Ukraine war's sexual assault victims to be paid reparations, First Lady calls it 'important step' towards justice

Ukrainian nationals who suffered sexual violence at the hands of invading Russian forces will start to receive reparation in the coming weeks. The reparations include financial, medical, and psychological support for the victims.

Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska has called the starting of reparations as “an important step towards restoring justice”.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, accounts of Russian targeting killings and assaults of civilians have surfaced repeatedly. Ukraine has accused Russia of using rape and sexual violence as an instrument of war.

The reparations are being paid by Global Survivors Fund, an organisation dedicated to providing reparations to victims of conflict-related sexual violence, in partnership with the Ukrainian government and donations from governments of various countries, according to The Guardian.

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The report said that they have identified up to 500 Ukrainian victims of wartime sexual violence who are to be provided reparations. Separately, Ukrainian authorities have identified around 300 cases of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers on Ukrainians during the ongoing war, as per The Kyiv Independent.

‘Justice for Ukrainian victims mirror for world’: Ukraine’s First Lady

Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, has said that the justice for the Ukrainian victims of wartime sexual violence is a mirror for the world.

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“Reparations to victims of gross human rights violations, including victims of conflict-related sexual violence, are not just about economic support. It is an important step towards restoring justice. And this justice is needed not only in Ukraine. Justice for Ukrainian victims of violence is now a mirror for the world itself,” said Zelenska, as per The Guardian.

Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been vocal about sexual violence in the ongoing war for a long time. In November 2022, she said that Russia was using sexual violence as an instrument of war. She urged the world to hold Russia accountable for alleged violence at the time.

“Sexual violence is the most cruel, most animalistic way to prove mastership over someone…This is another instrument that they [Russian forces] are using as their weaponry. This is another weapon in their arsenal in this war and conflict. That’s why they’re using this systematically and openly,” said Zelenska at the time, as per Sky News.

Zelenska further said that the Ukrainian victims of sexual violence by Russians ranged from an eight-year-old child to an 85-year-old woman.

Ukraine raises wartime sexual violence at UN Security Council

Ukraine on Tuesday raised the issue of alleged Russian sexual violence during the ongoing war at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Ukraine’s UN envoy Sergiy Kyslytsya told the UNSC that Russia was using “sexual violence as a weapon against civilians and prisoners of war”, according to The Kyiv Independent.

The report said that Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office has recorded around 300 cases of sexual violence committed by Russian forces since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

Citing testimonies from people released from Russian captivity, Kyslytsya said more than 50% of detainees suffered torture, rape, or other forms of sexual violence, according to the report. He also cited data with the Ukrainian prosecutors to say that victims include 188 women, 102 men, and 15 minors.