Monaco doesn't usually make headlines for bomb blasts. The tiny, sun-drenched principality on the Mediterranean coast is better known for its yachts, high-stakes casinos, and a police presence so dense it borders on suffocating. Yet, a remote-controlled explosion ripped through the peaceful evening air outside a luxury apartment building, shattering the illusion of absolute safety.
The targets weren't random. The blast tore through a family, leaving a woman fighting for her life and a construction tycoon injured. Within days, the international manhunt exploded into public view when Interpol named a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman as the prime suspect. The twist? She allegedly pulled off the hit while disguised as a heavy-set man. Learn more on a similar topic: this related article.
This isn't a standard criminal case. It's a calculated, sophisticated hit executed right under the noses of one of the most heavily monitored police states on earth. The details emerging from the investigation paint a picture of a carefully planned shadow operation that spans multiple European borders.
The Remote Controlled Package at the Front Door
The attack happened on a Monday evening around 9:00 PM. It took place at the entrance of an apartment building situated between the Boulevard d’Italie and the Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla, just a few meters from the French border. Further reporting by Reuters highlights similar views on this issue.
The attacker didn't drop a clumsy pipe bomb. They left a package rigged with a relatively sophisticated explosive device right at the entrance hall. As the targets approached the building, the bomb was detonated from a distance using a remote control.
The blast directly hit three people. The primary target appears to be Vadym Yermolaiev, a 58-year-old billionaire businessman originally from Ukraine who now holds Cypriot citizenship. The explosion also injured his partner and his 13-year-old son. Two bystanders suffered minor injuries from flying debris. Yermolaiev’s partner bore the brunt of the force and remains in critical, life-threatening condition in the hospital.
Monaco’s Prince Albert II quickly condemned the attack, calling it an odious act and mobilizing all public services to secure the territory. But by the time the police taped off the street, the bomber was already gone.
A Heavy Set Man Who Was Actually a Woman
Local police initially looked for a man. CCTV footage from the night of the attack showed a heavily built male figure wearing a dark long-sleeved top, light-colored shorts, and a black bucket hat. The disguise worked perfectly in the immediate aftermath of the chaos.
Monaco's deputy public prosecutor, Morgan Raymond, revealed that investigators cracked the case by looking backward. They pulled CCTV footage from the days leading up to the bombing. The suspect had spent days conducting reconnaissance around the apartment building, tracking the family's movements.
On one of those scouting days, she made a mistake. She walked past a camera with her long, dark hair completely visible. A witness also came forward, providing crucial testimony about an encounter with her before the attack.
With that breakthrough, the puzzle pieces fell into place. The French authorities also secured footage from a rental agency where the suspect used a false name to pick up a car. The heavy man in the bucket hat was actually 39-year-old Anastasiia Berezovska, a Ukrainian national who had been living in Germany.
Interpol wasted no time issuing a Red Notice for her arrest. The global wanted poster describes Berezovska as having dark hair, speaking German, and sporting a distinct tattoo—believed to be a snake—stretching from her shoulder down to her right elbow.
Who is Vadym Yermolaiev and Why Was He Targeted
To understand why someone would plant a bomb in Monaco, you have to look closely at the man who was walking through that door. Vadym Yermolaiev isn't a minor player. He’s a massive figure in the Ukrainian business world, specifically in the city of Dnipro, where he founded the Alef trade and manufacturing corporation.
Before the full-scale war disrupted everything, Forbes regularly listed Yermolaiev among the top 100 richest people in Ukraine. He made his fortune as one of the country's largest property developers. In 2019, he renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and became a citizen of Cyprus, a common move for oligarchs looking to shield their assets.
Yermolaiev's recent history is messy. In 2023, the Ukrainian government targeted him with official sanctions due to his alleged ongoing business ties with Russia. He also popped up in an investigative report by the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda titled the "Monaco Battalion," which tracked wealthy Ukrainian businessmen, politicians, and oligarchs who chose to sit out the war in luxury estates on the French Riviera.
The fact that a sanctioned tycoon with complex ties to both Ukraine and Russia was targeted by a Ukrainian national changes the flavor of this entire investigation. Unofficial reports and intelligence whispers are already looking closely at whether this was a state-sanctioned hit, with some pointing toward the potential involvement of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Ukraine has shown it can hit targets deep inside Russian territory, but a remote-controlled bomb in Monaco takes things to an entirely different geopolitical theater.
The High Speed Escape Across Three Borders
Berezovska didn't hang around to watch the smoke clear. The escape route was fast, clean, and required serious logistical planning.
Immediately after triggering the detonation, she fled the scene on foot, crossing the border into France within minutes. From there, she jumped into a rented vehicle fitted with German license plates. She drove through France, cut across northern Italy, and headed straight back to her country of residence.
Monaco investigators traced her path across several European countries, eventually placing her in the Frankfurt area of Germany. Because Germany and Monaco share an active judicial cooperation agreement, German criminal police acted fast. Special forces moved in on Thursday to search a rented flat and a car linked to a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman near Frankfurt.
They found what they were looking for. German authorities confirmed they secured significant evidence from the apartment and the vehicle, which they are now handing over to Monegasque prosecutors. The problem? Berezovska wasn't there. She remains completely on the run, likely tipped off or moved by handlers before the police kicked the door down.
Why a Solitary Bomber is Highly Unlikely
Monaco’s deputy prosecutor explicitly stated that Berezovska likely didn't act alone. The sheer sophistication of the explosive device, the remote detonation mechanism, the days of vehicle-based reconnaissance, and the seamless cross-border escape logistics require an infrastructure that a lone-wolf actor rarely possesses.
Police initially detained two men in Monaco early in the week, thinking they were accomplices. Both were later released after investigators failed to find concrete evidence tying them to the plot. The focus has now shifted entirely to finding out who built the bomb, who paid for the rental cars, and who ordered the hit from the shadows.
Western intelligence officials have openly warned that campaigns of targeted killings have spiked dramatically across Europe over the last few years. If this blast is tied back to state intelligence services or organized mercenary groups, it means the streets of Western Europe's safest playgrounds are now active zones for international score-settling.
If you are tracking this story or managing security infrastructure for high-net-worth individuals in Europe, the takeaway here is simple. The old assumptions about safety based on geography are dead. A high concentration of local police won't stop a professional hit team using disguised operatives and remote explosives. Security details must shift their focus from immediate physical threats to detecting multi-day reconnaissance operations and unexpected technical anomalies around properties. Keep a close eye on the forensic analysis coming out of France regarding the bomb's chemical signature, as that will likely reveal exactly which military or state stockpiles the explosives originated from.
