"He said: Do whatever you want with her." Stories of Ukrainian women who survived sexual violence by Russians

At least hundreds of Ukrainian women and girls have suffered sexual violence at the hands of Russian soldiers since the beginning of the war. Some were forced by the Russian soldiers to provide sexual services to an entire company of troops, and some were infected with dangerous diseases. There are also those who have given birth to children conceived as a result of the assaults.

Source: The New York Times

Warning: This material contains descriptions of traumatic events that may cause emotional distress.

Details: Ukrainian authorities and humanitarian groups report that hundreds of Ukrainian women have reported conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). However, human rights activists say the actual number of victims may be significantly higher.

Women are often reluctant to report crimes committed against them because they wish to avoid stigmatisation and painful memories, or because they live in territories occupied by Russia and have little hope that the perpetrators will be punished.

However, some Ukrainian women choose to speak openly about what they describe as the brutality that Russia uses as a weapon.

Nina said she was diagnosed with hepatitis C after a Russian soldier beat and raped her in her own home. Yuliia was arrested in occupied territory in 2021 – prison guards tied her naked to a table and threatened to rape her with a rubber baton.

Olha was stripped naked by Russian soldiers, groped and forced to use the toilet in front of them.

"I thought this was the end for me"

Two weeks after the start of the full-scale invasion, 53-year-old economist Lesia and her husband Sasha heard a knock at the door of their home near Kyiv. Two Russian soldiers broke into the couple's house.

One of them grabbed Lesia and dragged her into a neighbouring house, where he raped her. Meanwhile, the other shot her husband in the stomach and leg.

Later, four more Russian servicemen came to the house where Lesia was being held.

"I thought this was the end for me – they had knives, rifles and grenades," Lesia recalls.

Despite her fears, the Russian soldiers stopped her attacker. She then went to look for her husband and found him lying in a pool of blood on the floor of another house, where neighbours were trying to help him.

Lesia begged the Russians to allow her to take Sasha to hospital, but she was not allowed to get into the car. He died in her arms two days after being injured.

Lesia says that her husband's death was worse than the rape. The cause of Sasha's death was recorded as gunshot wounds to the abdomen sustained during the occupation.

Lesia filed a complaint with the Office of the Prosecutor General, accusing Russian soldiers of rape. Her case is under investigation.

She now lives in the house she shared with her husband. Their car was stolen and later returned when Ukrainian forces pushed the Russian army out of Kyiv Oblast.

The car was marked with the letter "V". Since then, Lesia has not used it.

"I wanted to have an abortion"

The family of 31-year-old Svitlana found themselves under Russian occupation in the south of Ukraine with their son, who required medical care. The four-week-old baby was born in poor health and needed medical supervision.

At one point, Russian soldiers broke into her home and threatened to take her son away and deport him to Russia. Svitlana resisted the pressure and was left alone. However, the father of her child later began socialising with Russian servicemen.

The man sympathised with Russia and often invited soldiers to their home for drinks.

After one such gathering, he forced Svitlana into a minibus with two soldiers. A mask was placed over her face, and she was taken to a neighbouring village. While her partner remained in the vehicle, one of the servicemen took her into a shop, where he raped her twice.

Svitlana recalls that the soldier was carrying a grenade and a rifle. After the assault, her partner said nothing and escorted her back to their home.

Six months later, Svitlana took her son and four children from a previous relationship and fled to another village. She divorced her husband.

Soon afterwards, she noticed her stomach was growing – a test showed she was pregnant.

"I wanted to have an abortion. I went to hospital, but they told me it was already too late. I was 23 weeks pregnant," Svitlana said.

In March 2023, Svitlana gave birth to a son who resembles her attacker. She says she is receiving psychological support to come to terms with the situation.

"Yaroslav is developing faster than my other children. He already speaks fluently. Sometimes I regret that I wanted to have an abortion. I love him almost as much as the others," she admits.

The sexual violence against Svitlana is being investigated by the oblast prosecutor's office.

"It was the worst of all the detention facilities"

In February 2022, the Russian army occupied Berdyansk. 53-year-old local entrepreneur Tetiana Tipakova decided to fight back. Tetiana wrapped herself in the Ukrainian flag and organised anti-Russian protests. She delivered speeches in front of the city hall and recorded videos to be shared on social media.

Less than a month later, eight armed men in balaclavas captured Tetiana in her home. She was handcuffed, a bag was pulled over her head, and she was taken to the penal colony.

Quote: "I was aware of this place – it was the worst of all the detention facilities in Berdiansk."

Tatiana was tortured for seven days. On the fourth day, she was taken to the area near the prison, where the guards staged a mock execution by shooting.

During her detention, Tetiana was subjected to psychological and physical abuse, interrogations and torture. At one point, the Russians ran an electric current through her body. Since then, Tetiana says she "constantly smells burnt hair."

In captivity, Tetiana also endured sexual violence – guards raped her with their hands and objects, including a firearm.

Tetiana says the aim of the torture was to break her psychologically and force her to spread Russian propaganda in Berdiansk. The abuse continued until she agreed to record a video admitting that participating in anti-Russian protests had been a mistake.

​​After her release, Tetiana fled to Zaporizhzhia, where she now heads a charity organisation assisting internally displaced persons.

Tetiana testified about the abuse in The Hague. She regularly speaks at international conferences and cooperates with an organisation that collects testimonies from victims of wartime rape.

Tetiana hopes to shed light on Russian war crimes and bring those responsible to justice.

"When I saw the first Ukrainian checkpoint – I fell to my knees, started crying and hugging the soldiers."

Lawyer Mariia (name changed), 50, often provided legal assistance to Ukrainians living in the temporarily occupied territories since 2014. After the full-scale invasion began, the Russians seized her city in southern Kherson Oblast.

She was accused of being a "threat to the security of the Russian Federation". In January 2023, masked men brutally detained her and her husband, announcing they were being deported from the region. Later, her husband was taken to the frontline in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

On the way, Mariia overheard one soldier say to another over the radio, "You can take a man to dig trenches and chop wood for you. You can do whatever you want with a woman."

Mariia said she was taken to a small farmhouse full of Russian soldiers. She was forced into sexual slavery for soldiers who were likely headed to their final battle.

Quote: "They got drunk, beat me, and two soldiers raped me."

​​The next day, a Russian major found the injured and dirty Mariia lying motionless on the floor. The Russian army officer told her she could escape if she managed to reach Ukrainian-controlled territory on foot.

Mariia recalls that the major said, "If you can, light a candle for me. No one has ever gotten this far."

Mariia crossed minefields, crawled through the ruins of a destroyed bridge, and reached a Ukrainian checkpoint late at night.

Quote: "When I saw the first checkpoint, I fell to my knees. I hugged the soldiers and started crying."

Due to her injuries, Mariia was unable to walk for several weeks and was emotionally exhausted. She was unable to leave her home for a long time until she received help from a member of a support group for survivors of sexual violence.

Quote: "I was completely shut off."

Mariia reported the abuse to Ukrainian law enforcement, and a criminal case has been opened.

Background: A total of 1,080 people in Ukraine have been sexually assaulted by Russian military personnel. Nineteen soldiers have been convicted since the beginning of the full-scale war.

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