Three Russian servicemen charged in absentia with rape and abuse of civilians under occupation in the Luhansk region

Three Russian servicemen have been charged in absentia with violating the laws and customs of war for allegedly abusing civilians and raping a woman during the occupation of the Luhansk region, as reported by the National Police of Ukraine.

Suspects. Photo: National Police

The names of the suspects have not been released, but it is known that two were part of the 123rd Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 2nd Army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces, and the third was a member of the so-called 15th Territorial Defence Battalion “USSR Bryanka.” The latter group has been known for torture, robbery, and killings since 2014.

The event for which the suspects are accused occurred in Rubizhne in March 2022. They broke into the home of a local couple to evict them. The family refused, so the occupiers searched the house and left, but returned to the victims several times over the following days.

One of the suspects threatened the man with death and then committed sexual violence against his partner. Subsequently, two others accused the man of collaborating with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, threatened him with weapons, and beat him with their hands, feet, and rifle butts. As a result, the family fled.

A report from the Prosecutor General’s Office on the case mentions only two suspects from the 123rd Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 2nd Army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces, who can be identified by photographs. One of them, according to the text, demanded that the woman have sexual relations with him, threatening to kill her husband and have her raped by other Russians.

As a result, he repeatedly committed sexual violence against the victim.

Suspects from the Prosecutor General’s Office report

If the suspects are found guilty by the court, they could face up to 12 years of imprisonment.

By way of background, sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine is part of Russia’s military strategy, according to the UN. Most known victims of sexual violence are women who were alone at home.

The Human Rights Centre ZMINA reported on some identified Russian servicemen suspected of committing such crimes, including:

• Shamil Makhmudov, who raped a woman during the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia region;
• Artem Pronchenko and Oleksandr Gladkov, who allegedly kidnapped, beat, and raped a mother of two children in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region;
• Roman Popov, suspected of raping an illegally detained man in Kherson;
• Yevhen Chornoknyzhnyi and Vadym Shakhmatov, suspected of a series of rapes in the Kyiv region in 2022;
• Oleksandr Radnatarov, Kyrylo Kholmurzayev, and Belikt Zhugdurov, suspected of raping a woman in the Kyiv region after threatening to kill her mother and child;
• Akhmerov Emil, Mammi Mammiiev, and Kostyantyn Shlyapnikov, who in 2022 abducted a woman from her home and raped her in the Kharkiv region;
• Baila Bardanova, suspected of raping a woman in the Kyiv region;
• Rinat Khakimyanov and Arslan Salikhov, suspected of raping a pregnant woman in the Kyiv region;
• Bulat Fassakhov, suspected of a rape that lasted several days in the Kyiv region;
• Mykhailo Romanov, accused of raping a woman in the village of Shevchenkove in the Kyiv region. This case was one of the first such incidents to become known in the media.