a tragedy that strikes Monaco. Thoughts for the victims, their families, and the people of Monaco. Total support for the security forces and emergency services mobilised.”
