Racially motivated attack on Ukrainian girl ‘linked by campaigner to Reform UK’s anti-migrant rhetoric’

Martin Shipton

A racially motivated attack on a 14-year-old Ukrainian girl in Caerphilly is being linked to the anti-migrant rhetoric of Reform UK in the recent Senedd by-election.

Polina Rudakov was targeted by three older girls following a school trip to the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff to see Mary Poppins on December 18.

Inessa Martynova, Polina’s mother, wrote on Facebook: “At 18:15, my daughter was walking home after returning from a St Martin’s School trip to Cardiff when she was attacked by three girls who had been on the same trip. She does not know them – they were older, physically bigger and much stronger than her.

“Before the attack, the girls were following her, shouting her name, calling her degrading names, and telling her to ‘go back to Ukraine’. They repeatedly insulted her for being an immigrant. My daughter did not respond and tried to walk away calmly.

“Despite this, the girls physically assaulted her. They hit her on the head, slapped her, scratched her face and pulled her hair. My daughter attempted to defend herself, but she is a very small and slim child and stood no chance against three attackers.

“The incident happened near the castle, at the very beginning of Crescent Road, just after coming down Ludlow Street.

“I am urgently trying to find the kind woman who witnessed the assault and helped my daughter. She saw the attack, called me, and told me that Polina had been assaulted and that I needed to come and collect her. She then took her to Winter Wonderland, but had to leave quickly and left my daughter with the staff. Sadly, she did not leave her name or contact details.

“If you are this woman, I would be deeply grateful if you could contact me. We have reported this incident to the police, and your testimony would be vital to the investigation.

“I would also kindly ask residents of Ludlow Street to please check any doorbell or CCTV cameras. The girls were following my daughter and threatening her, and it is possible they were captured on camera. Any footage — even showing them walking or their faces — could be extremely helpful to the police.

“My daughter is now safe at home, but she is still in shock, her face is badly scratched, and she is afraid to return to school. No child should ever experience violence, racism, or fear in their own neighbourhood.

“If you witnessed anything, have footage, or can help in any way, please contact me privately.”

‘Lies’

Also in a Facebook post, Yuliia Bond, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian community in Caerphilly, wrote: “What happened to this Ukrainian refugee girl in Caerphilly did not begin on that street. It did not begin with three girls. It began long before – with words, with lies, with hatred that has been allowed to grow louder and more acceptable in recent months.

“I know this girl. She is kind, gentle, and open-hearted. The kind of child who makes you believe a community is doing something right. And now she is afraid – afraid to walk home, afraid to return to school, afraid in a place that should have protected her.

“Yes, the people who carried out this racist assault are responsible, and the law must deal with them. But responsibility does not end with the people who threw the punches. People who spread hateful speeches about refugees and immigrants are also responsible.

“Violence does not start with fists. It starts with words. With dehumanisation. With fear dressed up as ‘opinion’. With lies repeated until cruelty feels justified.

“Those who share anti-refugee rhetoric, who inflame anger during elections and by-elections, who turn immigrants into scapegoats and targets, are feeding poison into our communities. They may never touch a victim themselves, but they prepare the ground. They normalise hatred. They teach others – especially young people – that some people deserve less safety, less dignity, less humanity.

“What we have seen recently, especially around the by-election, was strong, aggressive, and reckless. And this is where it leads.

“Hate crimes are happening more frequently. More openly. More boldly. That is not an accident. That is what happens when society tolerates dehumanisation and calls it debate.

“This was not ‘kids being kids’. This was not an isolated incident. This was a racist assault on a child and it is part of a wider pattern we must stop pretending not to see.

“Words create hate. Hate creates outcomes. And everyone who helped create this hate must reckon with that truth!!

“Read this mother’s post carefully. Read it as a parent. Read it as a neighbour. Read it as a human being. And then ask yourself what side of your conscience you are standing on.

“Communities are not judged only by how they punish harm but by whether they had the courage to stop feeding it before a child paid the price.

“No child should ever endure this. Not here. Not anywhere.”

Reform UK

During the by-election campaign in October, Reform UK relentlessly attacked the Welsh Government’s Nation of Sanctuary programme, 91% of which was spent on resettling in Wales Ukrainian refugees from Putin’s invasion of their country.

Reform UK had been confident of winning the by-election and the constituency was visited on several occasions during the campaign by party leader Nigel Farage. But the seat was won comfortably by veteran councillor Lindsay Whittle for Plaid Cymru.

Mr Whittle said: “This attack on a young girl is wholly unacceptable, and will be condemned by the great majority of people in Caerphilly. I am pleased that the police are involved and hope the attackers are apprehended and punished. We can’t speculate on whether the attackers were influenced by comments made by their parents – it may be that the parents are as shocked by their behaviour as the rest of the community.”

We sent a message to Llyr Powell, who was Reform’s by-election candidate in Caerphilly, inviting him to comment, but he did not respond.