The three Russian soldiers came to Victoria’s house and claimed they had to confiscate her cellphone. But they weren’t looking for phones.
Victoria, a 42-year-old Ukrainian, told ABC News that she and another woman, a neighbor, were raped in March by two Russian soldiers occupying their village near Kyiv.
ABC News spoke to the two women, who agreed to speak about what they think happened to them on condition their whereabouts and last names will not be revealed.
Another soldier, a commanding officer who was not involved in the attack, threatened Victoria, she says.
“He looked at me and said, ‘Look, our boys have been drinking and want to have fun,'” Victoria says. “I understood that something terrible was going to happen.”
Two of the soldiers took the women to a house that was converted into the headquarters of the Russian occupying forces and raped them, it is said.
Victoria, a Ukrainian who described her ordeal under Russian occupation, pours tea at her home.
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That neighbor, 44-year-old Natalya, reported the events to ABC News.
“He’s like, ‘Do you want your son to be okay? So go upstairs and do as I tell you,’” Natalya recalled, describing her encounter with one of the Russian soldiers who she says raped her. “He was like an animal… And this gun was hanging around and swinging.”
Natalya says she later learned that the soldiers killed her husband after she was taken away. It is unclear how many soldiers, or which ones, were involved in the killing. The family buried her husband the next day.
The two Russian soldiers the women say raped them have not yet been identified, but international arrest warrants are pending, according to Kateryna Duchenko, the Ukrainian prosecutor in charge of cases of sexual violence by Russian soldiers. Both cases are under investigation, with slim chances the suspects will be taken into custody or serve jail time, she said.
Stories of rape and other atrocities by Russian troops are not uncommon in small towns and suburbs of Kyiv. Residents of Bucha and Borodyanka have reported human rights abuses including rape, murder and torture by Russian forces during the invasion.
Kateryna Duchenko, the Ukrainian prosecutor in charge of cases of sexual violence by Russian soldiers, speaks to ABC News.
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Russian authorities have not responded to ABC News’ requests for comment on the cases.
“The last case [we identified] was in the occupied territory of the Zaporizhia region, where allegedly 10 Russian soldiers raped a woman,” Duchenko said.
Communicating with residents inside the Russian-occupied territories is extremely difficult, which makes investigating and prosecuting these cases nearly impossible, Duchenko said.
“We know that she is alive and that she received medical treatment and these details are all we have,” Duchenko said of the limited information in the Zaporizhia case.
The United Nations reported in June it had collected 124 reports of suspected acts of conflict-related sexual violence, but qualified that number as “the tip of the iceberg,” adding that it “does not reflect the scale of sexual violence in the context of Russia’s war.” against Ukraine.”
Victoria and Natalya say they are now seeking counseling from a psychologist about their trauma.
“I wanted to peel off my skin and throw it away,” says Victoria. “The person I was before the war is gone. I became more aggressive. I started fighting more for myself.”
Natalya says she still has to put up with the attack.
“A lot of people have asked me, why aren’t you crying, why haven’t you gone mad?” She said.
In June, Ukrainian authorities announced they had opened the first trial of sexual assault by a Russian soldier, according to the Kyiv Post. The suspect will be tried in absentia.
Duchenko’s office says it is working to prosecute two other cases of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers, in addition to the case opened in June. The suspects will also be tried in absentia as they are not in Ukrainian custody.