Monaco bombing was ‘attempted assassination’, not terror attack, say prosecutors

Police in Monaco are searching for a suspected bomber after a Ukrainian-born business tycoon, his wife and their child were injured in an unprecedented attack that has shaken the normally ultra-safe principality.

Monaco prosecutor said this morning that the investigation was opened into an attempted assassination, after a terrorist attack was ruled out through early inquiries.

The authorities are still looking to identify the suspect.

As the Guardian’s Pjotr Sauer reported,

The Monaco government said a suspect had left a parcel bomb in the lobby of a residential building that exploded shortly before 9pm on Monday, causing what officials described as a “powerful explosion”.

French media identified the victims as Vadym Iermolaiev, his wife and their 13-year-old child. Iermolaiev and his wife had been taken to hospital with serious injuries, while their child was also wounded, French authorities said.

Originally from the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Iermolaiev founded the Alef trade and industrial corporation and became one of the region’s most influential property developers and businessmen.

I will bring you all the updates during the day.

We will also look at the latest from the German investigation into yesterday’s shooting in the northern city of Stade, which left six people dead, and the latest from across Europe and from Ukraine.

It’s Tuesday, 30 June 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.