The video of his lynching on January 15 in Beaugrenelle, Paris (15th), viewed more than five million times, sparked a wave of emotion in the country.
The appalling assault on the young Yuriy, 15, is also fueling its share of rumors.
Twelve days after the facts, here is what we know about this case which mobilizes up to the highest summit of the State, since the Elysee has taken news of the health of the adolescent.
What is the adolescent's state of health?
Since his admission to Necker Hospital, in a state of absolute emergency but without a vital prognosis, Yuriy's state of health has remained fluctuating.
After a rather heavy first intervention, of more than six hours, Yuriy had been placed under deep sedation.
On Thursday, doctors stopped treatment and the teenager woke up over the weekend.
Monday, he still could neither speak nor walk.
Tuesday, Yuriy was operated on for a second time, in the eyes.
After a "complicated awakening", punctuated by anxiety attacks and severe pain, his condition improved a little on Wednesday.
“He's starting to talk,” says his mother Nataliya, “but he still can't walk or even stand up.
"
Where is the investigation?
This Wednesday, no arrest had yet taken place within the framework of this investigation opened for attempted voluntary homicide.
As we mentioned on Sunday, the track favored by investigators remains that of aggression against the backdrop of disputes between gangs.
Yuriy's lynching comes after, at least, a precedent.
Another video, not yet authenticated but deemed credible by the attackers, was posted on Twitter.
In this video, a teenager from Vanves (Hauts-de-Seine), according to the internet user, is molested by young people claiming to be from RD4, a group of several buildings rue des Quatre-Frères-Peignot, in Paris ( 15th).
"Investigators are trying to identify the ten young people who participate in the assault on Yuriy," said a police source.
You have to watch a lot of videos and get as much information as possible.
It takes time when the media pressure is high.
"
Is the young man part of a gang?
Yuriy was accompanied by three friends when he was attacked by his attackers on the Beaugrenelle slab, in the district of the Eiffel Tower.
The teenager, like the others, tried to flee, but he fell, which allowed his attackers to beat him with a hammer in particular.
Investigators found a screwdriver on the victim.
Did he feel threatened?
The silence of his friends in front of Yuriy's mother, shortly after the tragedy, also raises questions.
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However, according to our information, he would not be known to the police.
He doesn't live at RD4 either, even though his college is right next door.
A sector far from being criminogenic.
"I've lived here for 45 years and I've never had a single problem," a shopkeeper from the rue des Quatre-Frères-Peignot was surprised this Wednesday morning.
Every once in a while there is a brawl outside the college but nothing bad.
"
Paris (15th), rue des Quatre-Frères-Peignot, this Wednesday.
The RD4 complex would be frequented by a gang in conflict with another from Vanves (Hauts-de-Seine).
LP / Denis Courtine
“Yes, it happens to us to intervene there but honestly, there is much worse elsewhere, agrees a police officer.
We are not at all on a gang that sows terror in a neighborhood.
Besides, it's a bit overused to talk about gangs.
Rather, it is young people who come together.
We are not on something organized.
"
Are there any risks of reprisals?
A first leg, a return leg, and now?
The question of further reprisals has obviously arisen as the videos, and in particular that of Yuriy's assault, are shocking.
On Twitter, the Franco-Russian rapper from Seine-Saint-Denis Tovaritch promised 500 euros "per head" to those who would give him information on Yuriy's attackers.
Another Internet user gives the name of the city where the wanted persons are found.
But the prism of social media can also be distorting.
None of the young crusaders this Wednesday morning near Yuriy's college called for revenge.
On the side of Vanves (Hauts-de-Seine), according to our information, no aggression observed in recent days.
The police did not ask for reinforcements because "there is no threat to public order for the time being," observes an official.