A Ukrainian millionaire who was the target of a bombing incident in Monaco has accused Ukraine’s top intelligence agency of orchestrating the attack. The explosion, caused by a homemade bomb filled with bolts and pellets, took place at the Sun Palace apartment building where Vadym Yermolaiev, a property magnate, resided with his partner and their 13-year-old son. The blast resulted in severe injuries to all three individuals, with Yermolaiev’s partner reportedly losing her legs in the explosion.

Yermolaiev, in his first public statement after the attack, alleged that the military intelligence agency of Ukraine, known as HUR, was directly involved in the assassination attempt. While he did not present evidence to support his claims, he stated that active officers from the ministry of defence’s main intelligence directorate were linked to the incident. The main suspect in the bombing, Anastasiia Berezovska, was discovered dead near Kyiv a week later, with signs of gunshot wounds.

A member of Ukrainian military intelligence, Vladyslav Reut, and his co-defendant Vitalii Zhykovych, who worked for SBU (Ukraine’s internal security agency), have been charged in connection with Berezovska’s murder. Both individuals have denied any involvement, with Reut initially confessing to the killing but later retracting his statement and blaming Zhykovych.

Yermolaiev, ranked as the 39th wealthiest Ukrainian by Forbes in 2020, amassed a fortune of £172 million from property ventures. In a published statement, he described the harrowing attack and emphasized the deliberate intent to harm all three victims. Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for HUR, refuted the allegations, labeling them as “subjective political statements” that could hinder the ongoing investigation.

The narrative of the incident paints a grim picture of a targeted attack on Yermolaiev and his family, leaving them with life-altering injuries and trauma.