The war in Ukraine is far away and yet so close.

It is significant that it had to happen in Baden-Baden in the Palais Gagarin, where Russian princes lived 200 years ago.

The Ukrainian bartender Igor Golod has refused to serve Russian guests since the Russian attack on Ukraine and has threatened to throw them out.

These are regular customers who have lived in the city for a long time and like to come to the Rizzi restaurant.

Daniel Mohr

Editor in the economy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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This has been at home in the Palais Gagarin for 15 years.

An international meeting point of many nationalities sitting together at the table.

Golod is popular with everyone.

But since the war, this has no longer been mutual: he insults Russian guests, has to apologize for it and finally shoots a short video while jogging, in which he scolds Russia and Russians quite wildly and roughly.

As the video goes viral, see yourself

Peter Fright

exposed to a storm of indignation at how one can still employ such an employee.

Schreck has been a restaurateur for 40 years, runs other restaurants in addition to the Rizzi, and is the boss of 170 employees.

He talks to Golod, who has family in Ukraine and doesn't know what to do with his pain and anger.

Golod, who has been with the company for seven years, is given an extraordinary notice, which increases the excitement even further.

Even the Ukrainian Foreign Minister

Dmytro Kuleba

intervenes: "There's blood on your hands that even the best German detergent can't remove," he says.

Now Schreck is trying to de-escalate the situation: “We overreacted.

We should have let him go until things calm down.

So everything was just exaggerated even more,” says Schreck.

He announces: "We will take back the extraordinary termination and strive for an amicable agreement." However, there will be no further employment.

"Too much has happened for that, it can no longer be reversed."

Schreck expresses his deep sadness at the fate of Golod's family and the suffering in Ukraine.

"It is unspeakably sad and it hurts so much to see how a person in his pain does not know how to go on any other way." He hopes that everyone involved will calm down a bit and reconsider their actions in the future.

Recently, there was talk of a petition for hate speech against the video.

Criminal charges against Golod, the bartender from Baden-Baden, were also considered.

The war is far away and yet so close.