A homeless Ukrainian man has died in Bratislava, with authorities investigating potential police violence and motives of ethnic hatred.

In Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, a citizen of Ukraine who did not have a permanent residence has died. Law enforcement agencies suspect that the police may have been involved.

This was reported by the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha, as well as the publications ta3 and Topky.sk.

On January 30, the man was found near one of the city’s hair salons with severe head and body injuries. He was hospitalized; however, the injuries sustained were fatal.

According to local media, the Ukrainian attempted to steal merchandise from the New Yorker store located in the Nivy shopping center. He was detained and taken to a back room. Reviewing the surveillance footage raised suspicions that the man may have been beaten by private security staff along with patrol officers.

Evidence of the beating was also pointed out by the paramedic who provided him with medical assistance.

The investigation is being handled by law enforcement. They have classified it as murder. The Inspection Service noted that they cannot rule out the involvement of police officers in this incident at this time.

Acting Police Chief Jana Maškárová stated that investigators are considering several versions of the cause of death. She emphasized that a thorough investigation will be conducted to determine whether all officers involved acted in accordance with their official duties.

At the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Ukrainian embassy has established contact with the Slovak police and the ombudsman. The Ukrainian side demands an impartial investigation and punishment of those responsible.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian official Andriy Sybiha stated that ethnic hostility cannot be ruled out as one of the possible motives for the crime.

It is worth noting that last year, the charitable organization “Depaul Ukraine” conducted a study and found that among the surveyed individuals living on the streets or in shelters, 22% were internally displaced persons.

Among other reasons cited by respondents, the most common were eviction, family conflicts, relationship breakdowns, and job loss.

Regarding the needs of the homeless, the top priorities were hot meals (reported by 81% of respondents), hygiene services (65%), medical assistance (36%), legal services (33%), long-term housing (33%), and the opportunity to find work (31%).