Ukrainian women who survived the war tell: They took turns to rape me – Russia

Russian forces have used widespread sexual violence to terrorize survivors of the war in Ukraine, targeting the most vulnerable members of society – children and the elderly, Sky News reports.

Only 154 cases of sexual violence related to the conflict have been officially identified, but experts believe the actual number of victims is significantly higher.

A UN investigation into war crimes committed in Ukraine found that sexual violence was perpetrated against all genders, and that victims ranged in age from four to 82.

Sexual violence during conflict is classified as a war crime and genocide.

It can have long-term psychological consequences – including PTSD, depression and anxiety – as well as physical consequences such as sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and traumatic injuries.

Experts believe that the effects of sexual violence in wartime are exacerbated by attitudes towards rape – victims are often unable to speak about the assault because of the presence of foreign troops.

Sexual violence in Ukraine is so appalling that First Lady Yelena Zelenska has warned that Russian forces are using it “systematically and openly” and that it is “another weapon in their arsenal”.

Alisa Kovalenko is a documentary filmmaker who was attacked by Russian soldiers in 2014 in the Donbas region. Sky News is able to cover her story because she has waived her right to anonymity.

It is one year since the beginning of the war in Ukraine

She was filming a documentary about anti-corruption protests when she was stopped at a checkpoint manned by Russian soldiers while traveling in a taxi.

The taxi driver mistakenly said that Ms Kovalenko was from the Ukrainian army and the soldiers arrested her. She was questioned for hours before one of the officers took her to an apartment.

She said: “He made me undress and take a shower, but of course he kept the door open and went into the bathroom every now and then. He said to me, ‘Why are you so shy? You need to wash up. You’re so dirty because you stayed in the trenches.”

“He was saying it in a very arrogant way. He was demonstrating that he had this power and could do whatever he wanted. Then he gave me a very small towel and took me into the kitchen and wanted to talk. He was cleaning his gun right in front of me, enjoying himself of my power and of not being able to do anything.”

“Later he tried to rape me. That’s why I think it was a weapon of war, because there can be no greater humiliation than that.”

Kovalenko was held captive for four days before the soldiers freed her.

The Andreev Foundation is a charitable organization that supports victims of sexual violence and records their testimonies.

The accounts of the victims show the brutality of the Russian soldiers towards the Ukrainians in the areas they occupied.

One of the victims, known as A, said: “I got down on my knees and started to unbuckle his belt and he started smiling again and petting my head saying I was a ‘good girl’.

“When he finished, he called another soldier who spat on me and hit me so hard that I couldn’t hear in my left ear for several days. Then another soldier dragged me outside and told me to leave. I tried to wipe away my tears because so that my children wouldn’t see them. They put a piece of white tape on my forehead and told me to leave, and when I did, they [войниците] they shot at our car”.

Another survivor says: “I remember very well the creaking of the table where I was raped, the number of rapes – five times, the smell in the room – smoked sausage mixed with alcohol and sex, the sounds of explosions and the names of the books that were on the shelves in front of my face, I read them over and over as they took turns raping me.”

Another survivor was threatened with a machine gun.

“The Russian soldiers were laughing loudly, they pushed me to the side and one of them put a machine gun on my chest and the other said: ‘Stop it, there’s nothing to do with it.’

“The soldier pulled the machine gun and I even had time to start praying and saying goodbye to my life,” she says.

The attack ended only after one of the soldiers received a phone call and the group left.

“They want to destroy us mentally.”

Another Hiccup said: “The physical pain is gone, but something worse than it remains. As soon as I close my eyes, I am torn to pieces again. Not only could I not sleep, but the sense of danger, fear, shame and utter hopelessness came even during the day.”

“My body was healed – only the stitches remained. But there is still pain in my soul. I didn’t know how to continue living. One day I couldn’t take it anymore – I tried to kill myself”.

Anna Orel, one of the charity’s team working with survivors, said it was like a “horror movie”.

“They just want to destroy us mentally. Russian forces use rape as a deliberate tactic to dehumanize the victims.”

“Most people who go through this don’t want to go on living. Our main goal is to get them back to their previous life, help them hang on and give them a reason to live,” she says.

“It’s very difficult to hear these terrible things from people who have survived. But we have to fight to resist and we have to keep living to help others as well.”

“Helping others is also our strength. I just can’t imagine how hard it is for these survivors of sexual abuse. It’s heartbreaking for me every time I hear their stories.”