Save articles for later
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
German police are investigating a man, suspected to be Russian, after he allegedly threw a 10-year-old Ukrainian boy off a bridge for speaking his native language.
Investigators believe the attack was politically motivated as refugees from Ukraine face a backlash in Germany where more than a million have been welcomed since the start of Russia’s invasion.
German police are investigating the incident.Credit: Getty
The man, thought to be in his early 40s and speaking in Russian, approached a group of children in the town of Einbeck in Lower Saxony who were sitting together on a bridge speaking Ukrainian.
He told them they should be speaking Russian instead and that it was in fact Ukraine that started the war.
The man then pulled the hair of a girl and threw a boy over the bridge’s five-metre high railing and into the canal, according to investigators.
The boy hit the bridge’s iron girders before dropping into the water.
The man then picked up a glass bottle and threw it at the boy while he was still in the water, hitting him on the right shoulder. The attacker fled as the other children helped the injured boy out of the water and told their parents.
The boy suffered light injuries to his left foot and head, but was released from hospital shortly after being admitted.
Attacks against Ukrainians in Germany have increased since Berlin strengthened its support for Kyiv with heavier weaponry and opened its doors to refugees.
Both the far-right, which tends to be sympathetic towards Putin, and Russians living in Germany have baulked at this support and become increasingly hostile towards Ukrainians. In one recent act, Ukrainian students in Frankfurt woke up to find the letter Z, a symbol of Putin’s war, scrawled on their dormitory.
Russia has garnered support from right-wing supporters in Germany.Credit: Getty
Some Ukrainians in the German capital have reported removing all Ukrainian symbols from their clothing for fear of being targeted.
Germany has an estimated 3.5 million ethnic Russians, the highest population in the Western world, as well as Russians of German heritage and Russian Jews.
Millions migrated to Germany in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Though mostly well-integrated, some are suspected of harbouring pro-Kremlin sympathies, which have come to the fore since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“This clearly shows the level of hatred among a certain large group who lives in Germany. Many identify themselves with Russia and the Soviet Union – they watch Russian TV and are totally brainwashed with Russian propaganda,” said Sergej Sumlenny, the director of the European Resilience Centre.
Though this attack was “extreme” and “absolutely unprovoked” it was also “not an exception” Mr Sumlenny told the Telegraph. “This is a standard level of anti-Ukrainianism that you see among Russians, a readiness to hate, cause pain and even kill indiscriminately just because this person speaks Ukrainian.”
The Telegraph, London
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
Most Viewed in World
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article