Ukrainian women reported attacks by Russian-speaking man in Switzerland: he threatened to rape their children. PHOTOS
More than ten Ukrainian women living in Switzerland reported aggressive behaviour and an attack on them by Latvian citizen Alexander Vabiks because they spoke Ukrainian in transport, on the street or in other places.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Radio Liberty.
The refugees note that the man became aggressive immediately after hearing the Ukrainian language.
Details of the incident
Olena Dunyk has been living in Switzerland for over three years. She moved here from the Vinnytsia region after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. At the centre for Ukrainian refugees, she met her husband Gabriel, who worked there.
On 13 October, Olena, her husband and youngest son were travelling by train from Interlaken to Spitz when they were attacked by a Russian-speaking man sitting next to them who was drinking alcohol.
The Ukrainian woman says it happened after she addressed Gabriel in Ukrainian.
It was she who posted the video of the conflict online. After that, more than a dozen Ukrainian women wrote to her saying that they had also had conflicts with the same man - in public transport, shops, gyms and swimming pools in the cities of Zurich, Bern and Geneva.
Other victims
One of the Ukrainian women, Olha, recognised the man in the video. She also had a conflict with him in Switzerland. He was touching a swan, and the woman made a remark to him, to which he reacted aggressively and threatened to beat her.
Maria Lembak is from Kyiv. She found refuge in Switzerland with her daughter.
In April this year, Maria was travelling with her friend and two five-year-old children in the eighth tram in Bern. Behind her, she says, a man and a woman were sitting, speaking Russian and using foul language.
Maria says that they did not respond to them, but spoke Ukrainian among themselves.
"He leaned over and started talking in my ear: "You are such and such, a Ukrainian, a Khokhlushka. We will kill you, slaughter your children. Now you get off the tram, I'll see at which stop. And that's it, you're finished there. We will rape you and your children, too," she said.
Maria took a picture of the man on the tram and went to the nearest police station to file a report.
"The police said: "You understand, we can't find him". I said: "We have a photo". They said it was not a criminal case because he did not hit me. Then I asked if I could publish the photo so that people could recognise him. They said yes," she continued.
Maria also brought a woman to the police who responded to her post - she also identified the attacker, although she did not have a photo.
What is known about the Russian-speaking man?
Online users identified him as Alexander Vabiks. On Facebook, he posted photos of himself wearing the same hoodie as the one he was captured in the video.
His profile states that he is from Latvia and lives in Zurich, Switzerland. He studied at the Riga Gymnasium, the London College of Computing and Management Sciences, and Canterbury Christ Church University.
In January 2024, Alexander posted a photo of himself wearing a T-shirt with the words "Russia is in my heart". He has a tattoo of a nesting doll on his arm.
Earlier, in 2017, he posted a photo taken on Red Square in Moscow.
According to Olena Dudnyk, Alexander worked as a chef in the kitchen of commercial aircraft at Zurich Airport. After the incident, he was fired, which was reported to the Ukrainians by airport employees.
The Latvian media found Vabiks in the register of alimony defaulters, and he was also recognised by his acquaintances.
What preceded it?
On 13 October, a man speaking Russian attacked a family on a Swiss train because they were speaking Ukrainian.
The man started insulting them when he heard them speaking Ukrainian and then threatened to kill them, the victims said.
It later became known that the man was a Latvian citizen. He was detained by the police. Social media users noted that the man had previously attacked Ukrainian women in Switzerland, including at the Bern railway station in June 2025.
In Latvia, criminal proceedings have been opened against the man for actions aimed at inciting national and ethnic hatred and enmity against Ukrainians, involving violence and threats.
