Police authorities in Monaco and France are searching for a suspect in the bombing that injured three people in the principality. Two sources said the target of the attack was a Ukrainian oligarch, Reuters reported.
The suspect is believed to have fled on foot to France, Monaco's chief prosecutor Stephane Thibault said, after an attack last night with an explosive hidden in a "parcel bomb".
The principality, known for its casinos and luxury yachts, strict security measures and the luxurious lifestyle of its ultra-wealthy residents, is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea on one side and France on the other, with no border checks between the two countries.
A source familiar with the investigation said the man wounded in the attack was Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Ermolaev, and the woman injured in the attack - his girlfriend - suffered serious injuries to her lower limbs.
A police source confirmed that the injured couple were Ermolaev and his girlfriend, and the third person, who suffered minor injuries, was his son.
Ermolaev, who was born in Dnipro, obtained Cypriot citizenship in 2019 and was subject to Ukrainian sanctions in 2023, which Ukrainian media reported was due to his business in the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.
The Ukrainian embassy in Paris said it was verifying the identities and citizenships of the individuals involved.
Ukraine said it was also in contact with authorities in Monaco. Ukrainian authorities did not name the injured, but said Kiev was checking their citizenship.
Thibault declined to confirm the identities of the injured, who have not yet been questioned by police, but said the man wounded in the attack had lived in Monaco since at least 2021. All three were still in hospital, the prosecutor added. The woman, whose name was not given, is in critical condition, and the men's condition is no longer considered critical, Thibaut said.
The bomber left a package outside the building shortly before the arrival of the three people who live in the apartment on the ground floor, and at that moment the package exploded, Thibaut told a news conference.
An investigation into attempted murder has been launched.
"In cooperation with French authorities, we are continuing our efforts to identify and detain him. "I hope this will happen quickly, given the resources we have committed," the prosecutor stressed.
Prince Albert II of Monaco described the incident as a "disgusting act" that, he said, had come as a shock to everyone in Monaco.
In February, a man was arrested in Germany on suspicion of the murder of a former pro-Russian Ukrainian politician outside a school in an elite suburb of Madrid in 2025.