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🇮🇹 Italy /Conflict & Security

Powerful explosion rocks Monaco, injures three Ukrainians; 'likely an attack,' says official

From ANSA · () Italian

Translated from Italian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • An explosion in Monaco injured three Ukrainian nationals, two seriously, and authorities suspect it was a deliberate attack.
  • Surveillance footage shows a suspect placing a backpack before the device detonated near a residential building.
  • The incident, possibly targeting a Ukrainian oligarch and his family, is the first of its kind in the principality.

A powerful explosion rocked the Principality of Monaco on Tuesday evening, injuring three Ukrainian nationals and prompting authorities to label the incident a likely "attack."

it is very probable that it is an attack

— Christophe MirmandMonaco's Minister of State (head of government) stating the likely nature of the explosion.

Two individuals, identified as the parents of a 13-year-old, sustained severe injuries and are in critical condition. Reports suggest one of the injured is Vadim Ermolaev, a Ukrainian oligarch who had been living in Monaco as a "VIP refugee" since the war in Ukraine began. The family was reportedly inside their apartment building when the device detonated.

the police forces are currently collecting evidence

— Christophe MirmandMonaco's Minister of State describing the ongoing investigation.

The blast occurred around 9 p.m. in a residential building located between Boulevard d'Italie and Rue du Révérend Père Louis Frolla. Surveillance cameras captured an individual placing a backpack near the building's entrance before fleeing towards the nearby French town of Beausoleil. The explosion happened as others were entering the building, though it remains unclear if they were the intended targets.

As far as I know, this is the first time in history that such an act has occurred in the Principality

— Christophe MirmandMonaco's Minister of State commenting on the unprecedented nature of the incident.

Monaco's Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, stated that the device likely contained bolts and shrapnel. He noted that this appears to be the first such incident in the principality's history. Emergency services, police, and security forces were mobilized, with French rescue teams also assisting. The mayor of Nice and the president of the departmental council of the Maritime Alps expressed solidarity with Monaco following the incident.

the French rescue teams are on site

— Sources close to the Ministry of the InteriorReporting on the cross-border cooperation following the explosion.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ANSA in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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