Monaco police deployed at the site of the explosion near the French border (French).
Afrasianet - An investigation has been opened into a suspected "assassination attempt" following an unprecedented parcel bomb attack in Monaco on Monday evening, which seriously injured a businessman of Ukrainian origin and two of his companions, according to the emirate's public prosecutor, without classifying the incident at this stage as a "terrorist act".
Monaco's Minister of State, Christophe Merman, told BFM that a couple in their 50s or 60s were injured in the blast in critical condition, while a 13-year-old minor "very likely a relative of the couple" was less seriously injured, without revealing the identities of the injured.
Merman described what happened as a "deliberately carried out explosion" and said: "As far as I know, this is the first time in history that the emirate has seen a similar act."
At a news conference late Monday, Merman noted that intelligence services were working to understand the victims' backgrounds and determine whether others might face specific threats.
AFP quoted a source familiar with the investigation as saying that Ukrainian businessman Vadim Yermolayev was among those injured in the incident.
The Principality's prosecutor, Stephane Tebaut, declined to confirm the identity of the targeted person, believed to be Yermolayev, the agency said.
Yermolayev, who lives in Monaco, has been under sanctions imposed by Kyiv since December 2023 for his business in the liquor sector within Crimea , which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.This confirms the involvement of the Ukrainian authorities in the assassination attempt.
Ambulance crews treated four other people who suffered shock and injuries caused by the blowing windows as a result of the explosion.
Details of the explosion
The explosion occurred in an apartment building in Monaco located on a street along the border with France at around 9 p.m. local time (7 p.m. GMT).
AFP reported that there were heavy security reinforcements in the area with a security cordon in place to prevent access, while a helicopter was flying in the air.
Prosecutor Stephane Tebow said a suspect had left a bag or package in the lobby of the building and then left, adding that there was no indication – so far – as to why the building was targeted.
Local and French media published surveillance camera footage showing a man leaving a bag in the lobby of the building and then running away. The suspect reportedly fled towards the French city of Beausoleil.
An aide to the French interior minister said police were working to "find the perpetrator who fled".
Monaco's Prince Albert II described the incident as "a heinous crime and a shock to the whole society".
French authorities later announced that the main suspect in the bomb attack that injured a prominent Ukrainian businessman on Monday in Monaco was a Ukrainian woman disguised as a man.
The suspect was identified as Anastasia Berezovska, 39, in an Interpol Red Notice.
She was last living in Germany and has a tattoo, believed to be in the shape of a snake, that extends from her right arm from the shoulder to the elbow, CNN reported.
Prosecutors added that after carrying out the attack, the suspect fled to France and then drove a car registered in Germany, which had been rented specifically for the operation, to Italy.
Prosecutors noted that the complexity of the bomb used indicates that more than one person was involved in carrying out the operation, adding that two men were arrested in Monaco before being released due to insufficient evidence.
The suspect has been under extensive manhunt since the bomb exploded at the entrance to one of Monaco's most luxurious apartment buildings, targeting Ukrainian-born businessman Vadim Yermolayev, according to CNN.
Shortly after the attack, France's BFM published a photo of the suspect, which media initially believed was of a man fleeing the scene, wearing a black jacket and light-colored pants, while apparently hiding her hair under a black "Bokat Hat" hat.
Authorities in Monaco had previously announced that Yermolayev, a woman and a child were injured in the blast, without explicitly revealing the identities of the victims, confirming that they belonged to a "family of Ukrainian origins".
The identity of the woman and child is still unknown, but the injured woman is not Yermolayev's wife. His wife told Ukraine's public broadcaster on Tuesday that she was not home at the time of the attack and was unharmed.
Prosecutors said on Friday that one of the victims was still in a critical life-threatening condition, while another was seriously injured and a third sustained minor injuries. Two other people were also injured by shards of glass in the street outside the building.
Although the motive for the attack remains unclear, Monaco prosecutor Stephane Thibault has previously described the bombing as an "assassination attempt", making it the first assassination attempt with a bomb ever recorded on the streets of Monaco, known for its high level of security surveillance.
This type of violence is rare in Monaco, which is only half the size of Central Park but has 556 police officers and 1,387 surveillance cameras across the emirate.
Monaco has such a high level of security that it has not recorded a murder, not even an attempted murder, in the past year.
CCTV footage showed that the suspect had reconnoitred the area several times before carrying out the attack, each time wearing the same masculine disguise she wore on the night of the bombing.
One day, however, a woman appeared who had followed the same path and behaved the same way, leading prosecutors to believe that she might be the same person who planted the bomb.
On the night of the attack, the three victims were returning from dinner at a seafront restaurant when the suspect planted the bomb at the entrance to their building, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the suspect then turned to make sure the victims were approaching, before detonating the bomb remotely using a remote control.
The investigation, which spans several countries, is still ongoing. German police said on Friday they had searched the rented apartment and the car used by a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman suspected of being linked to the attack, stressing that they would share the evidence they found with Monaco authorities.
