Russian Soldiers Rape Children And Brand Women With Swastikas, Ukraine MP Claims
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(Photo: Getty)
Russian soldiers have raped girls as young as ten and branded women’s bodies with swastikas, a Ukrainian MP has claimed.
Lesia Vasylenko said children had been left with wounds from serious sexual assault, adding: “Russian men did this.”
It comes as Russian troops are accused of massacring, torturing and raping hundreds of civilians on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv in Bucha and Irpin.
My heart breaks more as volunteer tells me not to send baby food to the liberated villages as not many babies left. #Bucha#Irpin and the rest were family suburbia, now just a massacre site
— Lesia Vasylenko (@lesiavasylenko) April 3, 2022
Vasylenko, a mother-of-three, has been detailing allegations of Russian war crimes through her social media accounts.
She tweeted: “Russian soldiers loot, rape and kill. 10 y.o. girls with vaginal and rectal tears. Women with swastika shaped burns.
“Russia. Russian Men did this. And Russian mothers raised them. A nation of immoral criminals.”
Desperately sad story from just outside Kyiv, about a woman called Iryna whose son was killed by Russian soldiers. We were the first outsiders she'd seen since the Russians left her village on Friday. Shot and edited by @leedurant. Produced by @producerkathypic.twitter.com/vKE1tjL1kf
— Jeremy Bowen (@BowenBBC) April 3, 2022
Vasylenko also shared a photograph of a woman who was allegedly tortured, raped, killed and branded with a swastika.
The MP commented: “Tortured body of a raped and killed woman. I’m speechless. My mind is paralysed with anger and fear and hatred.”
Vasylenko, who was elected in 2019 for the liberal Holos party, was among four female MPs who visited the UK last month to meet British politicians.
They were granted special permission to leave their war-torn country, warning of the harrowing atrocities being committed by Russian soldiers.
Four Ukrainian MPs arrive at Downing Street for talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Photo: James Manning - PA Images via Getty Images)
Journalists based in Kyiv now say “clear evidence” of war crimes has been uncovered, including civilians shot with their hands bound behind their backs and other bodies that bear the marks of torture and rape.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling on world leaders to introduce new sanctions after the massacre of civilians.
“I want all the leaders of the Russian Federation to see how their orders are being fulfilled,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said there were “clear indications of war crimes” after a mass grave was discovered in Bucha.
Ukrainian soldiers inspect the wreckage of a destroyed Russian armoured column on the road in Bucha, a suburb north of Kyiv. (Photo: SOPA Images via Getty Images)
“Those behind these crimes must answer for them,” he told the French broadcaster Inter, adding that “it was the Russian army that was in Bucha”.
Boris Johnson has accused Russia of “despicable attacks” while the White House has called it a “punch to the gut”.
Johnson has pledged to send funding and specialist investigators to the International Criminal Court at The Hauge to compile evidence for a war crimes tribunal.
“We will not rest until justice is served,” he vowed.
Help and support:
Rape Crisis services for women and girls who have been raped or have experienced sexual violence - 0808 802 9999
Survivors UK offers support for men and boys - 0203 598 3898
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.
