More than 1,000 cases of sexual violence have been documented since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, as announced today by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who attributed nine out of ten incidents to the Russian side.
“I am deeply concerned by the frequency of these heinous acts and fear that they will continue amid the relentless violence we see every day in Ukraine,” High Commissioner Volker Türk said in a statement.
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According to a new report, based on confidential interviews with hundreds of victims of violence committed by both sides, as well as court documents and official data, “1,004 cases of sexual violence were recorded from February 24, 2022—the date the Russian invasion of Ukraine began—through the end of July.”
This number “represents only a fraction of the reality,” Danielle Bell, head of the UN mission monitoring human rights in Ukraine, told reporters in Geneva, with investigators managing to speak with approximately 10% of the detainees released from the two camps and having no access to Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories.
Of all the documented cases, 89% were attributed to the Russian side—primarily members of the armed forces, the prison administration, and national security services—and 11% to the Ukrainians.
These acts of violence “are part of a shocking pattern of torture, intimidation, and coercion since the beginning” of the conflict, the High Commissioner warns.
The majority of the victims of these atrocities are men, mainly in detention centers, but women and children have also been targeted, particularly in the occupied Ukrainian territories.
“The atrocities committed include gang rapes, genital mutilation, electroshock and blows to the genitals, as well as other degrading acts of a sexual nature,” the High Commissioner emphasized.
The youngest recorded rape survivor was a four-year-old girl, and the oldest was an 82-year-old woman; in both cases, the acts were committed by Russian authorities, it added.
Several survivors reported that they were subjected to electric shocks to their genitals.
Nearly half of the acts of brutality attributed to Ukrainian authorities against Russian prisoners of war or third-country nationals involve threats of sexual violence.
The rest involve cases in which victims were forced to undress, subjected to electric shocks and blows to the genitals, as well as two sexual assaults and two attempted rapes.
“Russia and Ukraine must investigate all credible allegations of sexual violence promptly, thoroughly and impartially, and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice,” Turk emphasized.
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Source: KYPE
