A makeshift bomb placed in a backpack or parcel at the entrance of a residential building on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla in Monaco detonated at approximately 9 p.m. local time on Monday, 29 June 2026, injuring three people and activating the principality's emergency response protocol.
Monaco's chief prosecutor Stéphane Thibault confirmed that surveillance footage showed a sole suspect circling the area and waiting before leaving the device at the building lobby. The suspect fled on foot toward the French border town of Beausoleil shortly before the explosion. As of Tuesday, the individual had not been apprehended. French and Monégasque police are conducting a joint operation.
Three people were injured in the blast. A woman was left in a life-threatening condition and is being treated at a hospital in Nice. A man, initially seriously injured, is no longer in a critical condition and is hospitalised in Monaco. A 13-year-old child sustained less severe injuries and is also being treated in the principality. Authorities have not officially disclosed the names of any of the victims.
The prosecutor's office described the device as a parcel bomb, reported to have contained bolts and buckshot. The investigation has been classified as attempted murder. Thibault stated that terrorism designation has not been applied.
Multiple media outlets and a source close to the investigation cited by AFP identified one of the injured as Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian-born construction tycoon resident in Monaco. The Modern has not been able to independently confirm this identification, and Monégasque authorities have not named any victim. It is not confirmed whether Yermolaiev, if present, is the man whose condition has since stabilised or one of the other two victims.
Yermolaiev has been subject to Ukrainian government sanctions since December 2023. Ukrainian security services have cited alleged commercial activity in Russian-occupied Crimea and ties to Russia as grounds for the measures. According to Reuters, Yermolaiev left Ukraine, renounced Ukrainian citizenship, and holds Cypriot citizenship. The motive for Monday's attack is unknown, and no connection between the blast and Yermolaiev's sanctions status or business activities has been established by investigators.
Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand stated that the family appeared to have been specifically targeted and described the attack as without precedent in the principality's history. Prince Albert II condemned what he called an odious act. The French interior ministry confirmed its cooperation with Monégasque authorities in the search for the suspect.
The identity of the suspect, the motive for the attack, and whether the family had received prior threats all remain unknown.
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