Russian Soldiers Weaponise Rape in Ukraine, Victims Speak of Horrific Ordeals
In a harrowing account of the ongoing conflict, Ukrainian women have come forward with stories of brutal sexual violence perpetrated by Russian soldiers, revealing a systematic campaign of terror. One woman described how she thought "that was it for me" after a Russian soldier burst through her front door, brutally raping her in front of her husband, who was then fatally shot. Another was kidnapped by soldiers and violated twice, shockingly with the consent of her pro-Russian boyfriend, before falling pregnant with her rapist's baby. A third endured torture and sexual assault while detained in a Russian prison colony.
These narratives are just a few among hundreds that have emerged over the past four years from Ukrainian women reporting sexual violence at the hands of Russian troops. However, advocates believe the true number of victims could be significantly higher, indicating a widespread humanitarian crisis.
Rape as a Weapon of War
Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk has previously detailed how rape has been weaponised by Russian forces to break the spirit of the nation. Her Nobel Prize-winning organisation, the Centre for Civil Liberties, has uncovered at least 84,000 instances of war crimes committed by Putin's war machine since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Speaking last year on a podcast, Matviichuk described the Russian army's use of sexual violence as a "weapon of war." She explained, "This crime has a very sensitive nature. Through the targeting of individuals, Russia can target entire communities. The survivors feel shame – so do their neighbours, their relatives, and their families. They feel guilty because they couldn't stop it. They feel fear that they could be subjected to the same treatment."
This complex mix of emotions, she noted, decreases social connections between members of different communities and helps Russia control the occupied regions.
Personal Stories of Survival
Lesya, a 53-year-old economist, recounted how her life was upended forever in March 2022 when she heard a knock on the door at her home near Kyiv. Two Russian soldiers suddenly burst in, and she attempted to flee but was dragged into a neighbour's house, where she was brutally raped within moments of capture. "The second one shot my husband in the stomach and leg while I was being raped," she recalled. More soldiers arrived, armed with knives, rifles, and grenades, but they stopped the rape and let her go. She later found her husband, Sasha, bleeding to death on the floor of another house, adding that watching him die was worse than the rape itself.
In southern Ukraine, Svitlana, a 31-year-old mother of five, begged Russian soldiers in March 2022 not to kidnap her four-week-old son and take him across the border. They relented, but her pro-Russian boyfriend later forced her into a white van with two soldiers, who placed a mask over her face and drove her to another village. Her partner stayed in the van while the armed soldiers pushed her into a shop and raped her twice. She subsequently split from her partner and fled with her children. Six months later, Svitlana realised she had fallen pregnant by her rapist. She considered an abortion but was too late into her pregnancy and now says she has come to love her son "almost like the others."
For Tetiana Tipakova, 53, sexual violence was used against her because she had organised anti-Russian protests and spoken out against Putin's regime. In February 2022, armed soldiers wearing balaclavas stormed into her home, handcuffed her, put a bag over her head, and drove her to a prison in Berdyansk. She recalled being subjected to torture for a week, including beatings, interrogations, physical abuse with electric shocks, and sexual violation with objects. Her ill treatment continued until she submitted to making a video declaring she had been wrong to organise anti-Russian protests.
Maria, a 50-year-old lawyer, had provided legal aid for Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territories before the war. After Putin's forces invaded in 2022, she was accused of being a "threat" to the Russian Federation. By January 2023, she had been brutally arrested and driven to the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region, where she was treated "as a slave." She was then beaten and raped by two Russian soldiers, leaving her physically and emotionally harmed. The next morning, a Russian major found her lying injured on the ground and encouraged her to escape by walking back towards Ukraine. Her perilous journey took her through minefields, bombed ruins, and destroyed bridges before she finally reached a Ukrainian checkpoint.
Legal and Human Rights Implications
All of these women have made formal complaints to authorities about their treatment by Russian soldiers. Last July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Russia had committed heinous human rights abuses in Ukraine, using rape and torture to terrorise the population before and after Vladimir Putin's troops launched their full-scale invasion in February 2022. The court found Russia guilty of breaching international humanitarian law by carrying out attacks that "killed and wounded thousands of civilians and created fear and terror."
The ruling stated, "The prevalence of sexual violence and rape by Russian soldiers in occupied territory is especially abhorrent. The evidence shows the extreme violence of the circumstances in which women were raped or sexually assaulted and the intent to terrorise, humiliate and debase them... the raping of women and girls has also been described as a means for the aggressor to symbolically and physically humiliate the defeated men."
Male victims were also found to have featured in the Russian campaign of sexual violence. "The evidence also attests to the horrific sexual violence frequently perpetrated upon male detainees. The sexual abuse, torture and mutilation of male detainees is often carried out to attack and destroy their sense of masculinity or manhood."
Judges concluded that the human rights abuses went beyond any military objective and that Russia used sexual violence as part of a strategy to break Ukrainian morale. The Kremlin dismissed the judgment, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov declaring it "null and void."
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of rape or sexual assault, you can get help at Rape Crisis England & Wales.
