A Russian soldier has been sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison for raping a woman during the occupation of the town of Balakliia in Kharkiv Oblast.
Source: Prosecutor General's Office
Details: In April 2022, during the occupation of Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast, Russian troops detained a local woman, suspecting her of "cooperating with the Ukrainian Armed Forces", and held her at a police station for a day.
Quote from the Prosecutor's Office: "At night, a Russian soldier took her out of the cell to an office and raped her, threatening to kill her."
Details: According to the investigation, the crime was committed by a grenade launcher operator from the 202 nd Rifle Regiment of the Russian army.
The soldier was found guilty of violating the laws and customs of war (Article 438. 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison.
In total, as of the end of September 2026,411 cases of sexual violence related to Russian aggression had been documented.
The highest numbers were recorded in: Kherson Oblast – 128 Donetsk Oblast – 92 Kyiv Oblast – 60 Kharkiv Oblast – 49
Background: Earlier, Ukrainian law enforcement officers served notices of suspicion on two Russian soldiers who tortured Ukrainian volunteer Iryna Dovhan in 2014.
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