Authorities are still searching to identify the suspect of an alleged assassination attempt of a Ukrainian business tycoon
1h agoAsk Ajit Niranjan anything about Europe’s hellish week of heat
2h agoMorning opening: Monaco bombing 'attempted assassination,' not terrorist attack, prosecutors say
Police in Monaco are searching for a suspected bomber after a Ukrainian-born business tycoon, his wife and their child were injured in an unprecedented attack that has shaken the normally ultra-safe principality.
Monaco prosecutor said this morning that the investigation was opened into an attempted assassination, after a terrorist attack was ruled out through early inquiries.
The authorities are still looking to identify the suspect.
As the Guardian’s Pjotr Sauer reported,
The Monaco government said a suspect had left a parcel bomb in the lobby of a residential building that exploded shortly before 9pm on Monday, causing what officials described as a “powerful explosion”. French media identified the victims as Vadym Iermolaiev, his wife and their 13-year-old child. Iermolaiev and his wife had been taken to hospital with serious injuries, while their child was also wounded, French authorities said. Originally from the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Iermolaiev founded the Alef trade and industrial corporation and became one of the region’s most influential property developers and businessmen.
The Monaco government said a suspect had left a parcel bomb in the lobby of a residential building that exploded shortly before 9pm on Monday, causing what officials described as a “powerful explosion”.
French media identified the victims as Vadym Iermolaiev, his wife and their 13-year-old child. Iermolaiev and his wife had been taken to hospital with serious injuries, while their child was also wounded, French authorities said.
Originally from the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Iermolaiev founded the Alef trade and industrial corporation and became one of the region’s most influential property developers and businessmen.
I will bring you all the updates during the day.
We will also look at the latest from the German investigation into yesterday’s shooting in the northern city of Stade, which left six people dead, and the latest from across Europe and from Ukraine.
It’s Tuesday, 30 June 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Just a reminder that our heatwave/climate Q&A with the Guardian’s Europe environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan is about to start where he will offer his take on the heatwave just passed – and on what is on the horizon.
Head here to ask your questions:
Both Reuters and AFP seem to be confirming the identity of the target of yesterday’s bombing as Ukrainian-born oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev, as mentioned by Pjotr earlier (12:22).
Reuters has this helpful background:
“Yermolaiev was given Cypriot nationality in 2019 and was placed under Ukrainian sanctions in 2023, which Ukrainian media say was for doing business in Russian-occupied Crimea. The Ukrainian embassy in Paris said it was checking the identity and nationality of those involved.”
“Yermolaiev was given Cypriot nationality in 2019 and was placed under Ukrainian sanctions in 2023, which Ukrainian media say was for doing business in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The Ukrainian embassy in Paris said it was checking the identity and nationality of those involved.”
Back to the Monaco bombing, John Bulanadi, a 19-year-old student living near the site of the incident, told AFP TV he had heard a loud explosion last night.
“I quickly went out onto my terrace to see what was happening. There was screaming, crying and two people on the ground.”
Monaco’s prince Albert II described the incident as a “heinous crime” and “a shock to the entire Monegasque community”.
The prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes department also expressed his “deepest thoughts for the victims and their families” after last night’s explosion.
“Security forces are very strongly mobilised to search for, apprehend, and bring before the justice system, as quickly as possible, the perpetrator of this horrific act,” he said.
Separately, we are also hosting a Conversation with our European environment correspondent, Ajit Niranjan, on the heatwaves that hit Europe in the last week – and on what’s next, as some countries, such as France, already start raising alarm about another heatwave beginning in just a few days.
From 1pm BST (2pm CEST), you can ask Ajit whatever you want here:
Reuters noted that the principality of Monaco is surrounded by the sea on one side and France on the other, and there are no border checks between the two countries. Italy is also close.
These are all considerations that will guide the manhunt for the main suspect.
The prosecutor did not identify the victims, but AP reported that he told a press conference that:
“One of the three injured is a woman in life-threatening condition. The other is a man who is no longer in life-threatening condition and a child whose life isn’t in danger, he said. He didn’t provide their identities.” The suspected attacker fled into neighboring France, authorities have said.
“One of the three injured is a woman in life-threatening condition.
The other is a man who is no longer in life-threatening condition and a child whose life isn’t in danger, he said. He didn’t provide their identities.”
The suspected attacker fled into neighboring France, authorities have said.
Europe live with Jakub Krupa
