Kathrine Frich
Victims include a four-year-old girl and an 82-year-old woman.
War leaves visible scars. But behind closed doors, a quieter horror unfolds away from the cameras.
A new global report has just exposed the massive scale of this hidden brutality.
A staggering toll
The United Nations has recorded more than one thousand cases of sexual violence in the ongoing conflict.
These incidents stretch from February 2022 until July of this year. Russian forces and security services committed nearly 90 percent of the abuses, according to the UN Human Rights Office cited by Daily Express.
The details paint a grim picture. Victims include a four-year-old girl and an 82-year-old woman. Both survived their assaults.
Most of the victims are actually men. Many described severe beatings and horrific abuse while in captivity.
Systemic abuse
Captors often used extreme physical torment. Many male prisoners told investigators that guards used a Soviet-era military field telephone, known as a tapik, to deliver electric shocks.
“The application of electric shocks to genitals with a ‘tapik’ or taser was a common form of violence used against Ukrainian POWs and retained medical personnel, with 155 having endured this form at least once,” the report stated.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk voiced his dismay. “I am deeply alarmed by the prevalence of these abhorrent acts documented in our report, and fear that they are almost certainly continuing amid the unceasing violence we are witnessing every day in Ukraine,” he said.
Harrowing personal stories
Survivors shared devastating memories. In three separate incidents, victims described assaults involving batons, shovel handles, and cell door keys.
One woman in Zaporizhzhia suffered repeated abuse over a month. A Russian soldier moved into her home and falsely promised that submitting would guarantee better treatment for her detained husband.
A woman in the Kyiv region faced an unthinkable nightmare. Two soldiers murdered her husband and then assaulted her, threatening to shoot her four-year-old son if she dared to resist.
Calls for justice
The report also documented violations by Ukrainian personnel. These largely involved threats, forced nudity, and beatings, along with two cases of attempted rape.
While Ukraine has taken some steps to address these internal issues, the UN noted the efforts remain limited.
Türk demanded immediate action. “Russia and Ukraine must investigate all credible claims of sexual violence,” he said. Leaders must ensure that anyone responsible is “fully brought to justice regardless of rank or affiliation.”
Sources: Daily Express, UN Human Rights Office
