Germany: Russian charged over killing of Ukrainian soldiers

Bavarian prosecutors on Wednesday said a Russian man was charged with murder over the fatal stabbing of two wounded Ukrainian soldiers earlier this year.

Officials said that the man was a fervent Russian nationalist, fully supported Moscow's war in Ukraine and was aware of the soldiers' wartime service.

Ukrainian soldiers had been recovering in Germany

The soldiers were found with serious stab wounds outside a shopping center in the Bavarian town of Murnau am See in April.

One of the victims, aged 36, died at the scene, while the other, 23, later succumbed to his wounds in the hospital.

Police arrested a 57-year-old Russian citizen at his home shortly afterward and he remains in custody in Munich.

Prosecutors say the three men had been drinking together when an argument broke out about the situation in Ukraine that highlighted the suspect's hostile stance toward the soldiers.

"The accused felt that his national pride was hurt," the prosecution said in a statement.

He then "decided to kill the two strongly intoxicated Ukrainians in a surprise attack," prosecutors added, going to fetch a knife from his nearby apartment.

"As a supporter of an exaggerated Russian nationalism, [the suspect] supports unreservedly the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine."

The two Ukrainians were brought to Germany for treatment after they were wounded in the conflict. They had undergone operations at a hospital in Murnau and were recovering in the town.

As a result of the operations, prosecutors said both victims were significantly "physically limited."

rc/wmr (Reuters, AP)