The wife of a Russian oligarch left fighting for his life in a bomb blast says she is not amongst the injured, leading to speculation over the identity of reported female victim who required amputation
Anna Nasobina is believed to have required limb amputation(Image: Facebook)
The identity of a woman badly injured in a bomb attack on a Ukrainian oligarch in Monaco is reportedly to be the mistress of the billionaire allegedly targeted by the blast.
Reports had initially indicated that the wife of 58-year-old Vadim Ermolaev was one of three victims of the blast. But Anna Ermolaev, 56, has since denied she was involved in the incident.
Instead, it is believed that the Ermolaev’s 46-year-old lover Anna Ermolaev, along with the pair’s 13-year-old child were in fact the two other victims injured when a nail bomb was detonated in the foyer of their Sun Palace apartment block in Monaco’s Place des Moulins.
Nasobina, who is a UK based lawyer, has reportedly had to undergo amputation to both of her feet as a result of the injuries caused by the massive blast.
Nasobina, from Dnipro in Ukraine, is the daughter of of a former Ukrainian state prosecutor and followed her father into the legal possession.
After working in her native country, she moved to London and has been director of Wycombe Square Investments since 2023.
She also is one of the founders of an exclusive Russian members’ club in London called Club Éclectique that is known to host events for members of the Russian diaspora.
Her and Vadim’s son is believed to be in a stable condition. Ukrainian state media outlet Suspline quoted Ermolaev’s wife Anna Ermolaev as saying that she is “currently in a state of severe stress and are actively cooperating with the investigation and law enforcement agencies.”
The incident at around 9pm local time saw three people injured after a “parcel bomb” made up of nuts and bolts was allegedly hidden in a rucksack and left near the entrance to their apartment.
Images of the man suspected of planting the device were captured on CCTV and he is still at large, and described by a police source as “armed and dangerous”.
Christophe Mirmand, Monaco’s Secretary of State, said: “It was noted that the man had driven around the area several times before the bomb blast, allowing him to lie in wait for the victims.
“This clearly indicates that he was likely conducting surveillance.”
The female victim reported to be Anna Nasobina “had limbs including her legs amputated” in the hours following the explosion, according to another source in France.
Some reports indicate that a third individual believed to be the pair’s 13-year-old son was also hurt by the blast.
An Interior Ministry source in Paris said the French RAID, which stands for ‘Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence’, was surrounding them. The elite tactical police unit mainly deals with high-profile counter-terrorism cases, and the protection of VIPs.
Ermolaev, who made his fortune in commerce following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has reportedly made a huge number of enemies since fleeing his native Ukraine around a decade ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy authorised a series of sanctions against the billionaire back in December 2023 after his drinks business in the occupied Crimea was seen to be still doing business with the enemy.
Ermolaev is also a co-owner of Versobank, an Estonian bank which saw its licence suspended by the European Central Bank in March 2018 for the ‘systematic violation of anti-money laundering legislation.’
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