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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Liz Cookman

‘I just want justice’: Ukrainians struggle with hidden war crime of sexual violence

Survivor Relief Centre staff in Dnipro, Ukraine
Survivor Relief Centre staff in Dnipro, Ukraine. Photograph: Alina Smutko/Reuters

When Russian forces occupied Halyna’s village near Bucha, she tried to keep a low profile. She stayed indoors and, when the food ran out, survived off leftover chicken feed scavenged from her garden at night. Yet two young soldiers came to the door, accusing her of hiding Ukrainian troops. They stripped her naked and raped her.

Halyna, 61, who did not want to use her full name, reported her case to Ukrainian police shortly after Russian troops retreated from the Kyiv region in spring last year. Fifteen months on, she has had no update on her case and is struggling to move on.

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