Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, stated that Ukraine has contacted Slovak law enforcement authorities following reports in the media that a Ukrainian citizen was beaten to death in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
Sybiha wrote this in a post on the social media platform X, as reported by Ukrinform.
“Shocked by the tragic death of a Ukrainian citizen in Bratislava. We cannot exclude ethnic hatred as one of the reasons for this crime. Under my directions, our embassy has already contacted the Slovak police and ombudsman. We demand an impartial investigation and accountability,” Sybiha wrote.
Earlier, several Slovak media outlets reported that on January 30, a homeless man, who was a Ukrainian citizen, was beaten to death in the Slovak capital.
As reported by TASR, the Slovak news broadcaster, the homeless man was found outside a shopping center in Bratislava. Acting Police Corps president Jana Maskarova said on Monday that police are working with multiple versions in the given case. According to Interior Ministry State Secretary Lucia Kurilovska, it can’t yet be said whether police brutality was involved. According to the information of the TA3 website, it is suspected that the man had been attacked by private security personnel and a police patrol from the Bratislava borough of Ruzinov before being found on the premises of the shopping centre. The incident was said to have occurred after the man was caught shoplifting in the store.
As reported by Ukrinform, in April 2024, a 57-year-old man from Germany of Russian descent murdered two Ukrainians, aged 36 and 23, in Bavaria, using a knife. Later, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the victims were military personnel who were undergoing rehabilitation in Germany after sustaining injuries. The suspect, Yuriy Zh., has been arrested, and an arrest warrant was issued for him on charges of double murder. The investigation is ongoing, and the motives for the crime have not been disclosed.
The Munich Prosecutor’s Office has taken over the investigation of the case and stated that it cannot exclude a political motivation for the crime.
The Bavarian Interior Minister, Joachim Herrmann, commented that “alcohol may have also played a role” in the case, referring to witnesses who claimed to have seen the three men together earlier.
Source: Beating to death of Ukrainian in Slovakia: Ukraine’s MFA demands investigation
