Cruel war crimes Psychologist tells about castration of Ukrainian soldiers
By Maximilian Perseke and Vivian Micks June 19, 2023, 3:09 PM
Castration is one of the cruelest war crimes. A Ukrainian psychologist is now reporting on her treatment of two affected men. She believes that there are many more victims. There may be a reason why Kiev itself is keeping a low profile.
Castration is one of the least talked about war crimes. In July 2022, a video was leaked showing a Ukrainian prisoner being apparently castrated by a man in Russian uniform. Now, another report suggests that such torture by Russian troops is not isolated.
In the English newspaper “The Times”, psychologist Anzhelika Yatsenko reports the suffering of two Ukrainian men who, as prisoners of war, were first beaten by drunken Russian soldiers and then castrated. “One of them said to me: ‘I don’t know how I’m still alive, there was so much blood, I thought I was going to die of blood poisoning’”, explains the psychologist.
Their report focuses on the psychological state of 25- and 28-year-old men after they return from captivity through a prisoner exchange. Both were suicidal, one tried to kill himself. One is back in front. According to the men, the Russian soldiers said they were doing this so as not to bring children into the world. “For me it’s genocide,” explains the therapist from Poltava, in central Ukraine.
Reisner: Not a new war element
Reports like this are difficult to verify, and the English Times no longer provides sources. Official reports, such as the US State Department report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, only give rough estimates of victims of sexual violence, but do not break down the numbers further, e.g. for rape, castration threats, genital mutilation or sexual harassment. Even before the invasion of Russia last year, the report assumes that the number of victims of sexual violence in Russian captivity was in the triple-digit range.
Markus Reisner, a colonel in the Austrian Armed Forces, believes that reports like the psychologist’s are reliable. “Unfortunately, that’s the sad truth,” he said in an interview with ntv.de. This is not a new element of warfare. “We saw this in 2014.” At the time, both sides used it as a method of intimidation.
Evidence of such acts by Ukrainian soldiers has not yet surfaced. However, a few weeks into the Russian invasion, a Ukrainian doctor was shocked by the statement that he had instructed his staff to castrate captured Russian soldiers. He later backtracked on his statement, saying he was very emotional.
Until now, the Ukrainian government has made virtually no statements about victims of this type of torture in its own ranks. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the issue in September in a speech to the UN General Assembly after video of the Ukrainian prisoner’s castration circulated: “There is a man who was castrated before he was murdered. And this is not the first case him,” said Zelenskyy. “Please ask Russian officials why the Russian military is so obsessed with castration.”
Castration as an element of psychological warfare
Zelenskyy’s response suggests that these are not isolated cases. Psychologist Yatskenko comes to similar conclusions after talking with patients and colleagues. “They told me that the Russians performed castration very skillfully, as if they knew how to do it. And I heard many cases from colleagues who treated other people.”
The British security analyst and journalist also comments on Twitter jimmy rushtonthat he could confirm the Times report. Last year, “hundreds” of Ukrainian prisoners returned alive but castrated, he said, citing Ukrainian government sources.
In addition to being torture against those affected and a clear violation of international humanitarian law, castration is also an element of seduction in psychological warfare and information space combat, according to Colonel Reisner. “You must not forget that when the soldier who has been castrated returns from captivity, of course the news spreads. That is the intention behind it.” The perpetrators want to put pressure on the enemy’s future recruits so that they fear something similar will happen to them and they don’t want to go to the front.
The fact that Kiev itself does not comment widely on castration cases could also be related to the fact that the psychological effect of the reports on potential recruits is considered so devastating that the subject is left silent. Rushton also emphasizes the psychological component of the crimes: The subject has not yet been addressed “because it was supposed to intensify the trauma suffered by the men”.