A Ukrainian war refugee in Brussels has won EUR 500,000 with a lottery scratchcard and has said that he wants to use the money to help rebuild his country.
And a spokesperson for the Belgian National Lottery has said that the win by the young man was “a sign of hope in dark times”.
The Belgian National Lottery has said that the lucky winner is a “man aged between 18 and 24”, adding that he “fled his homeland a year ago and who has been staying in the Brussels region ever since”.
The man, whose name has not been revealed but who lives in the Belgian capital, reportedly works at a petrol station and bought the lottery scratchcard for EUR 5 (GBP 4.28). It is not known if the card was bought at the same petrol station where he works.
He reportedly told local media that he will use his EUR 500,000 (GBP 427,700) win to throw a huge party for his friends and family, and for those who have helped him integrate into Belgian society.
But he added that after that, he wants to return to Ukraine to use his new wealth to help with the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Joke Vermoere, a spokesperson for the Belgian National Lottery, said: “He has mixed feelings about the win. It’s difficult to be happy about something like this, considering everything happening in his homeland.”
Vermoere also said: “We see many winners here, but in this case, we saw that it meant so much more to the winner.”
She added: “As if it was a sign of hope in dark times.”
