BRAZIL PERSPECTIVE

Brasília, July 4, 2026. On the evening of June 29, a package bomb injured three people in Monaco: Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev, his companion - still in critical condition - and their 13-year-old son. The explosion occurred around 9:00 p.m. near the Place des Moulins, on the French-Monégasque border, in what G1 Globo describes as a "first of its kind in the Principality".

The Monégasque justice system has identified the main suspect: Anastasiia Berezovska, a 39-year-old German-speaking Ukrainian. Interpol has issued a red notice for attempted homicide, placement of explosives in a public place, and criminal association. According to Vice Prosecutor Morgan Raymond, cited by Folha de S.Paulo, Berezovska allegedly deposited the package and then triggered the explosion remotely via remote control when the victims arrived. She then reportedly walked to France and took a rented vehicle from Germany to flee through several European countries, including Italy. Authorities initially described the suspect as male after spotting someone in dark clothing on surveillance cameras. Raymond clarified that the suspect had frequented the area in the preceding days, dressed similarly.

The profile of the victim shapes the Brazilian narrative. Yermolaiev has been under Ukrainian sanctions since December 2023, decided by the National Security Council of Zelensky due to his alcohol business activities in Russian-occupied Crimea. The Brazilian press links the attack to the accusations made on July 2 by the German Federal Prosecutor's Office against a former Ukrainian officer, Serhii K., for the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in September 2022. Serhii K. allegedly led a team of divers and explosives experts from a rented yacht, entering Germany with a fake passport. This is the first time Ukrainian state authorities have been formally accused in this case.

For the press in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Monaco and Nord Stream signal a conflict whose operations extend far beyond combat zones. Veja recalls that Kiev had just suffered, on July 3, the deadliest drone and missile attack since 2022: at least 30 dead and more than 90 injured. Brazilian coverage remains factual, without an official stance from Brasília, and contextualizes the attack within the logic of a conflict with ramifications now reaching European financial hubs.