‘Ukrainian woman’ identified as suspect in Monaco bomb attack – media

< warm>A Ukrainian adult female who allegedly disguised herself as a adult male to switch police off the trail has been identified as the main suspect in the Monaco bomb attack that seriously injured Ukrainian millionaire Vadim Ermolaev and his family, Le Figaro and BFM TV have reported.

More than 48 hours after the blast, Monaco police identified the suspect and located the fugitive in a European country that is neither Monaco nor France, BFM TV reported, citing sources. Monaco’s judicial authorities have reportedly requested Interpol assistance in seeking her arrest.

The suspect is accused of planting a booby-trapped bag at the entrance to a residential building on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla on Monday evening. The explosion wounded Ermolaev, his partner Anna Nasobina, and their 13-year-old son.

According to BFM TV investigative sources, the person suspected of placing the bag is in fact a woman, confirming an earlier report by Le Figaro. An internal Monaco police note seen by the outlet said the suspect “is likely to disguise herself in a way that makes her appear to be a man.”

The suspect reportedly carried out several reconnaissance passes on the day of the attack. Shortly before 9pm, she allegedly spotted the Ukrainian family near Place des Moulins and began following them.

She then walked ahead of the family, keeping roughly ten meters in front of them, before heading to the entrance of their building, climbing the three steps to the door, and placing the booby-trapped bag there, according to the report.

The suspect then left the scene in a hurry, turning back to make sure the family had entered the building. The 13-year-old boy was the first to go inside.

The device was detonated remotely as Nasobina, Ermolaev’s partner, passed near the bag, “using an object resembling a remote control,” a source close to the case told BFM TV.

Nasobina’s life remains in danger, and she has had both legs amputated, according to media reports. Ermolaev and the teenager were also seriously injured in the blast.

Investigators are reportedly focusing on two main theories behind the attempted assassination: organized crime or foreign interference. Le Figaro previously reported, citing sources close to the case, that investigators were looking at possible involvement by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), describing it as one of the priority lines of inquiry.

Ermolaev, a Ukrainian-born businessman who now holds Cypriot citizenship, was sanctioned by Kiev in December 2023 over alleged business activity in Crimea. His lawyers have denied wrongdoing and called the sanctions arbitrary and politically motivated.

Former French intelligence officer Claude Moniquet told Nice-Matin that Ermolaev had in recent weeks been preparing to give a presentation at the European Parliament to expose corruption in Ukraine, which he said Kiev may have viewed as a provocation.

The unprecedented bombing has shocked Monaco, one of Europe’s most heavily surveilled and secure enclaves, where many wealthy Ukrainians have relocated since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022.

---

---