Putin’s Russia is using mass rape as a ‘weapon of war’ against Ukrainian civilians, Nobel peace prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk tells the Mail’s ‘Apocalypse Now?’ podcast

By JOSEPH PALMER

Published: 17:47 BST, 17 April 2025 | Updated: 17:57 BST, 17 April 2025

Russia is using the violent rape of Ukrainian civilians as a weapon to break the spirit of the nation, Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk has told the Mail’s ‘Apocalypse Now’ podcast.

Matviichuk works to catalogue Russian war crimes in Ukraine, in hopes that once the invasion is repelled, those implicated will face justice.

She said her organisation, the Centre for Civil Liberties, has uncovered 84,000 instances of war crimes perpetrated by Putin’s war machine since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

For its tireless work preserving the stories of victims, The Centre for Civil Liberties was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

In conversation with the Mail’s special correspondent David Patrikarakos, Matviichuk described the Russian army’s use of sexual violence as a ‘weapon of war’.

‘This crime has a very sensitive nature’, Matviichuk described.

‘Through the targeting of individuals, Russia can target entire communities. The survivors feel shame – so do their neighbours, their relatives, and their families.

Listen to new politics podcast – Apocalypse Now?’ wherever you get your podcasts. Listen now

Oleksandra Matviichuk works to catalogue Russian war crimes in Ukraine, in hopes that once the invasion is repelled, those implicated will face justice. Listen here

Oleksandra Matviichuk: ‘I spoke with hundreds of people who survived Russian captivity – men and women, civilian and military. They told me horrible stories.’ Listen here

‘They feel guilty because they couldn’t stop it. They feel fear that they could be subjected to the same treatment.

‘This complex mix of different feelings decreases social connections between members of different communities and helps Russia control the occupied regions.’

Matviichuk detailed some of the accounts of horrific sexual violence and torture she had gathered from Ukranians living behind Russian lines.

‘I spoke with hundreds of people who survived Russian captivity – men and women, civilian and military’, she began.

‘They told me horrible stories: how they were beaten, raped, smashed into wooden boxes.

‘Their fingers were cut, their nails ripped away. Nails were drilled into. Some were electrically shocked through their genitalia.

‘One woman told me how her eye was dug out with a spoon. There is no legitimate reason for doing such things. Russians are doing these horrible things only because they can.’

An expose by The Mail’s Andy Jehring cataloged concurring stories of senseless Russian brutality.

He referred to one case where a 62-year-old widow was ordered at gunpoint to run around naked in the snow before being sexually violated with a Kalashnikov rifle.

Oleksandra Matviichuk: ‘Women are on the frontlines of this battle for freedom and democracy because bravery has no gender.’ Listen here

Oleksandra Matviichuk: ‘We are fighting for our daughters.’ Listen here

A recent Human Rights Council report concluded that Russian authorities systematically used sexual violence as a form of torture against male and female detainees.

Despite the horrors inflicted upon predominantly women, Matviichuk delivered a stirring account of female bravery in Ukraine.

‘I know enormous amounts of fantastic women in different fields of Ukrainian society’, Matviichuk said.

‘Women are on the frontlines of this battle for freedom and democracy because bravery has no gender.

‘In this war, we are fighting for our daughters. We want our daughters to never have to face a situation again where they must prove they are human beings.

‘Hope is not the same as having confidence that everything will be fine. Hope for me, is a deep understanding that all our efforts have a huge meaning.’

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of rape or sexual assault, you can get help at Rape Crisis England & Wales.

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Putin’s Russia is using mass rape as a ‘weapon of war’ against Ukrainian civilians, Nobel peace prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk tells the Mail’s ‘Apocalypse Now?’ podcast

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