Berlin Police Record 16,000 Crimes Against Ukrainians Since Russian Invasion
Berlin, February 22 – In the nearly four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Berlin police have registered a total of 16,120 criminal offenses against individuals of Ukrainian nationality. The most common crimes reported were widespread offenses such as assault, theft, and threats and coercion. This information comes from a response by the Senate Department for Interior and Sports and the police to an inquiry from Green Party MP Vasili Franco, which was made available to dpa.
Rising Crime Figures Mirror Growing Ukrainian Population
The annual number of crimes against Ukrainians has steadily increased, from nearly 2,700 in 2022 to approximately 4,000 in 2023, 4,500 in 2024, and reaching 4,618 in 2025. This rise in reported incidents mirrors the growth of the Ukrainian population in Berlin, which has now reached around 70,000 individuals.
High Number of Assaults and Thefts Reported
The majority of these offenses were recorded in the central district of Mitte (2,619) and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (2,481), while the fewest were reported in Treptow-Köpenick (696) and Steglitz-Zehlendorf (575).
Approximately 4,200 of the reported crimes against Ukrainians were assaults, representing more than a quarter of all offenses. This proportion is significantly higher than the typical share of assault in general crime statistics. The number of thefts stood at nearly 3,000. Other reported offenses included insult, fraud, embezzlement, sexual offenses, robbery, and property damage.
Political Motivation Often Unrecognized, Says Green Politician
According to police statistics, 37 of these acts were politically motivated, including insults, incitement to hatred, and assaults. However, the Senate also noted that right-wing extremist media disseminated statements against Ukrainian refugees, for example, by claiming alleged preferential treatment for Ukrainian refugees.
Green Party interior politician Franco described the “conspicuously high number of assaults against Ukrainian nationals” as alarming, emphasizing that solidarity with Ukraine must be more concrete. Franco stated that many politically motivated crimes against Ukrainians are not currently recorded as such because they are not reported, or the political motivation is not recognized.
In less than half of the cases, alleged perpetrators were identified, highlighting a significant challenge in bringing offenders to justice.
Source: dpa
