Overview
- The UN Human Rights Office published a 20-page report on Sept. 18, 2026 that verified 1,004 cases of conflict-related sexual violence occurring from Feb. 24, 2022 through July 31, 2026.
- The report attributes 89 percent of documented cases to Russian authorities, including members of the armed forces, the prison service, and security agencies, and assigns 11 percent to Ukrainian authorities.
- Investigators found sexual violence was used as a method of torture, intimidation, and coercion, with documented acts including rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, beatings and electric shocks to the genitals.
- Most documented victims were men held in detention, while women and children were also targeted in Russian-occupied areas; at least 155 victims reported electrocution of the genitals using a Soviet-era field telephone called a "tapik" or a taser.
- OHCHR cautions the figures likely undercount the true scale because investigators were denied access to occupied territory and many detainees, and it called for prompt, thorough and impartial investigations and justice for survivors.