Since the commencement of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has taken significant action against Russian service personnel suspected of committing sexual violence in various territories. A total of 87 Russian soldiers have been notified of suspicion for engaging in such crimes in the occupied regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv oblasts, as well as in Russia.
Prosecutors have diligently pursued justice by referring 45 indictments involving 58 individuals to court. Currently, 12 verdicts have been issued against 19 individuals, all of whom have been sentenced to prison time. Noteworthy is the fact that all legal proceedings were conducted in absentia.
The sentences handed down include twelve defendants receiving 12-year prison terms, two individuals being sentenced to 10- and 11-year imprisonments, and five perpetrators facing 15-year sentences.
The Office of the Prosecutor General emphasized that all verdicts were delivered through the special trial procedure in absentia to address the severity of the crimes committed.
Throughout the course of Russia’s invasion, 372 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) have been documented by prosecutors. These cases involve 136 incidents against men, 236 against women, 19 against underage girls, and one against an underage boy, with the victims enduring heinous acts such as rape, mutilation, forced nudity, threats, and coercion.
Notably, the regions with the highest number of CRSV cases include Kherson Oblast with 116 cases, Donetsk Oblast with 86 cases, and Kyiv Oblast with 60 cases. Other affected regions include Kharkiv Oblast with 46 cases, Zaporizhzhia Oblast with 26 cases, Mykolaiv Oblast with 11 cases, and additional incidences in Luhansk, Chernihiv, Odesa, Sumy, and Crimea.
It is important to note that the statistical data provided pertains solely to crimes against civilians, with information concerning servicemen being withheld until the conclusion of martial law, as stated by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
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