In Switzerland, Ukrainian students were attacked by two men: one of them was Russian, and the other introduced himself as Belarusian. The incident happened in Zurich on August 13, 2022.
Source: Ukrainian students Sofia Sukach and Yana Sonchkivska
Ukrainian Students Yana Sonchkivska, Sofia Sukach and Denys Sharlai got into a dispute in the center of Zurich on August 13.
“Yesterday my friends and I were attacked by two Russian-speaking guys in the very center of Zürich, Switzerland. The one who was claiming to be from Belarus pushed me to the wall, yelled to go back home and twice hit one of the friends who were trying to defend me,” Sofia wrote on her Twitter.
Ukrainian students attacked by a Russian and a Belarusian
When students go to the station, they heard a voice that sounded like something familiar.
Denys asked: “Is it Belarusian or Russian?” We said among ourselves that the language is similar to Belarusian. Then two men come up and say: “No, it’s Russian.”
A dialogue started between the companies as they walked through the city. One of the men said he was from Moscow, and the other introduced himself as Belarusian.
“I spoke to him in English and did not switch to Russian. He began to accuse me of condemning his language and the language of his friend,” Sofia says.
Sofia replied that the friends just heard a familiar language, but did not address the two of them.
At that time, Denys and Yana were talking to a Russian who said that “ordinary people” were not to blame for the war.
“He began to say in his native Russian that the people are not to blame – it’s all politicians”.
Ukrainian students did not say a single word about politics, the Russian language, about Russia, their army, or the people.
The man, who identified himself as Belarusian, asked Sofia’s age and tried to find out why she came to Switzerland.
“I said that because of the fact that rockets are flying in my country from his friend’s country and his country as well. It must have made him angry.”
A girl also added that she studies journalism here to “spread the truth and not be like Russian propagandists.”
After these words, the girl was pressed against the wall.
“He was yelling “Go back home and die. I’ll put you in your place you f*cking Ukrainian c*unt”. Maybe it happened because of my necklace with our National symbol, or maybe the fact that I kept speaking with him in English and refusing to switch to Russian offended him that much.”
While Sofia was being comforted by a passer-by, the man still hit Denis in the shoulder. Then Yana started filming the conflict.
“The next time you want to say “Not all Russians are like that. This is only Putin’s war, please remember my situation,” adds Sofia Sukach.
In the end, the students decided to file a complaint with the police.
See also: Russians began mass filtration of civilians in Melitopol in Ukraine’s south
