The 27-year-old man was reportedly sprayed with a gas canister by a group of teenagers in a suspected racially motivated attack
A group of Ukrainian teenagers assaulted a black employee of the US embassy in Kiev, several Ukrainian media outlets reported on Sunday, citing law enforcement sources.
Police in Kiev have confirmed that a criminal investigation has begun a case involving “hooliganism against a foreigner,” but did not identify the victim. The attack occurred in a supermarket in the western part of the Ukrainian capital when two 12-year-olds and one 13-year-old approached the foreigner, with one of them spraying the man using a gas canister.
It is unclear whether the victim of the attack suffered injury.
Ukrainian officials said it took two hours for police to identify the suspects, adding that they had been invited to a police station with their parents to testify. Police also said they had confiscated the canister used in the incident.
Meanwhile, Strana.ua identified the victim as a 27-year-old male working in security at the US embassy in Kiev, adding that the juvenile justice department was also looking into the incident. The Ukrainian Telegram channel ‘All-seeing Eye’ suggested that the motive for the attack was “most likely the color of the skin.”
While those convicted of such an offense could face up to four years in prison, the suspects are all under the age of 14, making them immune from prosecution.
The Ukrainian police shared images of the suspects, whose faces are blurred, surrounded by several unidentified adults, as well as a photo of the canister used in the attack.
While pepper spray canisters are heavily regulated or outright banned in many EU states, it is legal to purchase most types of these devices in Ukraine for people over 18, typically costing around $5 each.
The latest incident is not the first time that an employee of the US embassy in Kiev has been attacked. In 2020, a female American citizen working for the diplomatic mission was found unconscious near a railway line. She had suffered a head injury and died several hours later. While Ukrainian police announced a manhunt in the wake of the incident, local media later suggested that the woman may have been killed in a train accident.
