What happened? At around 1 am on Wednesday, July 23, a 31-year-old Belarusian man named Vladimir Vitkov picked up an Afghan child who had just arrived in Russia from Iran and Afghanistan with his pregnant mother in the waiting room of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport and violently threw him to the ground.
The 18-24-month-old child is now in a coma and has suffered serious fractures to his skull and spine. He is on a ventilator and is under intensive care.
The attacker was immediately detained by security forces, and initial tests found traces of drugs, including cannabis, in his blood and belongings. He admitted that he was under the influence of drugs at the time and had no specific motive.
The Russian Investigative Committee has charged him with “intentional murder of a child.” The child’s father is the plaintiff in the case, and security camera footage has been presented as evidence for the trial.
Moscow’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Ksenia Mishunova, called him a “drug-addled monster” and called for severe punishment. Nina Ostanina, head of the Russian State Duma’s Family Committee, also called him “inhuman.”
In addition to preventing safe travel for asylum seekers, the incident has raised serious concerns about airport security and the need for mental health and drug screening of passengers. The judicial investigation is ongoing, and public opinion is awaiting a final determination and improvement in the child’s condition.
