Investigators in Monaco are leaning toward the theory that Ukraine’s Security Service directed Monday’s attack on Vadim Yermolaev, once one of Ukraine’s wealthiest businessmen, Le Figaro reports.
According to the newspaper, the attack was likely more of a “warning” than a deliberate attempt to kill him.
The explosion in Monaco occurred on the evening of June 29. The bomb had been left outside an apartment building on a quiet street and was detonated as Yermolaev, his son, and the woman with him arrived.
Officials said three people were seriously injured: a man and a woman between the ages of 50 and 60, as well as a 13-year-old “connected to them.” The woman remains in life-threatening condition, while the man and the boy are no longer in critical condition. Two bystanders also suffered minor injuries from flying glass. Monaco authorities have not released the victims’ names.
Several outlets reported that Yermolaev and members of his family were among those injured. Le Figaro identifies the gravely wounded woman as Yermolaev’s partner, reporting that she lost one leg and both feet in the explosion. However, the businessman’s wife, Anna Yermolaeva, told Ukrainian journalists that she was not injured because she was not at the scene. She declined to comment further. The two accounts appear to conflict, and it is not yet clear whether the injured woman is Yermolaev’s wife or another companion.
A bag containing the bomb was left by a man whose identity has not yet been established. The suspect fled the scene on foot, crossing the border into the neighboring French town of Beausoleil. Investigators say he then likely headed toward Italy, about 12 kilometers (eight miles) away.
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