UN Details Nearly 900 Acts of Sexual Violence by Russian Forces in Ukraine
A UN report reveals widespread barbaric torture, including rape of children as young as four, by Russian soldiers and officials.
Russian troops, prison staff, and national security service officers have committed nearly 900 documented acts of sexual violence and torture against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, according to a recent United Nations report. The findings detail a "widespread" and "barbaric" campaign that includes rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, electric shocks, and beatings.
The Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 892 victims between February 24, 2022, and July 31 of this year. Among the victims were 16 children, with the youngest being a 4-year-old girl. The report also noted that 151 female victims, aged between 4 and 82, endured various forms of sexual assault, including electric shocks to the breasts, forced nudity, and witnessing the abuse of others. Three women became pregnant as a result of rape.
Men accounted for the majority of victims, with 725 cases reported. Some male former prisoners of war and civilians detailed being subjected to electrocution on their genitals using a device known as a "tapik," sodomy with police batons, and sexual assault with objects like shovel handles.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed deep alarm at the prevalence of these acts, stating, "Sexual violence is a grave feature of the full-scale armed attack against Ukraine. It must stop immediately, irrespective of the perpetrators." He further noted the fear that these atrocities are likely continuing amid ongoing violence.
The report characterized the sexual violence against prisoners of war as "frequent and systematic." It also highlighted that the Russian Federation has failed to take steps to prevent, investigate, or prosecute these crimes, and has instead enacted legal provisions that offer broad impunity. The UN found that 89% of sex crimes documented during the invasion were attributed to Russian forces, compared to 11% attributed to Ukrainian forces.
One victim, Viktoria Martsyniuk, shared her experience of being raped by a Russian soldier and witnessing her neighbor being gang-raped and her husband killed. She indicated that such soldiers have not faced justice for their war crimes. The UN has called on the Russian Federation to implement concrete measures to protect civilians and prisoners of war from torture and sexual violence.