Simeon Boikov charged with assault after Ukraine rally

A pro-Putin YouTuber who posts online under the name “Aussie Cossack” has been charged with assault after an elderly man was hospitalised following a pro-Ukraine rally in Sydney. See the footage.

A still from a video uploaded to Twitter shows the moment an elderly man falls down stairs during a pro-Ukraine rally near Town Hall in Sydney on December 13 2022.

A pro-Putin supporter has been charged with assault after an elderly man was injured at a pro-Ukraine rally in Sydney.

Alarming video circulating on social media showed the man in a blue and yellow jersey stumbling backwards down the stairs and landing heavily on his head and back.

Footage showed he was engaged in a brief verbal stoush with another man before he fell.

YouTuber Simeon Boikov, 32, was arrested at the scene after the incident and taken to Day St police station.

“Police were told a 76-year-old man was allegedly assaulted during a planned protest,” NSW Police said in a statement. “The man was not seriously injured.”

Simeon Boikov, who calls himself the “Aussie Cossack”, at a pro-Russia rally held outside the Consulate General of the Russian Federation building in Sydney.

NSW Police have now confirmed Boikov has been charged with assault causing actual bodily harm.

The organiser of the rally, Anton Bogdanovych, said the 76-year-old man, Alan, was in a state of shock but was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

Mr Bogdanovych said the group were outside Sydney’s Town Hall, protesting against Red Cross Australia, who he said helped to fund drones and uniforms for the Russian army, when Boikov appeared and allegedly came up to the group.

“He pulled out his phone and came towards us,” he said.

Footage of Aussie Cossack/Simeon Boikov allegedly pushing a 76-year-old man at a Ukraine rally, who then falls down a number of stairs near Sydney's Town Hall 📽️ 👇 pic.twitter.com/lc8cnIfsLN

— Alexi Demetriadi (@ADemetriadi) December 14, 2022

“We have women that escaped the war and came here.

“And there’s this guy, calling us Nazi Ukrainian dogs.”

Boikov was granted conditional bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on January 25 next year.

Attendees at the rally, which began at 12pm at the Red Cross in Sydney near the corners of Kent and Bathurst Sts, were chanting “Russia is a terrorist state” when the incident occurred.

NSW Ambulance confirmed the man was taken to Sydney Hospital by road ambulance for treatment to head injuries.