Hundreds of civilians, POWs suffer sexual abuse in Ukraine war: UN
The UN said 89% of cases were tied to Russian authorities, and 155 Ukrainian POWs reported genital shocks at least once.
- On Friday, the UN Human Rights Office reported 1,004 cases of sexual violence in Ukraine since Russia's attack began in Feb 2022, documenting a "shocking pattern of torture, intimidation and coercion" against civilians and prisoners.
- UN investigators attributed 89 per cent of documented violations to Russian authorities, including military and security services conducting gang rape and degrading treatment in occupied territories like Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
- Many survivors described being tasered in the genitals using a "tapik," a Soviet-era military field telephone. The report notes 155 victims, or 27 per cent, endured this specific form of sexual violence.
- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Russia to withdraw forces and demanded both nations investigate all credible claims, while noting 11 per cent of documented cases were attributed to Ukrainian authorities.
- Danielle Bell, head of the Human Rights Office team in Ukraine, told reporters in Geneva that access restrictions mean documented cases are "just a fraction of the reality." Investigators could only access around 10 percent of released prisoners.
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More than a thousand cases of sexual violence have been documented since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, alerted on Friday the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. According to the United Nations (UN), more than 80% of the episodes were attributed to the Russian side. GLOBO in the World: Get the international news directly on your mobile Want to live away? GLOBO tool gathers information on cost and quality of lif…
The report covers events from February 2022 to the end of July this year. The United Nations warns that documented cases represent only part of the reality and that most of the victims were men.
The rapporteurs themselves speak of a "part of reality": Uno representatives have collected numerous cases of sexualised violence in Ukraine. A large part is assigned to the Russian occupiers.
Horrific acts, with victims mainly prisoners of war - Men, women and children are subjected to torture, sexual violence and intimidation, nine out of ten acts are attributed by the UN to the Russian side
UN Human Rights report details shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine | UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine
GENEVA (18 September 2026) – A UN Human Rights Office report published today says sexual violence has been used against civilians and prisoners of war (POWs) in Ukraine in a shocking pattern of torture, intimidation and coercion since the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale armed attack on its neighbour more than four years ago. Some 1,004 cases of sexual violence were documented from 24 February 2022, when Russia’s attack on Ukraine be…
Radio-Canada
RTSMore than 1,000 cases of sexual violence have been recorded by the United Nations, which states that it is a torture tool used by both sides.
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