‘Package held in tower’ explodes in Monaco, injures Ukrainian oligarch – National
An explosion – reportedly caused by a parcel bomb – in the lobby of a building in Monaco injured Ukrainian official Vadym Lermolaiev and two other people, and several others were hit by shards of glass, a senior lawmaker said on Tuesday.
The search is on for the suspect who fled on foot after the explosion on Monday night, said Prosecutor Stéphane Thibault at a press conference at the Salle des Juridictions Suprêmes in Monaco.
Two victims were taken to a hospital in the French city of Nice, which is 20 kilometers from the independent city, Monaco’s Minister of State Christoph Mirmand told French media TF1.
“The woman was seriously injured, her life is in danger, she was taken to a hospital in Nice this evening,” he said.
“His partner and a 13-year-old child” were “severely injured” but “are still receiving treatment in hospital,” he added, noting that it appeared to be a targeted attack, not a terrorist incident.
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He did not give the names of the woman or the child who was injured, but referred to them as “family members,” who are ordinary citizens of Monaco.
Mirmand also said that they do not know if they have been threatened before or what they were targeted for.
A broken window of a nearby apartment building is seen in Monaco, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, a day after an explosion seriously injured three people in a nearby apartment building.
AP Photo/Philippe Magoni
The suspect was spotted by security cameras fleeing the municipality of Beausoleil in the French territory, the Monaco government said in a statement sent to X on Monday evening, shortly after the “confined” package exploded.
In a photo published by French media, the suspect was seen on the street wearing a black jacket, light-colored pants, white shoes, and a black bucket hat that hid his face, reported the Associated Press.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that its embassy in France, responsible for Monaco, is in contact with local authorities. Ukrainian diplomats were at the scene providing assistance, he said.
Vadym Lermolaiev is a business magnate and real estate developer who in 2023 was sanctioned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for selling alcohol in Russian-held Crimea and paying millions in taxes to the Russian treasury, The Guardian reported.
He is one of the wealthy Ukrainian exiles who have taken refuge in Monte Carlo and the South of France, it added.
The attack shocked the country on the Mediterranean coast, which is one of the world’s smallest sovereign states known for its tax haven and concentration of wealthy citizens.
Prince Albert II of Monaco described it as an “outrageous act” and said all public services were mobilized to ensure safety.
The explosion happened around 09:00 on Monday at the door of a residence near the French border.
-via files from the Associated Press
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