--- title: "Manhunt After a Backpack Bomb Wounds a Ukrainian Tycoon and His Family in Monaco" description: "Monaco authorities have identified the man critically wounded in Monday's lobby bombing as Ukrainian-born businessman Vadim Ermolaev, as a cross-border manhunt for a suspect who fled toward France continued into Tuesday and officials said they were treating the blast as a deliberate attack." category: "World" category_url: https://herald.la/category/world author: "Naomi Fields" published: 2026-06-30T09:48:00.000Z updated: 2026-06-30T09:48:00.000Z canonical: https://herald.la/article/manhunt-after-a-backpack-bomb-wounds-a-ukrainian-tycoon-and-his-family-in-monaco tags: ["Monaco", "Ukraine", "bomb", "manhunt", "Vadim Ermolaev", "investigation"] --- # Manhunt After a Backpack Bomb Wounds a Ukrainian Tycoon and His Family in Monaco Monaco authorities have identified the man critically wounded in Monday's lobby bombing as Ukrainian-born businessman Vadim Ermolaev, as a cross-border manhunt for a suspect who fled toward France continued into Tuesday and officials said they were treating the blast as a deliberate attack. A day after an explosion shattered the calm of one of Europe's safest enclaves, the picture of what happened in Monaco is coming into sharper, more disquieting focus. ## What investigators have said The blast struck the entrance of a residential building in Monaco on Monday evening, [Al Jazeera reported](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/30/police-hunt-for-suspect-after-three-wounded-in-monaco), wounding three people. Monaco's Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, said the device had been packed with metal projectiles to maximize harm and described the blast as deliberate, telling reporters it was unprecedented in the principality's modern history. Prince Albert II called the bombing "a shock for the entire Monegasque community." Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed a person leaving a bag at the building's entrance and then fleeing on foot toward Beausoleil, the French commune that borders Monaco; the principality briefly closed border crossings as French and Monegasque police coordinated the search, [the Washington Examiner reported](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/4629977/monaco-explosion-police-manhunt-ukraine/). ## The man who was targeted Authorities and multiple outlets have identified the apparent target as Vadim Ermolaev, a Ukrainian-born businessman who made his fortune as a real-estate developer in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro and relocated to Monaco after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He and a woman with him were left in critical condition; a 13-year-old boy who was also present suffered less serious injuries. Ermolaev was placed under Ukrainian government sanctions in December 2023 over allegations connected to business activity in Russian-occupied Crimea — claims that form part of the background to the case but that officials have not linked to Monday's attack. ## A manhunt, and unanswered questions No suspect has been arrested or charged, and investigators have not publicly named anyone responsible or stated a motive. The presumption of innocence applies to anyone who may come under suspicion. Officials have declined to say whether the bombing was connected to Ermolaev's business affairs, his sanctions status or any other matter, cautioning that the investigation is at an early stage. ## A rare breach of calm Monaco — a wealthy Mediterranean micro-state long regarded as one of Europe's safest jurisdictions and home to a large community of affluent expatriates — has not previously experienced an attack of this kind, officials said. The bombing also lands against a wider backdrop of violence that has touched Ukrainian businesspeople and officials at home and abroad during the war, though authorities have drawn no such connection here. For now, the central facts the public most wants — who planted the device, and why — remain, by the investigators' own account, unresolved. ## Sources - [Police hunt for suspect after three wounded in Monaco blast](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/30/police-hunt-for-suspect-after-three-wounded-in-monaco) - [Monaco explosion: police manhunt after blast injures Ukrainian businessman](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/4629977/monaco-explosion-police-manhunt-ukraine/)