A senior UN envoy said on Friday that Russian soldiers were given Viagra to rape and “dehumanize” Ukrainian women.
Pramila Patten, 64, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, calls sexual degradation a “deliberate tactic” by Moscow and part of a “military strategy” to bring about Ukraine’s subjugation.
“When women are held and raped for days,” Patten told AFP, “when you start raping little boys and men, when you see a wave of female genital mutilation, when you hear women reporting on Russian soldiers using Viagra, it’s It’s clearly a military strategy.”
Some victims as young as four years old
According to Patten, the UN has investigated more than 100 cases of rape or sexual assault in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February. These are “just the tip of the iceberg”. The victims are mainly women, but men and children are also affected – some as young as four years old.
“And when the victims report what was said during the rape,” the UN official explains, “that is clearly a deliberate tactic to dehumanize the victim.”
Last week, the Washington Post reported in detail about the fate of a 52-year-old Ukrainian named Alla, who was raped and tortured by Russian soldiers for ten days. The occupiers, who have since fled Alla’s hometown of Izium, apparently wanted information about their son, who works for the Ukrainian secret service SBU. Her husband was also detained and tortured. (keep)