In New York, prosecutors are investigating hate crimes and attempted murder against a Ukrainian. The 31-year-old man is accused of injuring another Ukrainian immigrant with two broken beer bottles in late April after hearing him speak Russian.
The attacker Oleg S. is said to have asked his victim for proof of his ethnicity. When he couldn’t deliver it to his satisfaction, the prosecutor says the accused said: “I’ll show you what a real Ukrainian is,” smashed two beer bottles and then slashed his face and neck with the glass.
The accused told the judiciary that the victim “looked like a Russian”.
The charges total 24 counts, including, in addition to hate crimes, attempted murder, assault and attempted assault. In a statement, the prosecutor was quoted as saying: “This defendant appears to have attempted to murder an innocent Ukrainian man whom he believed to be Russian in a hateful and violent rage.”
According to the judiciary, Oleg S. pleaded “not guilty” on Wednesday. The incident happened on April 25, 2022 at the Signature Restaurant & Falada Lounge in south Brooklyn, Sheepshead Bay.
Many immigrants from Ukraine and Russia live in the New York district.
According to local media, alcohol played a role in the argument.
Increase in hatred ‘worrying’
“Brooklyn’s diversity is what makes our district so vibrant and hate-motivated violence will never be tolerated here,” the prosecutor said.
“Prosecutors in our Hate Violence Division will be vigorously seeking accountability in this case, and we are working with our community partners and law enforcement agencies to end the worrying rise of prejudice in our neighborhoods.”
The defendant was released under supervision after his indictment and is due to appear in court again on August 8. The man he allegedly stabbed, Andrii M., 36, required 17 stitches to treat his wounds, prosecutors said.
Opposite of New York Post the victim explained that his mother was Russian and that he grew up in eastern Ukraine. He and his acquaintance in the bar spoke Russian and then switched to Ukrainian when they noticed that the accused was upset. He asked him to say the word palyanyzja (a type of white bread) – because Russians apparently often have problems with it.
The defendant’s lawyer, for his part, alleged that his client had been “beaten up” and beaten by three people in the bar. S. suffered a collapsed lung and other injuries.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, many Russians abroad have reported discrimination.
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