Law enforcement officers have detained two suspects who, according to the case materials, attempted to kill a man in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region, on the grounds of religious differences. The suspects face up to 15 years in prison.
This was reported by the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Kyiv region.
Law enforcement officers found out that on the night of April 13, a 35-year-old man entered a local establishment and greeted those present with the traditional Christian greeting “Christ is Risen.” One of the visitors, a 19-year-old man who professes a different faith, reacted aggressively to this. A verbal argument broke out on religious grounds, during which the young man decided to kill his Christian opponent.
“Later, the attacker called an acquaintance, who is also a representative of a different religion, and offered to resolve the conflict together. Soon, a 23-year-old friend arrived and handed him a knife,” the police said.
Law enforcement officers noted that both suspects caught up with the victim, knocked him to the ground. The younger of them inflicted two stab wounds to the abdomen and neck. Convinced that this would certainly lead to death, the men fled the scene.
“Doctors provided the victim with timely medical assistance and saved him,” the report says.
The suspects were detained in the Lviv region. Both were charged with attempted murder committed in a preliminary conspiracy by a group of persons and motivated by religious intolerance (Part 2, Article 15, Subparagraph 12, Part 14, Article 115, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The court remanded them in custody without bail.