CNN: cases of rape of Ukrainian men by Russians in the occupied territories have become more frequent (video)

The number of cases of sexual violence against men in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is increasing.

During the full-scale war, sexual violence by the Russian military became part of the terror against Ukrainians living in the WOT. Not only women are victims, but also men, who are increasingly raped. About it write CNN journalists who went to Kyiv to meet and talk with prosecutors and victims of such crimes.

The Office of the Prosecutor General said that the Russian military forced men to expose their bodies, mutilated their genitals, raped them, and passed electric currents through their genitals. Ukrainian law enforcement officers have recorded attempts and cases of rape using clubs and pipes, bottles and shovel handles, and sticks.

Roman Chernenko, a 29-year-old Ukrainian intelligence officer, was held captive for seven months. For four months he was tortured several times every day. He tells CNN:

“They laughed when they tortured me… they told me that the Chechens were screwing me. They took me out to be shot twice and threatened me with rape.”

The fighter was released as part of a prisoner exchange in January 2024; he is still recovering from his experience and says that only thoughts of his beloved and mother gave him the strength to survive captivity.

Prosecutor and acting head of the department against sexual violence Anna Sosonskaya says that only a small percentage of Ukrainians who have suffered violence seek help. According to prosecutors investigating such cases, all evidence points to this being a deliberate tactic, part of Russia's modus operandi in Ukraine:

“This happens in every region that was under occupation. Everywhere where Russian troops were, we see cases of sexual and gender-based violence. This looks like a Russian strategy.”

Anna Mikitenko, head of the international legal non-profit organization Global Rights Compliance (GRC), added that survivors of violence claim that the occupiers called such actions “punishment”:

“In several villages in the south, we heard witnesses and survivors say that the Russian military came, occupied the village, and then specifically looked for Ukrainian military wives or their mothers or sisters.”

The Ukrainian Ombudsman's Office said it holds the Russian armed forces, the Ministry of Defense, and the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service responsible for what is happening in prisons where Ukrainian fighters are detained, tortured and raped.

Finding the culprits is difficult, but quite possible, they say in the UCP. As of the beginning of May, 42 Russian officers were declared suspects, 19 indictments against 28 people were sent to court, and five people were convicted. All trials took place in absentia.

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