Russians have Committed ‘Vast Majority’ of Sexual Crimes in Ukraine

Russian cutthroats are responsible for the “vast majority of sexual violence” in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced in a report on September 18.
“I am deeply alarmed by the prevalence of these abhorrent acts documented in our report, and fear that they are almost certainly continuing amid the unceasing violence we are witnessing every day in Ukraine,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said regarding the findings.

The comprehensive assessment – covering the period from the start of the full-scale invasion through July – verified 1,004 cases of sexual violence across both detention facilities and occupied areas. That report from the UN Human Rights Office details a deeply disturbing, systematic pattern of conflict-related sexual violence used as a method of torture and intimidation. It is a grim and stark accounting of the human toll unfolding behind the front lines.

According to the report, out of the 1,004 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence between February 2022 and July 2026 against civilians and prisoners of war, 89% were attributed to Russian forces. 11% of total verified cases were attributed to Ukrainian forces, with threats of sexual violence comprising almost half of these violations.

“Sexual violence is a grave feature of the full-scale armed attack against Ukraine. It must stop immediately, irrespective of the perpetrators,” Turk said in a press release. “Given the high prevalence of cases attributed to its forces, however, the Russian Federation in particular must take concrete and discernible steps to protect civilians and prisoners of war from all forms of torture, including sexual violence.”

It’s a harrowing look at an underreported dimension of the war. The report—released by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and its Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU)—is titled “Sexual Violence in the Context of the Russian Federation Full-Scale Armed Attack against Ukraine.”

Covering the period from the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, through July 31, 1,004 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence were documented.

Key details from the 20-page assessment include:

Attribution and Scale: 89 percent of the verified violations were attributed to Russian authorities (including the armed forces, Federal Penitentiary Service, and FSB), while 11 percent were attributed to Ukrainian authorities (including armed forces and the SBU). The UN emphasized that these figures represent only a fraction of the reality due to underreporting and restricted access to Russian-occupied areas.

The Profile of Victims: Contrary to the common misconception that conflict-related sexual violence primarily targets women and girls, the majority of documented survivors in this conflict are men, overwhelmingly concentrated in detention facilities as prisoners of war (POWs) or civilian internees. Women and children were predominantly targeted in Russian-occupied residential areas.

Methods of Torture in Detention: For male POWs and detainees, sexual violence was systematically used as a method of torture. The report highlights that 27 percent of surveyed Ukrainian POWs and detained medical personnel endured electric shocks to their genitals, frequently administered using a Soviet-style military field telephone known as a “tapik.” Other violations included severe beatings, forced nudity, and object penetrations.

Violations in Occupied Territories: In civilian settings under Russian control, women and girls—ranging from young children to the elderly—faced rape, gang rape, and coercion, often inside their own homes.

Accountability: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the systemic nature of the acts and sharply criticized the Russian Federation for failing to take steps to prevent, investigate, or prosecute these crimes, pointing instead to legal provisions that shield service members from accountability. Meanwhile, the report noted that while Ukraine has cooperated with monitoring requests, local accountability efforts remain limited.