Published on: 2026-09-18
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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September 18, 2026 Peace and Security
According to a report published on Friday by the UN Human Rights Office, since the full-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine more than four years ago, sexual violence has been used against civilians and prisoners of war as part of a “horrifying practice of torture, intimidation, and coercion.”
From February 24, 2022, when Russia’s attack on Ukraine began, until the end of July of this year, 1004 cases of sexual violence were documented. Of these, 89 percent were attributed to Russian military personnel, penitentiary system employees, and state security authorities. The remaining 11 percent were attributed to representatives of the Ukrainian authorities.
The 20-page report titled “Sexual Violence in the Context of Russia’s Full-Scale Armed Attack on Ukraine” is based on confidential interviews with hundreds of victims of sexual violence committed by both sides, as well as on other relevant materials, including court documents and official data.
“I am deeply alarmed by the scale of these monstrous acts documented in our report, and I fear that they almost certainly continue against the backdrop of ongoing violence that we observe daily in Ukraine,” stated UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
The majority of those affected by sexual violence were men, especially those held in detention facilities. However, women and children, mainly in the occupied territory of Ukraine, were also victims. The documented violations included gang rapes, mutilation of genital organs, electric shocks and beatings to the genital area, as well as other sexually degrading actions, the report states.
The youngest documented victim of rape was a four-year-old girl, and the oldest was an 82-year-old woman. Both crimes, according to the document, were committed by representatives of the Russian authorities.
Many of the affected men reported that they were electrocuted on their genitals using a Soviet-made field telephone TA-57, known as the “tapik.” “The use of electric current on the genitals with the ‘tapik’ or stun gun was a common form of sexual violence against Ukrainian prisoners of war and detained medical personnel: 155 people experienced it at least once,” the report states.
The victims told the United Nations Human Rights Office about the extremely severe violence they experienced. One Ukrainian prisoner of war reported being raped with a baton, another said he was raped with the keys to the cell door. One Ukrainian civilian said a shovel handle was used.
One woman told that a Russian serviceman settled in her house in Zaporizhzhia, after which for a month he “raped her several times a week, promising in return to secure better treatment for her detained husband.”
Another woman reported that a Russian serviceman forcibly moved into her house in Kherson and raped her every night. He also repeatedly threatened her with gang rape. Another woman recounted how in 2022 two Russian servicemen broke into her family’s house in the Kyiv region and, after shooting her husband, subjected her to gang rape. They threatened to shoot her in front of her four-year-old son if she resisted.
Almost half of the violations attributed to representatives of the Ukrainian authorities and committed against Russian prisoners of war and prisoners of war from third countries were threats of sexual violence. The other violations included forced stripping, electric shocks and beatings to the genital area, electric shocks and beatings of naked persons, sexually degrading treatment, as well as two cases of sexual assault and two attempted rapes.
“Sexual violence is one of the most severe manifestations of the full-scale armed attack on Ukraine. It must be stopped immediately, regardless of who commits it. At the same time, given the large number of cases attributed to Russian forces, the Russian Federation in particular must take concrete and visible steps to protect civilians and prisoners of war from all forms of torture, including sexual violence,” said Türk.
“Both Russia and Ukraine must promptly, thoroughly, and impartially investigate all credible allegations of sexual violence and ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable regardless of their rank or affiliation,” he added.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also again called on the Russian Federation to immediately, fully, and unconditionally cease the use of force against Ukraine and withdraw all its armed forces from Ukrainian territory in accordance with the UN Charter and binding norms of international law.
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