The high-profile murder of Ukrainian women in Germany has shocked society – such crimes are becoming an alarming trend.
The brutal murder of a Ukrainian mother and her young daughter in Germany has sparked public outcry and at the same time a wave of indignation and new questions about the safety of Ukrainians abroad.
This is not the first time that Ukrainian refugees seeking salvation have become victims of crimes in Europe.
TSN.ua has collected the most high-profile cases related to brutal crimes against Ukrainians abroad.
Horrible murder of mother and daughter in Germany
On June 30, in the German city of Dorsten, the body of a 32-year-old Ukrainian woman was found on a forest path, and nearby in the bushes, the body of her little daughter, who was 1 year and 7 months old.
The deceased Ukrainian women lived in a refugee shelter.
That same day, police arrested a 16-year-old boy who confessed to the crime. He is also Ukrainian and lived in the same shelter, but is not the child's father. Police are investigating his role in the murder.
Neighbors described the deceased as a good mother who often walked with her child and the suspect. The guy had previously shown aggressive behavior, and his conflicts had already been recorded.
Police are examining the evidence and awaiting autopsy results.
Tragedy in Belgium in which the family of a Ukrainian soldier died
In early June 2025, in the Belgian city of Haasrode, two Ukrainian women were found dead in a house that caught fire – a 46-year-old woman, Lilia, and her 6-year-old daughter, Anna, who had a heart condition. Stab wounds were found on their bodies.
During the investigation, investigators established that the Ukrainian women died from stab wounds and that the fire was set deliberately.
The Ukrainian family had been living in Belgium for three years already, the municipality provided them with a house. The head of the family is a Ukrainian military man working in the evacuation unit.
A day after the fire, the 16-year-old son of the deceased confessed to the crime.
The boy was at school during the fire, so he was initially considered an eyewitness. After confessing, he was arrested on suspicion of intentional murder of two people.
The teenager was placed in a closed centre for minors in Belgium. The court may also transfer the case to an adult criminal court.
According to the suspect, he killed his mother and sister because of domestic quarrels. The child himself calls his motive very “banal”.
Russian stabbed two Ukrainian soldiers to death in Germany
In 2024, in the German city of Murnau, a Russian brutally murdered two Ukrainians who were military personnel and were undergoing rehabilitation at a local clinic. The deceased were 23 and 36 years old. Then the police detained a 57-year-old suspect, a citizen of the Russian Federation.
At that time, the investigation did not rule out a political motive, since the Russian was a local “Z-patriot” who openly supported Russian aggression and demonstratively wore patches with “Z-symbols”. The man lived in Bavaria, where he repeatedly came to the attention of the police due to drunkenness, theft and other minor offenses.
In turn, the Ukrainians had previously suffered serious injuries to their limbs and were unable to fully defend themselves from the attacker.
After being detained, the suspect confessed to the crime. He said that he had a quarrel with the Ukrainian military.
In March 2025, a Russian who stabbed two Ukrainian soldiers to death in Germany was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to investigators, the supporter of “exaggerated Russian nationalism” often communicated with Ukrainians, but on April 29, 2024, after an argument about the war, he went for a knife and fatally stabbed both of them.
The court did not recognize a political motive, although the defendant had previously supported the Russian invasion.
His lawyer claimed the conflict arose from “different views,” but that did not justify the brutal murder.
Double murder of Ukrainian refugees for the sake of a baby
The body of 27-year-old Ukrainian Margarita Razaz from Kharkiv was found near the German city of Gokkenheim in March 2024. The body of her mother, 51-year-old Marina Stetsenko, was later found in a local lake.
During the investigation it was revealed that the women were Ukrainian refugees and were living together with Margarita-Mia's newborn daughter in a refugee shelter in the Rhine-Neckar district.
Subsequently, law enforcement officers found the girl with the detained suspects: 45-year-old German Mark and his 43-year-old Russian wife Inna.
According to the investigation, the couple attracted victims by promising help with documents. The suspects were pursuing the goal of kidnapping Mia. Before the crime, they specially bought things for the baby, and Marco told neighbors about his “newborn daughter.” Inna met the victims through social networks, and after the family disappeared, her accounts disappeared.
In January 2025, the couple confessed to killing the women and kidnapping the child.
The attacker said that she had deliberately sought contacts with Ukrainian refugees through Telegram groups. That's how she contacted 27-year-old Margarita, to whom she promised to help with translation before the birth of her child.
Subsequently, on March 6, 2024, during a meeting in a restaurant in Bruchsal, the couple (German Marco and Russian Inna) slipped sedatives into the victims. When 51-year-old Marina's condition worsened, the criminals took her to a lake near Karlsruhe. There, Mark brutally murdered the woman, hitting her on the head four times with a rubber mallet before drowning her.
Upon their return, they deceived Margarita by telling her that her mother was in hospital. They then took her and the baby to the Rhine Dam, where Marco hit the victim several times on the head, causing his death.
The couple were sentenced to life imprisonment.
So far it is known that the girl Mia lives in Ukraine with her aunt.
Russians recruit Ukrainians abroad
In early June 2025, the Main Intelligence Directorate warned that the Russian Federation was trying to recruit Ukrainians abroad to commit crimes.
“Russian special services have stepped up their attempts to recruit Ukrainian citizens with the aim of involving them in illegal activities on the territory of the European Union,” the GUR noted.
They noted that potential perpetrators are offered money for participating in illegal activities, monitoring critical infrastructure facilities, and performing other tasks in favor of the aggressor state.
Intelligence noted that this mainly concerns Ukrainians from temporarily occupied territories who found themselves in a difficult situation.
“Recruiting Ukrainians to implement hostile scenarios in Europe is yet another instrument of hybrid aggression that the Russian Federation is waging against Ukraine and the entire European community,” Ukrainian intelligence noted.
The GUR notes that if unknown suspicious persons try to contact you, the most important thing is not to communicate. You should immediately contact the law enforcement agencies of your country of residence or Ukrainian diplomatic missions.
