Moscow: A Belarusian national has been charged with attempted murder after a horrifying assault on an 18-month-old Afghan boy at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow. The toddler, who had fled conflict in Iran with his pregnant mother, was violently slammed to the ground by the accused in a shocking attack caught on CCTV.
The suspect, identified as Vladimir Vitkov, 31, is a nuclear construction worker who was recently dismissed from a project in Egypt. Russian investigators say he was under the influence of alcohol and cannabis at the time of the incident. During police interrogation, Vitkov confessed, saying: “I attempted to murder a child... I was under the influence of drugs.”
Footage from the airport shows Vitkov picking up the boy and throwing him headfirst onto the hard floor. The child, identified as Yazdan, suffered severe skull fractures, spinal injuries, and internal bleeding. He was placed in a medically induced coma at the Roshal Children's Centre in Moscow, but doctors have now confirmed that he is in stable condition and does not require neurosurgical treatment.
The assault occurred just minutes after Yazdan and his mother, Sahar Hajizada, arrived in Moscow while fleeing Israeli airstrikes in Iran. According to Iranian officials, the child was initially believed to be Iranian, but Russian authorities later confirmed he holds Afghan nationality.
The Iranian Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, condemned the incident as “completely inhuman” and said Iran had contacted Russian officials for an immediate investigation.
Russian children's rights ombudswoman Ksenia Mishonova called Vitkov a “drug-addled monster” and demanded the harshest punishment. “This is incredibly hard to bear. I hope this monster receives the full weight of the law. May the child recover, and the family find strength,” she said.
Sheremetyevo, Russia’s busiest airport handling over 40 million passengers annually, now faces criticism for failing to prevent one of the most disturbing acts of violence witnessed in its terminals.
Authorities have confirmed that Vitkov, who has a daughter roughly the same age as the victim, remains in custody and will face trial under attempted murder charges. Russian prosecutors are also examining whether racial hatred played a role in the attack.
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New Delhi (PTI): Left parties on Wednesday said the new bills that provide for the removal of the prime minister or chief ministers arrested on serious criminal charges, are a direct "assault" on democracy and the federal framework, and vowed to oppose it "tooth and nail".
The government plans to introduce three bills in Parliament on Wednesday for the removal of the prime minister, a Union minister, a chief minister or a minister of a state or Union Territory when arrested or detained on serious criminal charges for 30 days in a row
Flaying the move, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby said on X that "Modi Govt's 3 bills to oust PM, CMs, Ministers after 30 days in custody expose its neo-fascist characteristics. This direct assault on our democracy will be opposed by CPIM tooth and nail. We urge all democratic forces to unite against this draconian move".
"These bills, cloaked as tackling crime in high office, reveal their true intent given the RSS-controlled Modi govt's history of undermining elected state govts. With SIR, they mark a blatant move to subvert our democracy. All democratic forces must resist," he said on X.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas called the bills "draconian".
"The new bill by Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, purportedly in the name of 'public interest, welfare, and good governance,' is, in reality, draconian and designed to destabilize opposition-led state governments while undermining India’s federal structure," Brittas said in a post on X.
"In an era marked by vindictive politics, where central agencies are deployed against opposition leaders, the provisions will be misused for ulterior motives," he said. The CPI(M) leader said the bill’s reference to “constitutional morality” contradicts its spirit, as it deviates from the established principle that disqualification and punishment should be tied to convictions by courts, not merely charges or arrests. "This principle is clearly enshrined in Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act (RPA). In today’s pernicious political climate, where individuals can be easily charged, arrested, and detained for extended periods, this legislation will be weaponised to target political opponents and erode democratic norms," he said.
CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the bills will sound the "death knell" for federalism.
"Viewed together with the ongoing systematic subversion of the electoral system starting with the appointment of Election Commissioners to the relentless push for 'One Nation, One Election' system, this amendment will sound the death knell for federalism and parliamentary democracy in India," Bhattacharya said.
"Every state government opposed to the BJP's politics and policies will henceforth be rendered permanently destabilised and dysfunctional. Every NDA ally will be on tenterhooks to fall in line with the BJP," he said in a statement.
"The weaponisation of central agencies like ED, CBI, IT, NIA and the abuse of the Constitutional office of Governors in narrow partisan interest, a trend which has been seriously condemned on several occasions even by the Supreme Court, will now gain legal validity with the enactment of this bill," he added.
The three bills were approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday.
These bills are the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025; the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025; and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025. The Bills are likely to be referred to a committee of Parliament.