Kyiv on sexualized violence: "Atrocities against civilians are part of war tactics"

Ukraine denounces an increase in cases of sexual violence by Russian soldiers. “Rape often takes place in front of relatives and children,” says Attorney General Kostin. The Germany boss of Human Rights Watch is assuming a targeted war tactic.

Ukrainian Attorney General Andriy Kostin has warned of a “dramatic increase” in sexualized violence by Russian soldiers in the Ukraine war. Affected are “all genders and all age groups (…), children as well as old people,” Kostin told the newspapers of the Funke media group and the French newspaper “Ouest-France”. Four months ago, 40 cases of sexualized violence were registered. “The number is now more than 110 cases – and the trend is rising.” The number of unreported cases is significantly higher.

Kostin criticized that sexualised violence was used in a targeted manner by Russian soldiers during the war. “We are sure: This is a method of war to humiliate Ukrainians,” Kostin told the newspapers. It is not easy to trace the entire military chain of command. “But we have discovered many cases where the Russian commander ordered or at least supported rapes,” said Kostin.

“In many cases, people are raped, tortured and then killed by Russian soldiers. Rapes often take place in front of relatives and children.” Occupied areas are particularly affected. The Germany director of the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, Wenzel Michalski, also spoke of a system of violence. “Atrocities against civilians are part of the Russian soldiers’ war tactics in Ukraine,” Michalski told the newspapers of the Funke media group.

“The violence of the soldiers, including rapes, is not punished by the top Russian politicians and the military. On the contrary: forces that act particularly brutally are still awarded,” he said. The violence is at least accepted by the leadership.

According to Kostin, nearly 8,500 civilians, including 440 children, have been killed in Ukraine since the war began a good nine months ago. More than 11,000 civilians were injured. The Attorney General’s Office has taken on 50,197 war crimes cases so far, he said.