Today, the suspect of the fivefold stabbing in the vicinity of the Dam on Thursday, March 27, appeared before the judge for the first time during a public hearing. The stabbing involved five victims of Polish, American, Australian, Belgian, and Dutch nationality.
The suspect is a thirty-year-old man of Ukrainian nationality. He comes from a small town near Mariupol in the Donetsk region and has been active in the Ukrainian army since 2015. His birthplace was taken over by Russia in 2022, shortly after the invasion by Russia into Ukraine.
Travel Route
From the police investigation, the travel route that the suspect took to Amsterdam has become clear. He applied for leave in 2025 to visit his mother in the Czech Republic. This was granted by the military authorities, and he traveled on March 4 from southern Ukraine via Lviv to Poland and then to Germany. On March 6, he registered at a reception center for asylum seekers in Berlin. He stayed there until March 26 in a shelter for Ukrainian refugees. That day, he traveled by train to Amsterdam.
The suspect arrived at Amsterdam Central Station on Wednesday, March 26, around 14:15 and then went to a hotel on Damrak. The next morning, he purchased two knives at a knife shop.
Plan of Action
From the investigation of his phone, it has become clear that the suspect searched for which knife he needed to stab lungs. In addition, the police found a series of notes on the suspects phone that resemble a plan of action. In those notes, the suspect writes about looking for a place where many people walk, stabbing elderly people with a knife, and then running away.
This plan of action is, according to the Public Prosecution Service, open to multiple interpretations. The suspect has not yet said anything about it; he has remained silent about the facts in three interrogations. Motives that can be traced back to the suspect, such as frustrations, but also other more calculating motives could be derived from it. This makes it even clearer that there was a degree of planning involved.
Terroristic Intent
The Public Prosecution Service suspects the man of five counts of attempted murder/manslaughter with terrorist intent or serious assault. That terrorist intent relates to the planning, the prior acquisition of the knives, the quick and targeted execution, the choice of location, and the timing: in the middle of the day, in the heart of Amsterdam. Apparently, the goal was to instill fear in the Amsterdam population, possibly the Dutch population. As long as no clear other motive emerges, the Public Prosecution Service will maintain this.
The investigation into the stabbing continues, and to gain insight into the suspects psyche, he will undergo psychological and psychiatric evaluation, and an environmental study will also take place.
The next pro forma hearing will take place on August 26 at 13:30.