Police arrested a 22-year-old Ukrainian man at Larnaca airport on his arrival in Cyprus in connection with a violent fight that broke out in the early hours of New Year’s Day at a venue on Saripolou Street in Limassol.
The suspect allegedly struck a 29-year-old man in the face with a glass, causing serious injuries. He is under investigation for causing grievous bodily harm, while three other individuals are still being sought in connection with the same case.
On Saturday morning, officers brought the suspect before the Limassol District Court, which approved a request by Limassol CID investigators and ordered that he be held in custody for four days.
According to the evidence under investigation, at around 5 am on New Year’s Day, the 29-year-old complainant was at a nightclub on Saripolou Street. In his statement, he said he had gone there with friends to celebrate the turn of the year.
At some point, when he went to the toilet, he encountered a man he had met a few days earlier at the same venue and with whom a friend of his had argued. After wishing him a happy New Year, the suspect allegedly began provoking him and shouting at him, leading to a push between the two men.
When they later moved outside the venue, the complainant said the suspect pulled a glass object he had hidden in his jacket and struck him in the face.
The 29-year-old suffered serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to a private hospital in Limassol. Doctors found he had sustained a frontal sinus fracture, a skull base fracture, a nasal bone fracture and active nosebleeding. He was admitted for treatment.
Further examinations led the complainant to identify a 29-year-old Ukrainian as the attacker. The man had been in Cyprus as a tourist and left the island the following day.
Checks of the arrivals and departures system showed that he arrived in Cyprus on 27 December 2025 and departed on 2 January 2026 from Larnaca airport.
As part of the police investigation, officers reviewed CCTV footage from the area, which recorded the incident. The footage shows around six people talking before one of them puts his hand inside his jacket and then strikes the complainant in the face.
A court issued an arrest warrant for the suspect and police listed him as wanted. Officers arrested the 22-year-old on 13 February at Larnaca airport when he arrived in Cyprus, after he allegedly assumed no complaint would be filed against him.
Police then took him to the Limassol CID offices for questioning and placed him in custody. The investigation is ongoing, with officers expected to take eight more statements, carry out an identification parade and locate three other individuals who were allegedly with the suspect.