Footage is circulating online of a Russian-speaking tourist from Latvia in Switzerland, rudely and aggressively attacking a Ukrainian family (mother, father, and daughter). For a primitive reason – they were sitting next to each other on the train, speaking in their native Ukrainian language. This is not the first case where this Russian-speaking citizen of Latvia has attacked Ukrainian women, claims the Ukrainian portal Oboz.ua.
In particular, a similar attack was carried out by Aleksandrs Vabiks in Geneva back in April, writes Oboz. This was reported by the NEXTA network, and additionally, a video recording of the incident was published on Instagram.
What happened in Geneva
On April 2, 2025, Aleksandrs Vabiks attacked two girls with insults and threats at a café on the shores of Lake Geneva. The girls saw the man forcefully petting a swan on the head and filming it, while the bird tried to defend itself and escape from the man.
After several minutes of such "contact," one of the girls remarked to the man, asking him to stop. In response, he began to shout and insult them, including using profanity. In particular, he shouted that "you, Ukrainians, should all be killed."
The girls tried to hide from the aggressor in the restroom, but he pursued them even there. After knocking the phone out of a woman's hands when she was filming this disgraceful act, he demanded that she delete the recording.
Who is being discussed
The attacker was quickly identified online as Aleksandrs Vabiks, a native of Latvia who has a partner from Ukraine (a woman from Odessa who fled the country due to the war). He lives in Bern, holding a residence permit in Switzerland (category "B").
The man has repeatedly posted pro-Russian messages on social media and enjoys taking selfies in a T-shirt that reads "Russia in my heart."
In photos and videos, Aleksandrs looks significantly older, but he is only 42 years old. Due to his appearance, people online speculate that a supporter of the aggressor country may drink heavily. Other users recognized the threatening Latvian citizen Vabiks, who indicates in his social media profiles that he once studied in Riga at the Zolitūde Gymnasium and now lives in Zurich, Switzerland.
Incident on the train
On the Interlaken–Spitz train, Vabiks attacked Ukrainian Elena Dudnik and her Swiss husband, who speaks Ukrainian. The couple was traveling with their child. The supporter of Russian aggression from Latvia did not like that the husband and wife were speaking to each other in Ukrainian.
Elena managed to film a video in which this aggressive man from Latvia threatens them and even their little son, who is not yet two years old, demanding that the couple leave the train carriage, banging his fist on the table, and then lunging at people.
He did not believe that Elena's husband had a Swiss passport, demanding that they speak to him in German or English (although it later turned out that he, like a true Russian, does not know any foreign languages at all).
"What do you have against Russians? We will kill you to the end! I am Swiss, and nothing will happen to me, but you will leave," Vabiks shouted, and then lunged at people with his fists.
Reaction online
As people claim, the two mentioned episodes are unfortunately not the only ones. Due to his characteristic appearance, as well as Alexander's reluctance to change clothes, he was recognized as the attacker on another Ukrainian family abroad.
People do not understand why the aggressor gets away with such behavior in European countries. But they hope that public exposure on social media and in the media will change something, so they are addressing their messages about this to officials in Latvia and Switzerland.
"I have not seen anything more disgusting in a long time. Although undoubtedly there are worse things. Footage is circulating online of a Russian-speaking tourist in Switzerland, rudely and aggressively attacking a Ukrainian family (mother, father, and daughter). For a primitive reason – they were sitting next to each other on the train, speaking in their native Ukrainian language. This triggered a fit of rage in this guy. I really hope this case will set a precedent for Europe. So that no scoundrel allows himself such behavior towards peaceful families. Especially refugee families. I believe that the behavior of the Latvian citizen can be responded to not only by Swiss police but also by official Riga. That would be right. There is hope that what has not been achieved in Europe regarding punishing anti-Semites may work in this case. Let’s write and talk about this. It’s important," - shared the opinion of Russian film producer Alexander Rodnyansky.
In turn, the vice-mayor of Riga, Edgars Ratnieks, responding to a user on X who drew attention to this case, wrote: "Thank you, I have already informed the State Security Service."
The State Security Service (SSD) confirmed to the LETA agency that the statements of this person have come to the attention of the SSD. Given that the case is currently being investigated by the Swiss police, the Service is not providing further comments.
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