Russian forces are using sexual violence as a systematic weapon of war against Ukrainian men, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.
The report, based on testimony from Ukrainian prosecutors, UN investigators, and interviews with former prisoners of war, found that sexual torture of Ukrainian military and civilian men has become a systematic tactic of Russian forces since the full-scale invasion in 2022. Before leaving for the front, Sergey Boychuk told his wife that he did not want to be captured alive. Months later, Russian guards held him captive for over two years, raping him with bottles and sticks while holding a knife to his genitals, the publication reported. “They wanted to break me psychologically,” Boychuk said.
Systematic Violence
The UN has collected evidence in approximately 310 cases of alleged sexual violence by Russian forces during the war. Documented cases include rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, electric shock torture, and genital beatings. Among the victims were 280 men, 26 women, and four girls.
Ukrainian prosecutors told the publication that the nature of the violence suggests these crimes were not just the actions of individuals but were carried out as part of Russia’s military campaign. “No one in command under these circumstances could claim not to know what was happening, even if they did not give orders to those under their control to do this,” said David Schwendiman, a former international prosecutor who investigated war crimes in Bosnia.
One of the widely used torture methods involved guards attaching old field telephone wires to prisoners’ genitals and applying electric current. Prison guards referred to this as “Putin’s call,” according to the UN. The head of one of St. Petersburg’s penal institutions told guards responsible for Ukrainian prisoners of war that there were no restrictions on violence, which often included sexual violence, according to former penal system employees who spoke with the publication.
Victims Among Civilians
Civilians have also become victims. Oleksiy Sivak from Kherson was imprisoned after hanging a Ukrainian flag. Guards attached wires to his genitals and tortured him with electric shocks. Now, 42-year-old Sivak runs a support group for about 200 Ukrainian men who report torture by Russia. Galina Tyshchenko, 63, told the publication that she was raped at gunpoint in her own living room and then led naked through the streets in sub-zero temperatures.
All former Ukrainian prisoners of war interviewed by the UN reported torture or ill-treatment, and over 70% said it included sexual violence. Meanwhile, about half of the Russian prisoners of war who spoke with the UN said Ukrainian forces treated them harshly, and less than 5% reported sexual violence.
Ukrainian investigators say such crimes occurred in nine different camps on Russian territory, with particularly harsh treatment in seven of them. The Kremlin and Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service declined to comment, the publication reported.
Source: The Times of India
