Ukrainian vet behind Dutch stabbings sought life sentence
A Ukrainian national who faces multiple attempted murder charges after a stabbing spree in Amsterdam is a military deserter who reportedly dreamed of spending the rest of his life in a European prison, according to a Dutch media investigation.
The suspect, who is accused of injuring five people near Dam Square in March, was identified as 30-year-old Roman D.
The Dutch public prosecutor suggested earlier this month that the attack could have had a terrorist motive.
NOS public broadcaster detailed Roman's background on Tuesday following an investigation by its current affairs program, Nieuwsuur.
According to the report, Roman D. served in a Ukrainian artillery unit before the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. Acquaintances said he became increasingly withdrawn after suffering a concussion in 2023 and spoke of wanting to be jailed for life in a Western European country.
'He often said that he wanted to kill someone in Norway so that he could go to a prison there and be cared for for the rest of his life,' a former commander told NOS. The remarks were reportedly dismissed as jokes at the time.
When I first heard what Roman had done in Amsterdam, I thought: 'an idiot's dream has come true.'
Roman reportedly left Ukraine using a travel waiver issued for a visit to his mother in the Czech Republic. She told NOS, however, that he never arrived – instead, he apparently traveled directly to the Netherlands.
He remained in contact with former fellow soldiers, who described him as being interested in a wide range of ideologies. '[He] wrote about Allah and something about supporting Palestine. Surprisingly enough, he was also very active in supporting the LGBT community,' one source told the broadcaster.
NOS also found that Roman's online presence suggested an association with neo-Nazism, though friends claimed his interest wasn't in earnest.
Officials in Eastern European countries, including Poland and the Czech Republic, have expressed concerns over the potential influx of demobilized Ukrainian soldiers once Kiev lifts martial law and allows fighting-age men to leave the country.
Veterans 'can face a number of different problems: Adaptation issues, psychosis, depression, addictions,' Polish military psychiatrist Radoslaw Tworus warned in February. 'The spectrum of these disorders is very wide.'
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Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
Ukrainian vet behind Dutch knife spree wanted life sentence
A Ukrainian national who faces multiple attempted murder charges after a stabbing spree in Amsterdam has been identified as a military deserter who reportedly dreamed of spending the rest of his life in a Western European prison, according to a Dutch media investigation. The suspect, who is accused of injuring five people near Dam Square in March, was identified as 30-year-old Roman D. The Dutch public prosecutor suggested earlier this month that the attack could have had a terrorist motive. Public broadcaster NOS revealed the Ukrainian national's background on Tuesday following an investigation by its current affairs program, Nieuwsuur. According to the report, Roman D. served in a Ukrainian artillery unit before the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. Acquaintances said he became increasingly withdrawn after suffering a concussion in 2023 and spoke of wanting to be jailed for life in a Western European country. 'He often said that he wanted to kill someone in Norway so that he could go to a prison there and be cared for for the rest of his life,' a former commander told NOS. The remarks were reportedly dismissed as jokes at the time. When I first heard what Roman had done in Amsterdam, I thought: 'an idiot's dream has come true.' Roman reportedly left Ukraine using a travel waiver issued for a visit to his mother in the Czech Republic. She told NOS, however, that he never arrived – instead, he apparently traveled directly to the Netherlands. He remained in contact with former fellow soldiers, who described him as being interested in a wide range of ideologies. '[He] wrote about Allah and something about supporting Palestine. Surprisingly enough, he was also very active in supporting the LGBT community,' one source told the broadcaster. NOS also found that Roman's online presence suggested an association with neo-Nazism, though friends claimed his interest wasn't in earnest. Officials in Eastern European countries, including Poland and the Czech Republic, have expressed concerns over the potential influx of demobilized Ukrainian soldiers once Kiev lifts martial law and allows fighting-age men to leave the country. Veterans 'can face a number of different problems: Adaptation issues, psychosis, depression, addictions,' Polish military psychiatrist Radoslaw Tworus warned in February. 'The spectrum of these disorders is very wide.'
Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
Foreign mercenary sentenced for role in Kursk incursion
A Russian court has sentenced Colombian national Pablo Puentes Boorghes to 28 years in prison for fighting on behalf of Ukraine during its armed incursion into Kursk Region. He has also been ordered to pay a fine of 1 million rubles ($12,700). In a statement to the news outlet RBK on Tuesday, Russia's Investigative Committee said that Boorghes has been found guilty of mercenarism, terrorism, and several other criminal offenses, including illegal border crossing, arms trafficking, and the unlawful possession of firearms. According to investigators, Boorghes voluntarily joined Ukraine's 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade in late 2024 and participated in the incursion into Russia's border region for material compensation. The Investigative Committee stated that the Colombian took part in coordinated actions 'to intimidate the population, cause significant property damage, and destabilize the activities of government bodies,' adding that he also threatened to 'use firearms against the civilian population and blocked the territory of the Sudzhansky District of Kursk Region.' Russian forces captured Boorghes near the village of Alexandria during clashes with Ukrainian units. Investigators said he admitted his guilt in full during pretrial proceedings. According to the verdict, the Colombian will spend the first five years of his sentence in prison, with the remainder in a maximum-security penal colony. Authorities have also confiscated over 230,000 rubles ($2,900) from Boorghes for the benefit of the state. Russia has repeatedly prosecuted foreign nationals for fighting for Ukraine. In March, a British citizen, James Scott Rhys Anderson, was sentenced to 19 years in prison on similar charges after being captured in the same region. Officials claimed Anderson had entered Russia alongside Ukrainian troops and committed crimes against civilians. Moscow has consistently warned that any non-Ukrainians serving in Kiev's military will be regarded as mercenaries and criminals and will not be covered by the Geneva Convention protections usually granted to combatants. The last estimate on mercenary casualties in Ukraine was given in December by the acting head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, Yulia Zhdanova. She reported, citing Defense Ministry data, that some 15,000 foreign fighters from 110 countries had entered Ukraine since the conflict began, mostly citizens of Poland, the US, and Georgia. Nearly 6,500 of them have since been killed in action, according to Zhdanova.
Russia Today
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Macron threatens social media ban for minors
France will block social media access for children under 15 'within a few months' if the EU does not take coordinated action, French President Emmanuel Macron stated following a deadly knife attack at a local school. 'We must ban social media for those under 15,' Macron told the broadcaster France 2 on Tuesday. Hours earlier, a 14-year-old student attacked a 31-year-old teaching assistant during a school bag check for weapons in Nogent in eastern France. He then injured a police officer with the same knife and was arrested at the scene, according to the National Gendarmerie. 'I'm giving us a few months to get the European mobilization going. Otherwise... we'll start doing it in France. We can't wait,' Macron said. The student, described as well-behaved and with no prior issues, had participated in anti-bullying activities and came from a stable family. The victim had reportedly worked at the school since September and was a mother of two. Macron said social media was one of the factors to blame for violence among young people as the incident was not an isolated case. In April, a high school student in western France fatally stabbed a girl and injured three boys before being arrested. Writing on X after the interview, Macron said such regulation was backed by experts. 'Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it,' he wrote. Earlier this year, 200 schools in France began piloting a 'digital break,' barring students under 15 from using smartphones during school hours. The Education Ministry also stepped up school security, with random bag checks leading to 186 knife seizures in two months this spring. Spain and Greece are also backing a plan to require age verification technology on all internet-connected devices. The proposal would make such verification mandatory for platforms such as Facebook and X. The European Commission and several EU states are developing pilot programs to test age checks and parental controls. However, progress is being slowed by differing regulations across EU countries and the ease with which users can access social media platforms from outside the bloc. In Russia, restrictions introduced in September ban students from using mobile phones in schools, allowing exceptions only in emergencies.
