The UN Human Rights Office documented 1,004 cases of sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war in Ukraine between 24 February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, and the end of July 2026, according to the report the office published on 18 September 2026 and G1’s account.

Of the total, 89 percent of the cases were attributed to Russian authorities, including members of the armed forces, the prison service and the national security service, and 11 percent to Ukrainian authorities. Most of the victims were men, particularly in places of detention, and the documented violations include gang rape, genital mutilation, electric shocks and beatings to the genitals and other degrading acts of a sexual nature. The youngest rape survivor was four years old and the oldest 82; both were perpetrated by Russian authorities. Many of the men reported electric shocks to the genitals with a Soviet-era military field telephone known as a “tapik”, a method used in 155 cases, or 27 percent of the total, against Ukrainian prisoners of war and retained medical personnel. Almost half of the violations attributed to Ukrainian authorities against Russian or third-country prisoners of war consisted of threats of sexual violence. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said Russia, “given the high prevalence of cases attributed to its forces”, must take concrete steps to protect civilians and prisoners of war from all forms of torture, and called on both countries to investigate all credible claims. Investigators interviewed about 10 percent of the prisoners released by both sides and never had access to Russian-controlled territory, Danielle Bell, head of the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, told G1.