An attacker stormed a Ukraine demonstration in Berlin on Saturday with a knife and injured himself. Eyewitnesses described the incident to the Berliner KURIER. The man stormed towards the stage at around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, when two Ukrainian speakers were giving a speech there. Demonstrators were able to push him away. He then injured himself. The police were able to overpower the man and then arrest him.
According to the Berlin police, the man is a Ukrainian citizen. The police did not want to confirm reports that he had attacked the speakers. A police spokesman told the KURIER that the colleagues on site did not believe that the man had planned an attack on speakers or participants in the demonstration.
Man storms Ukraine demonstration in Berlin with knife
The man stormed towards the speakers, who had their backs turned to him, with his upper body bare. “I was about two metres behind the man,” Maria Borysenko describes the threatening situation. The man walked quickly towards the stage, holding a knife. However, this was noticed by demonstrators and he was pushed away. “He then began to cut himself in the chest with the knife,” reports the spokeswoman for the Ukrainian association Vitsche.
According to eyewitness reports, the man had painted both a Russian and a Ukrainian flag on his upper body. He was also said to have carried a sign. According to eyewitnesses, he did not shout anything during the attack. “But it was clearly his intention to disrupt our demonstration,” said Maria Borysenko.
Police can overpower attackers
Blood flowed as the man cut himself in the chest with the knife. Photos from the crime scene after the incident showed blood stains. The police, who had been alerted in the meantime, were able to overpower the man, as video footage available to the Berliner KURIER shows. He was arrested and taken away. Speakers and demonstrators were not injured in the incident. The arrested man received medical treatment.
Between 100 and 200 Ukrainians and supporters gathered behind the Brandenburg Gate on Saturday for the rally to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day. The rally behind the Brandenburg Gate is part of a series of events. A demonstration will also start from there in the evening. The Ukrainians and supporters are calling for greater support for the country attacked by Russia.
