A car bomb targeting a Ukrainian oligarch in Monaco this morning has sent shockwaves through Whitehall. The attack, which killed the oligarch's driver and injured two bodyguards, is being treated as a potential Russian intelligence operation. British security services are now scrambling to assess the risk to London's Ukrainian community and visiting dignitaries.
The victim, Viktor Polischuk, 52, is a known critic of the Kremlin with close ties to the Ukrainian government. He survived but is in critical condition. The device, planted under his armoured Mercedes, was triggered by remote control as the vehicle left his apartment in the Fontvieille district.
For the Met Police's Counter Terrorism Command, this is a wake-up call. Monaco may be a tax haven, but it is a target-rich environment. If the GRU or FSB can strike there, they can certainly strike here. The worry is that they already have. Sources whisper about 'increased chatter' around the Russian embassy in Kensington.
Downing Street declined to comment publicly, but I'm told the Cobra committee met this afternoon. The PM was briefed by MI5 and GCHQ. The official line is that 'the threat level remains unchanged' – but that's standard deflection. Behind the scenes, the security net is being tightened around high-profile Ukrainians in the UK.
The Foreign Office has quietly advised all Ukrainian MPs and business figures currently in Britain to vary their routines and avoid predictable travel patterns. One junior minister let slip that the 'contingency plan for state-sponsored attacks' was being dusted off. That is code for the kind of operations we usually only see in spy novels.
This attack also reignites the debate about Russian assets in London. Polischuk was known to have property in Mayfair. There are dozens like him. Each one a potential lever for Moscow. The Home Office has been keener on sanctions than actual protection. That might now change.
Opposition MPs are already demanding a statement. Labour's shadow home secretary called it 'a brazen act of war by proxy'. Hyperbole, perhaps, but the sentiment is real. The public expects safety. The government expects to be questioned about it.
For now, the situation is fluid. The bomb dust has not settled in Monaco. But in the corridors of power here, the alert status has gone up a notch. And the game, as ever, is about who knows what and who pays the price.
