UN condemns 'shocking pattern' of sexual violence by Russian troops in Ukraine

Key Points:

• The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported over 1,000 cases of sexual violence in Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, involving victims aged 4 to 82 in a pattern of torture and intimidation.
• Russian troops are responsible for 89% of the 1,004 documented cases, with men primarily targeted in detention, while women and children in occupied territories suffer severe abuses including gang rape and genital mutilation.
• The report highlights the use of electric shocks to genitals via a Soviet-era field telephone in 27% of cases, alongside testimonies describing assaults with objects and repeated rapes under threats.
• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for an immediate end to sexual violence, urging Russia to take concrete steps to protect civilians and prisoners of war from torture and abuse.
• Russia has been listed by the UN as credibly suspected of sexual violence in conflict, rejected the findings, and withdrew from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture in 2025, while Ukraine condemned the systematic human rights violations.