Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, accused Russian soldiers of using rape as a weapon of war in her nation and demanded a ‘global response’ to the issue. The Russian servicemen’s wives, according to her, encouraged their husbands to rape Ukrainian women.
First Lady Zelenska discussed the ‘systematically and publicly’ committed sexual abuse by the invaders as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine rages on in her speech at an international conference in London to address sexual violence during conflicts.
‘The cruellest, most animalistic way to establish dominance over someone is through sexual violence. And because no one feels safe in a period of war, it is challenging for those who have experienced this kind of violence to testify’ she asserted, as quoted by SkyNews.
‘They (the Russian soldiers) are employing this as another another weapon. This is yet another tool they have available to them in this war and fight. They’re utilising this deliberately and openly because of this.’
It is ‘very vital to recognise this as a war crime and to bring all of the offenders accountable,’ Zelenska continued. She backed up her claims by stating, ‘We notice that the Russian servicemen are very open about this: they chat about it over the phone with their relatives, from phone conversations we’ve managed to catch.’
In fact, the wives of Russian service members support this behaviour, telling their husbands to rape the Ukrainian women but to keep it a secret from them. She continued by stating that this is the reason why a global response is required.
The victims of alleged sexual assaults ranged in age from four to over 80, according to a UN-supported report released last month, and in some cases, family members had seen rape.
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