Officials in Monaco announced Wednesday that a foreign national was taken into custody and later let go as investigators press forward “very actively” in their probe of a powerful explosion that left three people injured, including a Ukrainian billionaire with reported ties to Russia.
According to a statement from the tiny Mediterranean nation’s prosecutor general, the individual was detained in Monaco during the morning hours. Authorities held the person while “further checks were deemed necessary” before ultimately releasing them in the afternoon. No additional details were provided about the individual or what drew investigators’ attention to them.
The explosion took place late Monday at the entrance to an apartment building in Monaco. Authorities have not officially named any of the victims, but said the three appear to have been deliberately targeted and are believed to be a family unit.
News reports have identified one of the injured as Ukrainian construction magnate Vadym Yermolaiev. Yermolaiev has stated that he gave up his Ukrainian citizenship roughly a decade ago, and he was placed under Ukrainian sanctions in 2023 due to his reported connections to Russia. A woman and a child were also hurt in the blast.
Prosecutors said the child has already been interviewed by authorities across the border in France, while the other two victims remain too seriously injured to be questioned. One of the adults is in critical condition and continues to fight for their life, officials said.
Investigators are classifying the incident as an attempted assassination. French authorities have been called in to assist with the investigation, and work is ongoing to analyze the explosive device and determine who carried out the attack, the statement said. The motive and the identity of those responsible remain unknown.
The attack has drawn attention to Russia’s well-documented history of targeting perceived enemies on foreign soil. Western intelligence agencies have recently noted an increase in such targeted killings since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is also believed to have carried out targeted strikes against Russian figures, though those operations have generally taken place within Ukrainian or Russian borders.
The explosion sent shockwaves through Monaco, one of the world’s smallest countries and a place known for its extraordinary concentration of wealthy residents along the Mediterranean coast. Monaco’s Prince Albert II condemned the attack, calling it “an odious act” and confirming that all public services had been put on alert to maintain security.
