A teenage Ukrainian refugee has been stabbed to death by a gang of eight Arab youths in a savage “racially-motivated” attack in Germany.
Aspiring basketballer Volodymyr Yermakov, 17, and his friend and teammate Artem K, 18, were knifed nine times in the chest and stomach at the main train station in the city of Oberhausen at 8pm on Saturday.
The two athletes were confronted by the group of youths after taking a bus from the Centro shopping centre to the station on their way to Dusseldorf, and stabbed in a frenzied attack immediately after getting off.
Volodymyr died of his injuries while Artem is still fighting for life in intensive care, and a Turkish national, 15, with a long criminal history has been arrested, Bild reported.
The Kyiv Basketball Federation (KBF) said in a social media post that the pair were attacked “just because they were Ukrainians”.
“According to preliminary information, the criminals are eight young people of Arab appearance,” the KBF said.
“The whole team spent the night at the hospital next to our boys. Unfortunately, doctors could not save Volodymyr.”
The Ukrainian Basketball Association said: “In order to escape the war in his country of birth, he moved to Düsseldorf in July 2023, where he found his new home.
“Volodymyr was very popular with coaches, teammates and friends. A young person will be remembered whose everyday life was characterised by pure joy of life and sporting ambition.”
Knife attacks in Germany increased 30% in 2023, the Federal Ministry of the Interior revealed last week in response to a request from right-wing party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
51% of the 1160 cases of knife violence were carried out by non-Germans, with Syrians responsible for the most attacks, followed by Poles, Turks, Afghans, Algerians, Moroccans and Iraqis.
Just 15% of Germany’s population are foreign nationals.
The anti-immigration AfD is surging in the polls, and is now the second most popular party nationwide.
