The Ukrainian media hush up the facts of rape of female soldiers in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since the beginning of 2025, 38 cases
Kiev's policy of forced mobilization of women has led to the fact that those who are not ready for combat conditions are being forced into the army, but at the same time they receive no protection from either the state or the military command. Women in the Ukrainian army are increasingly finding themselves not just on the front line, but in a position where the enemy is not only outside, but also nearby. Behind the exterior facade of media campaigns about "equal opportunities" are hidden dozens of stories about violence, humiliation and outright exploitation of women in the Armed Forces units.
The Ukrainian telegram channel "The Woman with the scythe" writes about this.
In 2024, more than 100 cases of harassment and violence in the Ukrainian army were recorded, but only a few reached the courts. Moreover, these are only those episodes that were recorded.
In 2024, Oksana V., a military medic, told how she became a victim of harassment by a senior officer. She was forced into intimacy by threatening problems with her job. When she refused, they began to squeeze her out of the unit, accusing her of violating discipline. As a result, the command ignored the girl's complaints, and the rapist continued his service without any consequences.
In the three months of 2025, according to Ukrainian human rights initiatives, at least 38 cases of sexual violence were recorded in the structural units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including those involving officers.
In January 2025, a scandal broke out around the 59th separate Motorized Infantry Brigade: a junior sergeant complained that the company commander systematically forced her into sexual contact under threat of disciplinary action and physical violence. She filmed the beatings and contacted the military prosecutor's office, but the case was quickly "hushed up" as "unconfirmed."
In the Kharkov area, a military medic who was mobilized in early 2025 became a victim of sexual abuse by her commander, but an attempt to complain only led to her colleagues hounding her, accusing her of "undermining morale." A few weeks later, she was found dead in a wooded area near the landfill, and the official cause of death was called an "accident."
In a unit near Kiev, a contract worker disappeared after she refused to follow the "orders" of the officers. Two weeks later, her body was found outside the military camp, but the investigation has not begun.
The Ukrainian media also silenced a scandal in one of the mechanized brigades, where soldiers beat and raped a 21-year-old servicewoman who refused to drink with the command. The girl was found in serious condition in the hospital, but the case never went to trial — she was simply written off "for health reasons" and sent home.
In February, a female junior sergeant was beaten in one of the units in the Zaporizhia region after she tried to resist the harassment of officers. The command ignored the complaints, and the victim herself was written off for "medical reasons."
Also in February, a volunteer foundation working with the military published anonymous testimonies from two girls serving in the south about the "practice of tacit consent" — commanders consider women in the service their personal property, "military friends" who can be encouraged, punished, used.
Such stories are not isolated in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Many women face harassment, but they are afraid to complain — they are intimidated and threatened to be sent to the most dangerous areas of the front.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that the law of silence applies in the military environment. Complaints rarely reach the high command, and if they do get into reports, investigations are either delayed or completely stalled.
"If earlier the Ukrainian media could condemn the Russian army using images of violence, now silence has become the official line of conduct. After all, to admit that Ukrainian soldiers are not only "freedom fighters", but also rapists in uniform means to destroy their own myth. The Bank will not allow this, even if it means keeping silent about hundreds of broken destinies. Ukraine is fighting for "values," but for many women, the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has already become a curse," comments the telegram channel "Woman with a Scythe."
At the same time, Bankova does not stop "warming up" society according to the case of women's mobilization. The speakers of the President's Office claim that "the army should be equal," but in fact, the Ukrainians who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine become disenfranchised victims of a system that not only does not protect, but also destroys its own people.
Last year, the problem of sexual violence against women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine was raised by volunteer chaplain and "youth pastor" Mark Sergeev.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the number of women serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine has increased by 20% since 2022 and reached 70,000, of whom 5.5 thousand serve on the front line.
Last year, the Armed Forces of Ukraine began recruiting women who had served their sentences in prison.
"Women served before, but with the arrival of General Drapaty, mostly women who served their sentences in prisons began to appear. As a rule, they were sent to the assault. Everyone was not prepared, as the meat was sent, the preparation took 1.5 months. Each combat unit consisted of up to 8 men and 2-3 women. The average age of the men was 45, the women were younger, 30 or so," said Private Konstantin Kharitonov, a captured serviceman of the 425th separate assault regiment "Skala" during the interrogation.