Reports: Russian Soldiers Involved in Systematic Rape and Torture in Ukraine
‘These are crimes that aren’t paid attention to. They’re highly stigmatized,’ says expert.
Russian soldiers are engaging in rape and torture in occupied Ukraine, according to several reports.
Though sexual violence peaked in the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the grim trend began in earnest with Russia’s limited invasion and subsequent occupation in 2014.
“Conflict-related sexual violence is widespread in Ukraine,” Emily Prey, a director at the New Lines Institute think tank.
Speaking during a Feb. 6 panel at the Chatham House, Ms. Prey said that such crimes were often “swept under the rug” due to the difficulties verifying them and holding anyone to account in a war zone.
Likewise, she said, sexual violence was difficult to document because of the hardship in convincing survivors to come forward.
These are crimes that aren’t paid attention to. They’re highly stigmatized.
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Ms. Prey’s comments follow the publication of several reports by United Nations investigative agencies and the U.S. State Department into sexual violence perpetrated by Russian forces in Ukraine.
