Two Ukrainian men who were stabbed to death in the southern German state of Bavaria, allegedly by a Russian citizen, were members of the armed forces, according to information from Kiev.
The two men had been in Germany for medical rehabilitation after sustaining injuries during the war, Ukrainian media reported.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba instructed his diplomats to keep a special eye on the case and maintain constant contact with Germany’s security agencies so that the suspect would be punished according to the full severity of the law, the reports said on Sunday evening.
The wwo men were stabbed on the premises of a shopping centre in the town of Murnau on Saturday evening. Shortly afterwards, police arrested a 57-year-old Russian.
According to police, there are no indications so far that the crime is connected to the Russian war against Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin launched on February 24, 2022.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians live in Germany.
The Ukrainian nationals, aged 23 and 36, both lived in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. They died from stab wounds: the older of the two directly at the scene of the crime, the younger a short time later in hospital.
The investigating judge issued an arrest warrant for murder on Sunday.
According to the investigations so far, it appears that the three men knew each other.
“We have clear evidence that the suspect was under the influence of alcohol,” said police spokesman Stefan Sonntag.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk on Sunday: “There are witness statements that the three people involved had been seen together before. There are indications that a lot of alcohol was involved with all those involved. This all needs to be clarified.”
“At the moment, we have no compelling evidence that this is a reflection of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” he said.
At the scene of the crime at a shopping centre on Monday there were flowers and banners that read: “No war! No murders! No death!”
Next to them were pictures of the two people killed, the Ukrainian flag and candles.
