Russian forces committed widespread sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war in Ukraine, including gang rape, genital mutilation and electric shocks to the genitals, while Ukrainian authorities were also responsible for a smaller number of violations, according to a UN human rights report released on Friday.The report by the UN human rights office 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 these cases, 89% were attributed to the Russian side, including members of its armed forces, prison service and security agencies, while 11% were linked to Ukrainian authorities, including members of the Ukrainian armed forces, according to Reuters.Russia’s permanent diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment on the report.
Russian forces accused of abuse in detention
The report said Russian authorities committed sexual violence against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees in occupied areas of Ukraine and inside Russia at various stages of captivity, including during capture, transfer, interrogation and detention.The documented violations included gang rape, rape, genital mutilation and electric shocks to men’s genitals using a Soviet-era field telephone known as a “tapik”.The findings were based on interviews with victims of sexual violence committed by both sides. The UN cautioned that the figures were not comprehensive because conflict-related sexual violence remains significantly under-reported.The report also said Russia’s refusal to give the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights access to occupied Ukrainian territory, prisoners of war and civilian detainees meant the actual scale of violations was likely higher.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 added.
Ukraine also accused of violations
The report documented a smaller number of cases involving Ukrainian authorities. 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 the genitals.OHCHR said it did not document any cases of rape of Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces.Russian and third-country prisoners of war reported sexual violence in 10 official detention facilities and 55 unofficial or transit locations, the report said.Ukraine’s foreign ministry welcomed the report, saying it demonstrated the scale of human rights violations perpetrated by Russia as well as measures being taken by Kyiv to prevent such violence and compensate victims. The ministry did not directly address the findings concerning abuse by Ukrainian forces.The report said Ukraine had taken some steps to prevent such violations and had cooperated with OHCHR requests, although efforts to ensure accountability remained limited.By contrast, it said Russia had failed to take steps to prevent, investigate or prosecute sexual violence committed by its personnel and had not engaged with OHCHR requests for information.“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,” UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said.
