Politics

Survivors Speak Out as Russia Is Accused of Using Sexual Violence as 'Weapon of War' Against Women, Kids

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. We know and see — and we want you to hear our voices — that violence and rape is used now as a weapon of war by Russian invaders," one human rights official said

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Published on April 12, 2022 05:28 PM

Bucha, Ukraine — Ukraine. Photo: DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty

Women in Ukraine are telling horrific stories of soldiers using rape and sexual assault as further tactics of tyranny in Russia's ongoing war.

In Bucha, a suburb of Ukraine's capital Kyiv that was under Russian occupation until early April, more than two dozen girls and women, ages 14 to 24, were systematically raped while being held in a basement by Russian soldiers for 25 days, according to Ukraine's ombudsman for human rights, Lyudmyla Denisova.

"Nine of them are pregnant," Denisova told the BBC in a story published Monday. "Russian soldiers told them they would rape them to the point where they wouldn't want sexual contact with any man, to prevent them from having Ukrainian children."

In a separate case, Denisova said a boy was raped in front of his mother who was tied to a chair.

A 83-year-old retired school teacher told CBS News this week of an attack at her home in a village, whose location wasn't disclosed to protect the woman.

"He grabbed me by the back of the neck," she said. "I started to choke, I couldn't breathe." She said she pleaded with the soldier, telling him she's old enough to be his mom and asked, "Would you let this happen to your mother?"

Her attacker was not deterred, she told CBS News. "When he finished he grabbed a bottle of vodka," she said. "I asked if I could put my clothes back on. He barked, 'No!' "

A top United Nations official promised to investigate and verify such accounts on Monday.

"We are increasingly hearing of rape and sexual violence," Sima Bahous, the executive director for U.N. Women, reportedly told the U.N. Security Council during a briefing. "The combination of mass displacement with the large presence of conscripts and mercenaries, and the brutality displayed against Ukrainian civilians, has raised all red flags."

During the same meeting, the president of a Ukraine-based human rights group focused on gender equality and preventing gender-based violence, told officials her organization's emergency hotline has received reports of soldiers involved in nine cases of rape, involving 12 women and girls.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," Kateryna Cherepakha of La Strada-Ukraine told the council in a video address, Reuters reports. "We know and see — and we want you to hear our voices — that violence and rape is used now as a weapon of war by Russian invaders in Ukraine."

Russian officials denied the allegations of its soldiers engaging in sexual violence against women and children in Ukraine.

"No convincing evidence has been presented for any of these crimes, but it's understandable that you have trampled the presumption of innocence a long time ago," deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told the council Monday, Al Jazeera reports.

The Kremlin has similarly played down mounting reports their military has targeted civilians — some accounts, Russia claimed, were faked.

Chernihiv, Ukraine — Russia's invasion of Ukraine. State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Ambassador Polyanskiy insisted Russia "does not wage war against the civilian population" and accused Ukraine and other nations of having "a clear intention to present Russian soldiers as sadists and rapists," according to Reuters.

Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the Security Council that officials in his country were creating a "special mechanism" to document cases of sexual violence by Russian soldiers.

Addressing Lithuanian lawmakers on Tuesday via video, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "hundreds of cases of rape have been recorded" by officials documenting evidence of various alleged war crimes.

Some of the reported victims are "young girls and very young children" and "even of a baby," Zelenskyy said.

"Why is this happening?" Zelenskyy reportedly said in his remarks, which he used to urge the global community to act to stop suspected war crimes in his country. "The cynical answer is that they are convinced that they will avoid punishment, they know that the world and Europe will make sure this is forgotten."

Russia's attack on Ukraine continues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.

Details of the fighting change by the day, but scores of civilians have already been reported dead or wounded, including children, though the actual number of deaths is difficult to determine.

More than 4.5 million have fled the country as refugees — and half are children, according to the United Nations. Millions more have been displaced inside Ukraine.

The invasion, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, has drawn condemnation around the world and increasingly severe economic sanctions against Russia.

With NATO forces amassed in the region, various countries are offering aid or military support to the resistance. Zelenskyy has called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.

Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.

"Nobody is going to break us, we're strong, we're Ukrainians," he told the European Union in a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, "Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness."

The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.