British Tourist Beaten, Bloodied In Kyiv
By RFE/RL
A British tourist says he was brutally assaulted by a group of young men in central Kyiv who he believes targeted him because of his appearance.
Liam Tong, 23, wrote in a January 19 Facebook post that he was attacked earlier in the day by three "teenagers" or "young adults" and left lying in blood-soaked snow in the Ukrainian capital as the assailants fled.
In the Facebook post, which includes photographs of his bruised and bloodied face, Tong wrote that his injuries from the attack included a fractured nose and damage to several of his teeth that left him in excruciating pain.
Tong, who has piercings in his lips and nose as well as hair dyed blue and pink, said his attackers did not steal any of his belongings.
"Basically I was pretty heavily attacked based on what I assume was my style," he wrote.
Anna Zubreva, a district police spokeswoman in Kyiv, said police had opened a probe into the matter, Ukraine's Hromadske Radio reported on January 20.
She described Tong as a "young British hipster" and said he was likely attacked "just for fun" due to his "nonstandard appearance."
Makukha added that Tong, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment that RFE/RL sent via Facebook, had arrived in Kyiv by himself to tour the city.
With reporting by Hromadske Radio
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