Two Ukrainian soldiers stabbed to death 'by Russian knifeman' at shopping centre in Germany

Two Ukrainian soldiers have been stabbed to death in Germany, with police arresting a Russian man as a suspect.

The men, who were 23 and 36 years old and lived in the southern German county of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, were killed at a shopping centre in the village of Murnau in Upper Bavaria, police said on Sunday.

Both victims were soldiers who had been granted leave to recover from wonds sustained in the war, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry explained: “On April 27, two Ukrainian citizens, men born in 1987 and 2001, were killed by stabbing in Murnau am Stafelsee, Bavaria, Germany, at a local shopping centre.

“According to preliminary information, the deceased citizens were military personnel undergoing medical rehabilitation in Germany,” the ministry said.

A 57-year-old Russian was arrested on suspicion of murder shortly after the incident on Saturday evening, German news agency dpa reported.

The possible motive for the killings wasn't yet known, authorities said. It also wasn't clear if the three men knew each other.

Flowers, candles and Ukrainian flags were placed at the shopping centre to pay tribute to the two soldiers.

More than one million Ukrainian refugees have come to Germany since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Germany is also home to a significant Russian immigrant community and 2.5 million Russians of German ancestry who mostly moved to the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

The names of the victims and the suspect weren't released in line with German privacy rules.