Wife of Ukrainian oligarch had her legs blown off in Monaco bomb blast ‘while trying to
The wife of a Ukrainian oligarch is fighting for her life in a hospital after her legs were blown off while she tried to protect her teenage son from a bomb attack on her family.
Anna Ermolaev, 56, Vadim Ermolaev, 58, and their teenage son, David, suffered multiple shrapnel wounds on Monday evening after a backpack full of nuts and bolts exploded in the foyer of their apartment block in Monaco, according to local reports.
Citing a source close to the case, French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the 13-year-old was thrown nearly 50ft by the force of the explosion, and his mother may have become injured while trying to protect him.
Meanwhile, Mrs Ermolaev is being treated at a hospital in Nice, Christophe Mirmand, the minister of state for Monaco, told French news broadcaster LCI on Tuesday.
He did not comment on the seriousness of her injuries, but a source in France said she had had her limbs, including her legs, amputated.
Her husband and child suffered less severe injuries but remain in the hospital, Mirmand added.
Images of the man who targeted them at the iconic Sun Palace flats were captured on CCTV, and he is still at large, and described by a police source as ‘armed and dangerous’.
Mirmand said: ‘It was noted that the man had driven around the area several times before the bomb blast, allowing him to lie in wait for the victims.
Pictured: Anna Ermolaev, 56, who had her legs blown off in a bomb attack in Monaco, according to reports
Anna and her husband have been transported to secure rooms at the Pasteur Hospital in the French city of Nice
Pictured: Victim Vadim Ermolaev – a Ukrainian oligarch
‘This clearly indicates that he was likely conducting surveillance.’
An Interior Ministry source in Paris said the French RAID, which stands for ‘Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence’, was surrounding them.
The elite tactical police unit mainly deals with high-profile counter-terrorism cases and the protection of VIPs.
The explosion occurred around 9 p.m. on Monday at the entrance of a residence near the French border.
The three victims were ‘apparently returning home peacefully’ in the early evening, according to surveillance footage, Mirmand said.
‘They were caught in the explosion as they crossed the threshold of their apartment building,’ he said.
‘It appears that the family was specifically targeted,’ he emphasised.
The attack has shocked the elite principality on the Mediterranean Coast. Monaco’s Prince Albert II described it as ‘an odious act’ and said all the country’s services were mobilised to ensure security.
Ermolaev, who made his fortune in commerce following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has made a huge number of enemies since fleeing his native Ukraine around a decade ago.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky authorised sanctions against him in December 2023 because his drinks business in the occupied Crimea was still doing business with Russia.
He produces a ‘geographically protected Crimean wine for the Russians’, which is still sold in Europe and the United States, said an investigating source.
Ermolaev is also a co-owner of Versobank, an Estonian bank which had its licence suspended by the European Central Bank in March 2018 for the ‘systematic violation of anti-money laundering legislation.’
Anna Emolaev poses in this undated photograph
Pictured: Anna with three of her children, including teenage son David and daughters Sonya and Dayana (28)
Ermolaev’s eldest son, 36-year-old Artur Ermolaev, was arrested by police in Cyprus at the end of 2025, following claims that both he and his father were making millions from fraudulent call centres targeting EU citizens.
Both Ermolaevs deny any wrongdoing, saying all of their business activities are above board.
Ermolaev was originally a real estate developer in his home city of Dnipro, central Ukraine, where he set up his hugely successful Alef Group.
In recent years, the family has been living in luxury in Monaco, where they have had a very high profile.
Ermolaev was known for parking his Ukrainian-registered Bentley outside the Monte Carlo Casino.
He also owned a super yacht flying the Ukrainian flag and owned a high-security villa in nearby Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
Ermolaev has stated that the Ukrainian tax system is ‘very unfair’, and this prompted him to take Cypriot nationality in 2019.
An aide to France’s Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, said police were working ‘to find the perpetrator, who has fled’.
A view of the residential building where an explosive device seriously injured three people in Monaco, Tuesday, June 30
Members of a bomb disposal team operate the day after an alleged attack involving an explosive device in the lobby of a residential building, in Monaco on June 30
Shards of glass on a damaged window of a residential building, following an explosion on Monday, in Monaco, June 30
This photograph shows Monaco’s emergency services deployed near the area of the explosion
Monaco is a globally famous tax haven on the French Riviera, full of high-net-worth residents.
It prides itself on its crime-free reputation and attracts billionaire businesspeople and celebrities from all over the world.
But there have been numerous corruption scandals on the so-called Rock in recent years, including allegations of money laundering by mafia-style gangs, including ones from Ukraine.
Prince Albert, the ruler of Monaco, has pledged to clamp down on corruption, with the help of the French authorities.
Despite Monaco’s independence, its defence is primarily the responsibility of the government in Paris.
Following the bomb blast, Prince Albert described the atrocity as ‘obnoxious’, adding: ‘The Principality of Monaco will remain united and determined in the face of violence and crime. The safety of our community has always been a priority – it will remain so more than ever, whatever the threats.’