A powerful explosion rocked a residential building in Monaco on the evening of June 29, reportedly injuring Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev. The entrepreneur, originally from Dnipro, is considered one of Ukraine's wealthiest business figures.
According to preliminary investigations, an unidentified individual left a backpack filled with explosives and metal shrapnel in the building's lobby. The blast injured three people: a man and a woman aged 50–60, and a 13-year-old boy.
The woman lost both legs in the explosion, according to Nice-Matin. Yermolaiev reportedly suffered burns and shrapnel wounds. His wife later told the press she was elsewhere at the time and unharmed.
French newspaper Le Figaro reported that Monaco investigators are also pursuing a lead suggesting Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) may have been behind the attack. Monaco Prosecutor General Stephane Thibault said on July 1 that the incident is being treated as attempted murder. The search for suspects continues.
Yermolaiev is the founder of the Alef trading and manufacturing group and one of the largest real estate developers in Dnipro. He built most of his fortune through investments in commercial and residential property. The group's businesses also include construction materials, agriculture, welding technology, mining, and logistics.
In 2020, Forbes Ukraine ranked him the country's 23rd-richest entrepreneur. Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, his net worth was estimated at over $200 million.
Yermolaiev renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2017 and obtained Cypriot citizenship, citing dissatisfaction with Ukraine's judicial and tax systems. On December 23, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed personal sanctions on him for 10 years, including asset freezes and restrictions on financial transactions.
According to the SBU, the sanctions were based on Yermolaiev's business activities in occupied Crimea. The security service claimed several of his companies continued operating after Russia's 2014 annexation and re-registered under Russian law, paying millions in taxes that allegedly funded Russia's war against Ukraine.
One sanctioned company is Alef-Vinal-Crimea, which manages the Crimean operations of Alef-Vinal, a major Ukrainian alcoholic beverage producer reportedly controlled by Yermolaiev. He has publicly denied the allegations, stating he did not act in Russia's interests and that the sanctions are unfounded.
In August 2022, Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda exposed the so-called "Monaco Battalion" — a network of Ukrainian businesspeople, politicians, and oligarchs who settled on the French Riviera during Russia's full-scale war. Yermolaiev was among those named.
In August 2024, Hromadske reported that a Dnipro-based company linked to Yermolaiev was selected to supply granite for the first phase of Ukraine's National Military Memorial Cemetery. The company denied the allegations. Hromadske later reported that Yermolaiev had transferred control of the company to his daughter, Sofia Kononenko, in an attempt to circumvent sanctions.
In December 2025, Yermolaiev's son Artur was arrested in Cyprus and extradited to Estonia. In connection with the Milton Group international online investment fraud network, he pleaded guilty, paid €8.5 million ($10 million) in compensation, and received a five-year suspended sentence.
While French and Ukrainian media, citing sources close to the investigation, have reported that Yermolaiev was the intended target, Monaco authorities have not officially confirmed this. Motives discussed in the media include Yermolaiev's possible ties to former business partners in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, alleged connections to Russian organized crime, and a possible link to his son's criminal case. None of these theories has been officially confirmed.
This is not the first high-profile attack in Europe involving influential figures from Ukraine. In May 2025, Andrii Portnov, a former politician and lawyer with close ties to the regime of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, was shot dead in Spain.
Source: www.dw.com