Zelenska: 171 cases of sexual violence by Russian troops recorded in Ukraine

The Prosecutor General’s Office has identified 171 victims of sexual violence by Russian troops, First Lady Olena Zelenska said at the United for Justice Conference in Lviv on March 4.

Zelenska noted that the number of acts of sexual violence undertaken by Russian troops in Ukraine indicates that such crimes are a deliberate policy of the Russian military.

“This is their conscious and psychological weapon against Ukrainians,” she said.

According to Zelenska, 119 instances of sexual violence were reported against women, 39 against men, and 13 against minors.

“Condemning rape and other war crimes must set a precedent so that any potential aggressor knows that this will not go unpunished,” Zelenska said.

“Russia uses sexual violence as a weapon of war,” Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on Feb. 20. “We record such cases wherever the Russian military is stationed.”

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The Kyiv Independent