An explosion — reportedly brought on by a parcel bomb — within the lobby of an apartment constructing in Monaco wounded Ukrainian business magnate Vadym Lermolaiev and two other people, and a number of other others were hit by shards of glass, a senior lawmaker within the principality said Tuesday.
A search was underway for a suspect who fled on foot after the blast late Monday, Prosecutor Stéphane Thibault said during a press conference from the Salle des Juridictions Suprêmes in Monaco.
Two of the victims were transported to a hospital within the French city of Nice, about 20 km from the sovereign city-state, Monaco’s Minister of State Christoph Mirmand told French media outlet TF1.
“A girl with very serious injuries, whose life is at risk, was taken to the hospital in Nice this evening,” he stated.
“Her partner and a 13-year-old child” had “less serious injuries” but are “still receiving treatment on the hospital,” he added, noting that it seemed to be a targeted attack, not a terror incident.
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He didn’t give the identities of the lady or child who were hurt, but referred to them as “members of the family,” who’re regular residents of Monaco.
Mirmand also said they didn’t yet know whether or not they had been threatened previously or why they were targeted.
A shattered window of a close-by residential constructing is seen in Monaco, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, a day after an explosive device seriously injured three people at a close-by residential constructing.
AP Photo/Philippe Magoni
A suspect was spotted by security cameras fleeing toward the municipality of Beausoleil on French territory, the Monaco government said in a statement shared on X on Monday evening, shortly after the “booby-trapped” package exploded.
In an image published by French media, the suspect might be seen on a street wearing a black jacket, light-coloured pants, white shoes, and a black bucket hat that partly concealed his face, the Associated Press reported.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said its embassy in France, which can also be answerable for Monaco, was in contact with local authorities. Ukrainian diplomats were on the scene providing assistance, it said.
Vadym Lermolaiev is a business tycoon and real estate developer who in 2023 was sanctioned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for reportedly trading alcohol in Russian-occupied Crimea and paying thousands and thousands in taxes to the Russian treasury, The Guardian reported.
He’s one among several wealthy Ukrainian exiles who’ve taken refuge in Monte Carlo and the South of France, it added.
The attack shocked the country on the Mediterranean coast, one among the world’s smallest sovereign states known for being a tax haven and its high concentration of ultra-wealthy residents.
Monaco’s Prince Albert II described it as “an odious act” and said all public services were mobilized to make sure security.
The blast occurred around 9 p.m. Monday at the doorway of a residence near the French border.
–with files from the Associated Press
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