Russians Are Hunting Down Ukrainian Refugees in Heart of NATO

Attacks on Ukrainian refugees who fled to NATO nations due to Russia's war in Ukraine may be on the rise.

A Russian woman, 43, and a German man, 44, have been accused of killing 27-year-old Ukrainian refugee Marharyta Razaz, whose body was found on the banks of the Rhine River in Hockenheim, Germany, on March 7, four months after arriving from Slovakia after fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The suspects are also accused of kidnapping Razaz's five-week-old baby, German newspaper Bild reported.

Nearly 6.5 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded globally as of February 2024, according to the UNHCR, a United Nations Refugee Agency, which notes that Poland hosts the greatest number of Ukrainian refugees—nearly 60 percent. Germany hosts more than one million Ukrainian refugees, according to Statista.

Razaz fled Kharkiv, Ukraine, and had been living with her mother in a refugee shelter in Mannheim. Police found that she had died due to "external violence."

Citing Ukrainian media reports, Bild said Razaz and her mother were last seen at a restaurant with a woman from Walldorf who is believed to have offered Ukrainian refugees help in processing German documents through social media.

The news outlet said it's unclear whether the woman from Walldorf is the same 43-year-old Russian woman who is in custody on suspicion of murder. The victim's mother, Maryna Stetsenko, 51, is still missing.

"The couple is said to have murdered Mia's mother Marharyta R. (27, nickname Rita) and her grandmother Maryna Stetsenko (51) in order to kidnap the child!" Bild reported.

In another incident in November, Bild reported that a group of four Ukrainians was provoked and attacked by seven Russians in the city of Bremen, Germany, who approached them shouting pro-Russian slogans, including "Freedom to Russia."

Investigative outlet Balkan Insight separately reported that attacks on Ukrainians are also rising in the Czech Republic, which is home to over 380,000 Ukrainian refugees. It cited a report by legal organization In Iustitia that found hate crimes targeting Ukrainians are continuing to "significantly increase."

This uptick in attacks on Ukrainian refugees "reflects the influence of critics of the involvement of the Czech state in supporting Ukrainian refugees and the Ukrainian government in defending its territory," In Iustitia said. "It is...violence intended to express intolerance towards refugees or support for Russian imperialism."

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