UN Reports Widespread Sexual Violence in Ukraine War, Mostly Linked to Russia
By Olivia Le Poidevin
UN Human Rights Office Details Sexual Violence in Ukraine Conflict
GENEVA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Russian forces committed widespread sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war in Ukraine, including gang rape and electric shocks to the genitals, while Ukrainian authorities were also responsible for a smaller number of violations, the UN human rights office said in a report on Friday.
Scope and Attribution of Violations
The report documented 1,004 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence between February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and July 2026.
Of those cases, 89% were attributed to the Russian side, including members of the armed forces, prison service and security agencies, while 11% were linked to Ukraine, including members of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Russia's permanent diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment on the report.
Ukraine's Response to the Report
Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement it welcomed the publication of the report, which it said showed the scale of the human rights violations perpetrated by Russia and the measures being taken by Ukraine to prevent such violence and compensate victims.
The statement did not comment directly on the findings of incidents of abuse by Ukrainian forces.
Challenges in Reporting and Data Collection
The report cautioned that the findings were not comprehensive because conflict-related sexual violence remains significantly under-reported.
It said Russia's refusal to grant the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights access to occupied Ukrainian territory, prisoners of war and civilian detainees meant the figures likely underestimate the true scale of the violations.
Nature of Sexual Violence Documented
In occupied areas of Ukraine and within Russia, Russian authorities carried out sexual violence against Ukrainian prisoners of war and detained civilians at all stages of captivity, including during capture, transfer, interrogation and detention, the report said.
Violations included gang rape, rape, genital mutilation and the use of electric shocks on men's genitals with a Soviet-era field telephone known as a "tapik". The findings were based on interviews with victims of sexual violence committed by both sides.
Victim Demographics
Most victims in detention were men, particularly prisoners of war and detainees, although women and children were also affected, mainly in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
“Sexual violence in conflict is often misunderstood to be mainly affecting women and girls, where in the Ukraine war context, the majority of survivors are men,” Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said.
“And men and women require different solutions and approaches to their recovery,” she said.
Lack of Accountability and Cooperation
The report concluded that Russia had failed to take steps to prevent, investigate or prosecute sexual violence committed by its personnel and had not engaged with OHCHR's requests for information.
Sexual Violence Against Russian Prisoners of War
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR
In Ukrainian government-controlled territory, nearly half of the violations attributed to Ukrainian authorities against Russian and third-country prisoners of war and detainees involved threats of sexual violence and beatings to genitals.
OHCHR said it did not document any cases of rape of Russian POWs by Ukrainian forces.
OHCHR said Russian and third-country prisoners of war reported sexual violence in 10 official detention facilities and 55 unofficial or transit locations.
Ukrainian Government's Preventive Measures
The Ukrainian government had taken some steps to prevent such violations and had cooperated with OHCHR's requests, although efforts to ensure accountability remained limited, it added.
Ongoing Concerns and International Response
“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,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Additional reporting by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Alex Richardson)
