Allegations of Ukrainian Intelligence Involvement in Monaco Explosion Surface

Moscow (ANTARA) - An assassination attempt on Ukrainian businessman Vadim Yermolayev in Monaco is strongly suspected to have involved Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), a Russian official has claimed. The accusation was made by Rodion Miroshnik, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry. “There is no doubt that the Ukrainian security service, individuals from intelligence circles, and criminal groups were involved in this case,” Miroshnik told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti on Thursday. According to Miroshnik, such incidents will continue to escalate unless Ukraine receives a stern rebuke or punishment from the international community. However, he assessed that so far there is no indication the international community is willing to impose sanctions on Ukraine over the event. A powerful explosion rocked Monaco on Monday evening local time. Local authorities confirmed the incident injured three people, consisting of a man, a woman, and a child. The communications firm Silver Eye, representing Yermolayev, later confirmed that the prominent businessman and his son were among those injured in the blast. French newspaper Le Figaro, citing police sources on 29 June, reported that two of the three injured were in critical condition. Based on CCTV footage, an unidentified man was seen leaving a backpack at the entrance of the building moments before another person entered. Responding to the incident, Monaco’s Minister of State Christophe Mirmand initially described the event as the first terrorist attack in the principality’s history. However, Monaco’s Attorney General Stephane Thibault stated that based on preliminary data, the explosion had not yet been classified as a terrorist attack. Meanwhile, Le Figaro reported that the priority scenario for Monegasque investigators currently points to the suspicion that the explosion was masterminded by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The act is strongly suspected to have been a severe warning directed at the businessman.