A 17-year-old teenager from Ukraine was murdered in a detention center for minor asylum seekers in north Dublin, Ireland.
This was reported by the press service of the Irish police, RTE and The Irish Times.
The incident occurred at around 11am on 15 October in a second-floor flat in Grattan Wood. Police were called to the scene after an argument between two teenagers. One of them, a Ukrainian, suffered multiple stab wounds to the head, arms and upper body. Despite treatment, he died at the scene.
The name of the deceased has not been officially revealed, but a number of Irish media outlets are reporting that it is Vadym Davydenko.
Another 17-year-old was arrested at the scene but later taken to hospital with injuries. A female caretaker at the complex was also injured after trying to break up the fight.
The apartment complex where the attack took place is owned by Tusla, the government agency responsible for protecting children, providing care services and supporting families. The agency confirmed that the apartment is part of a housing block that provides 24-hour care for international protection seekers who are separated from their parents.
Irish Prime Minister Michail Martin reacted to the situation, expressing condolences to the family of the deceased Ukrainian.
Babel spoke to Andriy Vasylenko, a Ukrainian refugee in Ireland who previously lived in a similar Tusla center. He said that minors in Ireland cannot rent an apartment or move into a regular center for adults; they are cared for by Tusla.
"In total, there are three centers for Ukrainian teenagers in Dublin, and a fourth is currently being built. These centers accommodate Ukrainians and refugees from the Middle East, but in different rooms. When I arrived, I was put in a room with immigrants from the Middle East for one night, but usually Ukrainians are settled separately. Tusla has a hierarchy: managers help with documents, there is a senior guardian of the center and a personal guardian for each teenager. There were no personal guardians for immigrants from the Middle East," he said.
Andriy also complained about cases of theft of belongings at the center: "We asked for a key to the room because we didnʼt have one, but we received it only after three weeks. The employees did not intervene because they could not prove the guilt of a specific person and did not have the right to check their belongings without permission."
Updated at 17:25. The Embassy of Ukraine in Ireland officially confirmed that the deceasedʼs name was Vadym Davydenko. The Embassy maintains close contact with the Irish police. Investigations are currently ongoing.
The embassy is providing the necessary support to the family and is preparing for the repatriation of the body.
Author: Vladyslav Pyatin-Ponomarenko
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.