Authorities in Monaco have identified a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman as the primary suspect in a parcel bomb attack that seriously injured three people, including a sanctioned Ukrainian businessman, and say she allegedly disguised herself as a man while carrying out the operation.
Interpol has issued a Red Notice for Anastasiia Berezovska, who is wanted on charges including attempted murder, deploying an explosive device in a public place and criminal conspiracy. Investigators believe she fled Monaco shortly after the attack, travelling through Italy before entering Germany, where police continue to search for her.
The explosion occurred shortly after 9 p.m. local time on Monday after a package was left in the entrance of a residential building in Monaco. The device detonated moments after three residents entered the building.
While authorities have not officially identified the victims, local media have reported that the intended target was Vadym Yermolaiev, a wealthy real estate developer originally from Ukraine, along with his partner and 13-year-old son.
Investigators believe Berezovska spent several days conducting surveillance of the residence before carrying out the attack. Monaco Deputy Prosecutor Morgan Raymond said surveillance footage captured the suspect wearing a dark bucket hat before she fled the scene on foot. She is later believed to have collected a rental vehicle and driven through Italy into Germany.
Interpol has released photographs of Berezovska, describing her as having shoulder-length dark hair and a distinctive tattoo—possibly depicting a snake—on her right arm. The international police organization is asking its 196 member countries to locate and provisionally arrest her pending extradition.
German authorities confirmed that special police units searched an apartment rented by a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman in the Main-Taunus district of Hesse on Thursday. Officers also seized a vehicle believed to have been used by the suspect. Investigators said evidence recovered during the searches has been handed over to Monaco’s authorities, but the suspect remains at large.
Monaco Public Prosecutor Stéphane Thibault praised the close cooperation between Monaco and French investigators, saying it enabled authorities to quickly identify the suspected attacker.
Prince Albert II of Monaco condemned the bombing as a “heinous crime.”
The three victims were transported to hospitals in Nice following the explosion. The two adults sustained serious injuries, while the teenage boy suffered minor injuries and was reported to be in stable condition. Officials later said the male victim was no longer in critical condition, though the woman’s condition remained serious.
Yermolaiev, believed to have been the target of the attack, renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and is now a Cypriot citizen. He has significant business interests in the wine and alcohol sector in Russian-annexed Crimea and has been under Ukrainian sanctions since 2023. In 2020, Forbes Ukraine ranked him among the country’s wealthiest individuals, estimating his fortune at approximately US$230 million.
