Ukraine’s attorney general, Andrei Kostin, has denounced a “drastic increase” in the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in the country by Russian soldiers.
According to the German news agency DPA, Kostin accused the Russian army of deliberately using sexual violence as a weapon of war “to humiliate the Ukrainians.”
“In many cases, people are raped, tortured and then killed by Russian soldiers. Often, the violations occur in front of family members and children,” explained the attorney general, who explained that “all genders and age groups are affected.”
Kostin added that Russian commanders often order or support breaches.
Wenzel Michalski, Germany director at Human Rights Watch, confirmed that this has been a consistent approach in the context of the violence that has occurred since the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
“Violent acts committed by soldiers, including rape, are not punished by the Russian military and political leadership. On the contrary, forces that act with particular brutality continue to be honored,” Michalski explained.
On Friday, the UN commission of inquiry investigating the war in Ukraine said Russia’s lack of response to access territories occupied by the Russian armed forces made its work difficult.
One difficulty encountered is speaking with victims of sexual violence, “since there is still a lot of stigma and many are not willing to speak publicly about what they have suffered,” added Bosnian Jasminka Dzumhur.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 13 million people -more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million to European countries-, according to the most recent data. of the UN, which catalogs this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the wider international community, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing them on Russia in political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 6,655 dead civilians and 10,368 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
