Four Teens Convicted in Double Murder of Ukrainian Basketball Players in Germany

The Essen Regional Court in Germany has sentenced 4 teenagers to imprisonment for the murder of 2 Ukrainian basketball players, Volodymyr Yermakov and Artem Kozachenko.

This was reported by BR24 та WDR.

On February 12, 2 Ukrainian basketball players were assaulted by a knife. The 17-year-old Volodymyr Yermakov died immediately, and the 18-year-old Artem Kozachenko died at the hospital from injuries on February 20.

The court ruled the case as a joint double murder. One of the convicted individuals fatally stabbed the 17- and 18-year-old Ukrainian athletes in Oberhausen in February. The presiding judge stated that the crime had no clear motive and was purely about asserting dominance. According to a court spokesperson, the perpetrators were simply "looking for trouble."

Previously, the Kyiv Basketball Federation suggested that the crime was motivated by the nationality of the victims. According to the court, a xenophobic motive could not be confirmed.

Of the 4 convicted individuals, 2 hold German citizenship and 2 are Syrian nationals. Two of them will be sentenced to 10 years in prison, the other 2 to 8.5 years each. The verdict is not yet final.

This was not the sole stabbing incident in Germany to include Ukrainian victims. In May, a 15-year-old Ukrainian refugee was critically injured in a stabbing attack in Dortmund, Germany.