The suspect wanted over a parcel bomb that tore through a Monaco apartment block, leaving a Ukrainian billionaire without his legs and his partner fighting for life, is a Ukrainian woman in her thirties who disguised herself as a man, investigators have disclosed.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the woman, who remains at large and is believed to have fled to Italy after crossing the border from France. An Interpol Red Notice is being prepared, Monaco’s prosecutor’s office confirmed on Thursday night.
“Ukrainian woman in 30s, disguised as man, wanted over Monaco parcel bomb that injured billionaire and his family.”
“She is armed and dangerous, and thought to be in the company of accomplices,” an investigating source told local media. “She should be approached with extreme caution.”
The bomb, hidden inside a rucksack dumped in the foyer of the Sun’s Palace building shortly before 9pm on Monday, was detonated by mobile phone as three people entered. The blast seriously wounded Vadym Yermolaiev, 58, a sanctioned Cypriot-Ukrainian real estate mogul once ranked by Forbes as the 39th richest Ukrainian, his partner Anna Nasobina, 46, and their 13-year-old son.
Ms Nasobina had both legs amputated after the explosion, while both adults suffered severe shrapnel wounds and burns. The boy, whose mother took the full force of the blast, has made a rapid recovery and is now giving evidence to police. “He is telling them exactly what he saw, although clearly his memory is very blurred,” a security source said.
Surveillance footage showed the suspect wearing a black bucket hat and placing the package in the entrance hall, then fleeing on foot across the border to the French town of Beausoleil, where there are no checkpoints. From there, investigators believe she made her way to Italy.
Monaco’s public prosecutor, Stéphane Thibault, thanked police from Monaco and France for their co-operation, which he said made it possible “to identify, in a particularly short time, the person suspected of having carried out the attack.” He said an update would be given around midday Friday.
The suspect was originally thought to be a man, but local media outlets reported that the person of interest was in fact a woman trying to conceal her identity. Thibault declined to comment on that detail.
Monaco authorities have not officially named the victims, but local reports confirm the target was Yermolaiev, who renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and has major wine and alcohol interests in Russian-annexed Crimea. He has been under Ukrainian sanctions since 2023.
Judicial authorities in both France and Monaco have opened a criminal inquiry for attempted murder, planting an explosive device, and criminal conspiracy. Monaco’s Prince Albert II described the incident as a “heinous crime.”
As the manhunt enters its fourth day, the question remains: where is the woman who walked into the Sun’s Palace with a rucksack – and who else may be helping her?