UN expert says Russian army uses sexual violence as a tactic

A recent interview with a UN specialist asserts that, in the battle of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces are using sexual violence against women as a strategy. UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten called violence such as rape a tactic of war in the Russian army’s playbook.

War is brutal, and soldiers from countries worldwide have committed crimes and atrocities during times of war. But there’s a big difference between renegade soldiers on the ground committing a crime and a country’s army using atrocities as a strategy to get an edge on the battlefield.

But the interview with AFP, shared by Thailand News, with the UN Special Representative said that the Russian army is using “deliberate tactic[s] to dehumanise the victims” as part of their military strategy. She mentioned victim testimonials that described Russian soldiers popping Viagra before raping and assaulting Ukrainian women.

“When you hear women testify that Russian soldiers are equipped with Viagra, it is clearly a military strategy.”

The UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict claimed that in the Ukraine invasion, rape and sexual violence against women is not a horrific byproduct of the strain of war. It is the point. The assaults against women are deliberate and orchestrated by the Russian army itself. It is likely encouraged to dehumanise the victims, making killing Ukrainians easier for soldiers to stomach.

The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of war crimes and violations of human rights since the start of their invasion to seize and annex land that Vladimir Putin claimed he was trying to end. Ukraine has been reclaiming land that had fallen earlier in the war to Russian forces. In many cases, the reclaiming of occupied cities has revealed atrocities, with the government asserting claims of rape and assault for months.