Wartime Sexual Violence Threatening Ukrainian Women... Victim Protection Network 'Absent' Amid Ongoing Clashes

Reports of wartime sexual violence emerging from Russian troop withdrawal areas
Ongoing clashes hinder perpetrator punishment and victim protection
Russia claims "massive amount of lies about Russian troops"
International human rights groups call for investigation into deliberate atrocities and violence against civilians

A pro-Russian rebel soldier is passing in front of an apartment reduced to its skeleton by indiscriminate bombing in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on the 30th of last month (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] In the war that has lasted over a month, the opponents Ukrainian women have had to fight against were not only the relentless bombardments. Wartime sexual violence, defined as a war crime under the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has been reported in areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn, with testimonies of sexual violence committed by them. The victims are revealing the horrors of crimes committed by Russian soldiers through the police, media, and human rights organizations.

On the 7th, the New York Post (local time) introduced stories of Ukrainian women who cut their hair themselves to avoid sexual crimes. Mariana Beshastna, the mayor of Ivankiv, Ukraine, told the New York Post in an interview, "Many women in the areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian troops have been exposed to sexual crimes such as rape and sexual assault," adding, "There were cases where 15- and 16-year-old girls were gang-raped. Russian soldiers dragged young girls who were hiding by their hair from basements and committed these crimes." Ivankiv was occupied by Russian troops early in the war but was retaken by Ukrainian forces on the 2nd.

Mayor Beshastna continued, "After these incidents, Ukrainian girls in the village began cutting their hair all at once," explaining, "They are desperately trying to look less attractive to the Russian soldiers."

Reports of sexual violence committed by Russian troops are not limited to this. Earlier, on the 3rd (local time), the British Guardian reported that cases of war crimes, including rape, have been increasingly reported in areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn. According to the report, Russian soldiers have committed atrocities such as gang rape or sexual violence at gunpoint. One woman testified to the Guardian that before fleeing after waking up to bombing sounds, she had to find weapons and contraceptives to protect herself.

Lesia Vasylenko, a member of the Ukrainian Holos Party in the National Assembly, also posted photos of victims on Twitter on the 4th, claiming, "Even a 10-year-old girl was brutally raped. The bodies of deceased women bore burn marks in the shape of Nazi symbols." The photos she released show the swastika symbol, the emblem of Nazi Germany during World War II, burned onto the bodies of female corpses.

In a cemetery in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on the 2nd (local time), a woman is crying uncontrollably while hugging the flag that covered the coffin at the funeral of her son who died fighting against Russian troops.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ukrainian side has appealed to the international community, stating that Russian troops are committing war crimes such as sexual violence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the Russian troops during a virtual speech to the United Nations Security Council on the 5th, saying, "Russians killed civilians just for fun," and "Women were raped and then killed in front of their children, and (Russian troops) cut off civilians' limbs and beheaded them."

However, since the war is ongoing, there is no proper way to punish the perpetrators. The Ukrainian prosecution and the ICC have announced investigations into reported cases of rape, but there is growing skepticism about the possibility of punishing Russian troops during wartime. The Guardian also pointed out, "The long process of achieving judicial justice does little to ease the fears of Ukrainian women currently at risk of sexual violence."

There is also a lack of systems to protect sexual violence victims. Kateryna Cherepakha, chairperson of La Strada Ukraine, a charity supporting survivors of sexual violence, told the Guardian that although many victims sought help, ongoing fighting prevented them from providing physical assistance.

In response, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement on the same day urging an investigation into war crimes committed by Russian troops. Hugh Williamson, HRW's director for Europe and Central Asia, said, "The incidents we have documented are unspeakable deliberate atrocities and violence against Ukrainian civilians," and emphasized, "The rape, murder, and other violent acts by Russian troops must be investigated as war crimes."

Meanwhile, Russia denies the war crimes. Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzya, Russia's ambassador to the UN, said at the Security Council meeting on the 5th in response to President Zelensky's criticism, "We have heard a tremendous amount of lies about the Russian troops," and claimed, "The reason we are not advancing as much as expected in the war is because we are not targeting civilians out of consideration for their safety. We came not to conquer Ukraine but to bring peace to Donbas."