British Ambassador To Ukraine Warns 'Rape Is A Weapon Of War, Part Of Russia's Arsenal'

Russian troops have allegedly been committing rape crimes against Ukrainian women as an ‘instrument of war’ and in the recent week, “several cases” of violent sexual acts have emerged since Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered an all-out military invasion in Kyiv. While millions of civilians have taken shelter in the neighbouring EU nations to flee the war atrocities, the women and young girls in Ukrainian cities are being subjected to horrifying acts of sexual violence by the invading Russian soldiers, as is being claimed by the Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Ukrainian MP Maria Mezentseva.

The Ukrainian ministers have cited several incidents where Russian soldiers have raped and later killed the victims as the brutal armed conflict ensues on Ukrainian soil. Many such cases have not yet been revealed to the public by the rape victims, Maria Mezentseva said in a TV interview, referencing a singled out case in Brovary, an eastern suburb of Kyiv.

On Saturday, British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons warned that Russian soldiers are committing rapes as ‘a weapon of war'. While the extent of use of such sexual crimes in war-torn Ukraine isn’t fully understood, “it’s already clear it is being used as a part of the arsenal,” Simmons warned.As cases of rape by the Russian soldiers and increased sexual violence against women came to light recently, UK Foreign Office minister Vicky Ford told MPs during an urgent question in the Commons that the UK has involved international partners to strengthen the response to tackling sexual violence in conflict and “all options are on the table”. The Labour Party called for a tribunal on reports of sexual violence by Russian troops. UK 'horrified' by cases of rape by Russian armed forces: Foreign Office Minister
The UK Foreign Office has emphasised that it now becomes increasingly “important” to gather all the evidence, adding that a new convention is needed or a new international agreement Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative to have the victims raped by invading soldiers to speak. The legal body will support survivors, document crimes, and prosecute perpetrator soldiers in coordination with local courts. The UK is “horrified” by cases of sexual violence and rape by Russian armed forces, said a British Foreign Office minister. “We have been clear that Russia’s barbaric acts must be investigated and those responsible be held to account,” she told MPs in Commons.

In Ukraine’s embattled southern city of Mariupol, the most heavily bombarded region by the invading Russian troops, a woman who was brutally raped by the soldiers had died. Ukraine’s defence ministry announced the news of the woman’s death on Twitter, and the account was verified by the Polish journal niezalezna.pl. “This is not a horror movie. Rape, violence, murder - such is the meaning of Russian peace,” the Ukrainian defence ministry wrote in the post.