Blogger beaten with a Soviet buckle belt while filming in Zaporizhzhia

Local blogger Anastasia Poltavets was attacked by a man wielding a belt with Soviet symbols as she was filming a video in central Zaporizhzhia on the evening of May 29. The man hit her several times, leaving her with bruises and abrasions.

A video of the incident and photos of the beating marks were posted on Facebook by journalist Vyacheslav Tverdokhlib, who witnessed the attack.

The journalist confirmed the incident to Natalia Vyhovska, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast, and said that the blogger had filed a statement with the police, who are now in the process of opening a case.

Blogger Anastasia Poltavets was attacked by a man wielding a belt with Soviet symbols as she was filming a video. Screenshot from Vyacheslav Tverdokhlib's video by the IMI

“I witnessed this incident. Anastasia often stops by this place to livestream and fundraise. She always dances there. This man was prepared to attack and just started beating her. He did not explain the reasons for his actions, except that he did not like what she was doing,” the journalist said.

The full video of the incident was uploaded to the YouTube channel “European Zaporizhzhia”. The video shows that the blogger had set up her tripod and begun to dance to Ukrainian music when a man approached her waving a belt and started beating her with it. He managed to hit her several times before the woman managed to fight him off. After the attack, the blogger, with the help of passers-by, knocked the man to the ground and hit him several times in return.

After the incident, the blogger pointed out that the attacker had hit her with a belt with a hammer and sickle engraved on the buckle. The photos in Vyacheslav Tverdokhlib's post show the bruises and abrasions from the blows on Anastasia Poltavets's body.

The bruises and abrasions on Anastasia. Photos by Vyacheslav Tverdokhlib on Facebook