Ukrainian billionaire oligarch Vadim Ermolaev ‘among three injured’ in Monaco explosion

Three people – all believed to be Ukrainian – have been injured in an explosion shortly after 9pm in Monaco, with billionaire Vadim Ermolaev named locally among the victims

A billionaire Ukrainian oligarch is reportedly among the victims of an explosion in Monaco, according to local media.

Three individuals – all thought to be Ukrainian – were injured in the blast which occurred just after 9pm on Monday, June 29 on Rue du Révérend Père Louis Frolla.

Monaco Matin news outlet has identified one victim as Vadim Ermolaev, one of Ukraine’s richest men. It’s believed he fled Ukraine following the most recent conflict with Russia.

The other casualties are understood to be a woman aged in her 50s or 60s and a teenage boy.

Monaco police are currently hunting for a suspect, reports the Mirror.

CCTV footage captured the moment a man left a backpack at the entrance of a residential building shortly before the explosion, French media reports.

Images circulating on social media depict the man thought to be the suspect, dressed in a black long-sleeve top and bucket hat with khaki trousers.

No identification has been provided by officials at this stage.

The suspect remains at large but has been tracked via CCTV moving through Monaco and towards Beausoleil.

Officers from the Nice Anti-Crime Squad, along with emergency response units from Nice and Menton, have been dispatched to bolster the Beausoleil area.

Monaco’s Minister of State has suggested the incident is “likely to be an attack” and that the explosive device probably contained bolts and shrapnel.

“Police services are currently gathering evidence,” he stated.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time in history that such an act has occurred in the Principality.”