Instances of sexual assault and rape by Russian service personnel under investigation in 4 regions

Alyona Mazurenko – Friday, 8 April, 23:13

The police authorities have launched a series of criminal proceedings for the abuse and rape of women and girls in the Donetsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.

Source: Ihor Mustetsa, Deputy Prosecutor General, in a commentary for Ukrainska Pravda

According to Mustetsa: "Information about these criminal offences in almost all cases is based on the results of monitoring Internet resources, media information, reports from third parties, etc.

The Beryslav District Prosecutor’s Office initiated criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code on the basis of information obtained as part of a report by a refugee from the Kherson region about the rape of her underage neighbour by a Russian soldier. This fact was confirmed in a telephone conversation with the girl’s parents.

Detection of these facts and further pre-trial investigation is complicated on the one hand by the fact that the victims remain in the [Russian-]occupied territories and do not have access to police authorities and, on the other hand, by the fact that incidents of assault may not be reported to the police because many victims do not want to disclose having suffered these criminal offences."

Details: Police officers are currently implementing a mechanism for Ukrainian women to report instances of rape by the Russian occupiers. Given the sensitive nature of such assault disclosures, a separate format for work with victims of sexual assault is also being developed.

Prosecutors are working with human rights defenders and civil society organisations to ensure victims of rape and sexual assault have access to premedical, medical, and psychological help and treatment.

On 8 April, the Ombudsman’s official website published information about an instance of rape by the Russian occupying soldiers of a 14-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy in the city of Bucha in the Kyiv region.

Mustetsa said that so far the Prosecutor’s Office has not received any statements or materials on the instances of child rape described in the publication.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has asked the Ombudsman for further information on these crimes.

The Prosecutor’s Office also added that the investigation of such crimes presupposes the existence of a victim, so it is currently important to identify the children who suffered the offence and obtain their consent to further investigation.