In Kyiv, a pensioner was placed under house arrest for insulting a volunteer over the Ukrainian language

The Obolonsky District Court has placed 73-year-old Viktor Salyuk under 24-hour house arrest until August 4 for his involvement in a conflict with a female volunteer over the language issue.

The details of the conflict, based on the volunteer’s testimony, were provided by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the intoxicated pensioner, who lives in Pechersk, Kyiv, and sells goods at the Kurenivka market, along with another man, attempted to engage in a conversation with the young woman at the entrance to the underground passage on Novokonstantynivska Street. She stated that the men approached her in a “familiar and vulgar tone in Russian.” She responded in Ukrainian, saying that she did not understand them. This provoked aggression from the men, who began to insult her with obscene language.

“I used to beat people like you here, those who spoke Ukrainian,” Salyuk allegedly said.

The woman recorded this on her mobile phone. Salyuk chased her down, snatched the phone from her to prevent further recording and then spat in her face. His companion struck her on the nose with his palm.

The woman managed to retrieve her phone, after which the men fled the scene.

The volunteer posted the video on social media, which caught the attention of law enforcement, leading to a criminal case being opened.

Salyuk’s actions were classified as hooliganism committed by a group of individuals. The man does not admit his guilt, claiming that the person in the video is not him and that he does not remember the conflict due to his age.

According to the court’s decision, he will only be allowed to leave his home during air raid alerts and if he needs emergency medical assistance.