Holidaying Ukrainian soldier saves man stabbed in Venice

Telegraph

11-03-2025

A Ukrainian soldier on holiday in Venice saved the life of a man who had been stabbed in a brawl in the alleyways of the historic city centre.
It is likely that Yanis Tereshchenko's prompt intervention saved the young man, who had been wounded in the leg and was losing a large quantity of blood.
The man, reportedly Tunisian, had allegedly got into a fight with another Tunisian. The motives for the confrontation are unclear.
He sustained a stab wound to the thigh, which reportedly severed his femoral artery.
Mr Tereshchenko was returning to his hotel on Monday when he saw the victim lying on the ground and bleeding profusely, surrounded by panicked passers-by.
He was able to use the first aid kit he has carried since joining the Ukrainian army three years ago.
'Lucky for the boy that I had the first aid kit… The blood would have leaked out by the time the ambulance arrived,' he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
He posted two photos: one showing a large quantity of blood on the flagstones of an alleyway and the other showing Italian paramedics attending to the victim.
'I saw he had a deep stab wound to the thigh. I took out a tourniquet to stop the loss of any more blood,' the 32-year-old told Corriere del Veneto, a local newspaper.
'I know [the first aid kit] a bit cumbersome, and my family are always telling me to leave it behind. But today, for the first time in three years, it was needed. It was lucky that I had it with me at that moment.'
The victim had lost a lot of blood and was losing consciousness, Mr Tereshchenko said.
'I tried to keep him awake until the medics arrived. I don't know if he would have made it otherwise,' he added.
'The people standing around were in shock – no one intervened or knew what to do. Unfortunately in these last few years of war I have seen a lot, so I didn't hesitate to intervene.'
Mr Tereshchenko said he had been a teacher before joining the Third Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian military.
'I had a few days of leave and, seeing as how we love Italy, whenever we can, we come here, this time to Venice.'
A shopkeeper who witnessed the knife attack said: 'The attacker was striking with ferocity, first the victim's arms and then the leg. It was a violent and continuous attack involving a really big knife.'
Police are searching for the knifeman, who fled before medics arrived.
The attack happened in the Salizada San Canzian alleyway, not far from the famous Rialto Bridge which spans the Grand Canal.
Mr Tereshchenko continued his holiday, and on Tuesday posted photos of Venice's canals and churches.
Although Ukrainian men are restricted from leaving the country, soldiers are allowed to go abroad for holidays as long as they obtain permission from their commanders.
Military personnel are entitled to 15 days of foreign holiday each year, according to the Kyiv Post.