Three Ukrainian nationals, including a Ukrainian oligarch, were injured after an explosive device detonated in a residential building, in what officials have described as Monaco’s first-ever terrorist attack.
Shortly before 9 p.m. local time, the wealthy, quiet city-state was rocked by the detonation of a bomb concealed in a backpack. Monaco’s Minister of State Christophe Mirmand said the bomb likely contained bolts and other material meant to turn it into an anti-personnel device. One of the wounded, and the likely target, was oligarch Vadim Ermolaev, one of Ukraine’s richest men. A woman in her 50s or 60s, described as Ermolaev’s “partner,” and a 13-year-old boy were also injured. The boy’s injuries were described as less severe, while Ermolaev and the woman are in critical condition.
Silvano Ippolito, a resident of Monaco who witnessed the aftermath of the blast, told BFMTV that the woman had her feet blown off.
The attack is particularly shocking to Monaco due to its quiet and luxurious reputation.
“This is likely a terrorist attack. As far as I know, this is the first such incident in the history of the principality,” Mirmand said.
Prince Albert II, head of Monaco, described the “criminal explosion” as a “shock for the entire Monegasque community.”
“Under the authority of the Government, all the state services concerned are currently mobilised, in close cooperation with the French authorities. We trust them to elucidate the circumstances of this tragedy as soon as possible, identify those responsible and provide him with all the necessary answers, at all levels,” he said.
“More than ever, the Principality of Monaco will remain united and determined in the face of the violence and crime. The security of our community has always been a priority; it will remain more than ever, whatever the threats,” Albert concluded.
The alleged attempted assassin was caught in security footage fleeing the scene. The Monaco government shut its borders for the manhunt, and an investigation is underway.
Aside from the three directly wounded, Mirmand said four others were taken to the hospital. The four weren’t directly wounded by the explosion but were shaken by the experience.
Ermolaev has a contradictory, and often contentious, relationship with the Ukrainian government and nationalist scene. He had extensive dealings in Crimea before its annexation, and after it was annexed by Russia, Ermolaev had his companies re-register with Russia, a move that infuriated Kyiv and saw him sanctioned. He fled Ukraine for Monaco in the early days of the Russian invasion.
Since his departure, he’s faced a fierce PR battle. He maintains that he’s fully in support of Ukraine, having suffered losses of his own in the invasion, such as the looting of his properties in occupied areas and the destruction of his private plane. Ermolaev also claims he has donated extensively to the Ukrainian war effort.
Despite this, he’s been accused of collaborating with the Russians and shirking his patriotic duties. He was the target of an investigation from the liberal Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda called “Battalion Monaco,” which shamed wealthy Ukrainians who fled the war to a luxurious life in Monaco. His ties to Russia and sanctioned Russian entities have led to accusations that he’s collaborating with the Russians.
Ermolaev grew up and made his riches in the city of Dnipro in Dnipropetrovsk oblast, a city in eastern Ukraine that has become a logistical hub for the war effort. The elites in eastern Ukraine are known for their split loyalty, vacillating between Russia and Ukraine. Elite defections were a key part of the early success of the Donetsk and Lugansk uprisings in 2014, while the resilience of others further west prevented the uprisings from spreading.
Ihor Kolomoisky, for a time the richest man in Ukraine, famously helped swing the 2014 Donbas war in Ukraine’s favor after pouring resources into Ukrainian nationalist battalions. Years later, however, he began voicing sympathy for the pro-Russian cause and is currently in jail.
