UN Report Finds Widespread Sexual Violence In Ukraine Battle, Most Circumstances Tied To Russia
Russian forces dedicated widespread sexual violence in opposition to civilians and prisoners of warfare in Ukraine, together with gang rape and electrical shocks to the genitals, whereas Ukrainian authorities have been additionally accountable for a smaller variety of violations, the UN human rights workplace stated in a report on Friday.
The report documented 1,004 verified instances of conflict-related sexual violence between February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and July 2026.
Of these instances, 89% have been attributed to the Russian aspect, together with members of the armed forces, jail service and safety businesses, whereas 11% have been linked to Ukraine, together with members of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Russia’s everlasting diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to touch upon the report.
Ukraine’s international ministry stated in a press release it welcomed the publication of the report, which it stated confirmed the size of the human rights violations perpetrated by Russia and the measures being taken by Ukraine to stop such violence and compensate victims.
The assertion didn’t remark immediately on the findings of incidents of abuse by Ukrainian forces.
The report cautioned that the findings weren’t complete as a result of conflict-related sexual violence stays considerably under-reported.
It stated Russia’s refusal to grant the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights entry to occupied Ukrainian territory, prisoners of warfare and civilian detainees meant the figures doubtless underestimate the true scale of the violations.
In occupied areas of Ukraine and inside Russia, Russian authorities carried out sexual violence in opposition to Ukrainian prisoners of warfare and detained civilians in any respect phases of captivity, together with throughout seize, switch, interrogation and detention, the report stated.
iolations included gang rape, rape, genital mutilation and the usage of electrical shocks on males’s genitals with a Soviet-era area phone referred to as a “tapik”. The findings have been based mostly on interviews with victims of sexual violence dedicated by each side.
Most victims in detention have been males, significantly prisoners of warfare and detainees, though ladies and kids have been additionally affected, primarily in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
“Sexual violence in battle is usually misunderstood to be primarily affecting ladies and ladies, the place within the Ukraine warfare context, the vast majority of survivors are males,” Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, stated.
“And women and men require totally different options and approaches to their restoration,” she stated.
The report concluded that Russia had did not take steps to stop, examine or prosecute sexual violence dedicated by its personnel and had not engaged with OHCHR’s requests for data.
In Ukrainian government-controlled territory, almost half of the violations attributed to Ukrainian authorities in opposition to Russian and third-country prisoners of warfare and detainees concerned threats of sexual violence and beatings to genitals.
OHCHR stated it didn’t doc any instances of rape of Russian POWs by Ukrainian forces.
OHCHR stated Russian and third-country prisoners of warfare reported sexual violence in 10 official detention amenities and 55 unofficial or transit areas.
The Ukrainian authorities had taken some steps to stop such violations and had cooperated with OHCHR’s requests, though efforts to make sure accountability remained restricted, it added.
“I’m deeply alarmed by the prevalence of those abhorrent acts documented in our report, and concern that they’re nearly actually persevering with amid the unceasing violence we’re witnessing each day in Ukraine,” stated UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Additional reporting by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Alex Richardson)
