Ukrainian woman claims Russian soldiers killed husband, assaulted her

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A Ukrainian woman is claiming Russian soldiers killed her husband and sexually assaulted her repeatedly.
• Ukraine’s prosecutor general is investigating the allegations.
• The Ukrainian woman told The Times that a young Russian soldier told her he shot her husband “because he’s a Nazi.”

Ukraine officials are investigating a woman’s claims that Russian soldiers killed her husband and then repeatedly raped her. The case is the first known official investigation into allegations of rape by Russian soldiers since the invasion of Ukraine.

“I cried out, where is my husband, then I looked outside and I saw him on the ground by the gate. This younger guy pulled gun to my head and said: ‘I shot your husband because he’s a Nazi,’” the woman, who is identified as Natalya, told The Times of London. 

In an article published Monday, the woman alleged she was raped by the younger soldier who killed her husband and another soldier.

“He told me to take my clothes off. Then they both raped me one after the other. They didn’t care that my son was in the boiler room crying. They told me to go shut him up and come back,” she told The Times.

In a Facebook post last week, Ukraine’s prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova said that a Russian soldier had killed an unarmed civilian and then repeatedly raped his wife. The assault reportedly took place on March 9, according to The New York Times. 

The report also said the Russian soldier is wanted for arrest “on suspicion of violation of the laws and customs of war.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “We do not trust the information about the rape of a woman at all.” Peskov called it a “lie” when asked at a press briefing about the investigation.

“We do not trust the Ukrainian attorney general’s office. The Russian troops do not strike or shoot civilians. Russian troops help civilians,” Peskov said.

Speaking to Sky News on Monday, Ukrainian Minister of Parliament Maria Mezentseva said that cases like Natalya’s need to be recorded, as “justice has to prevail.” 

Source: The Hill