KEY POINTS

  • The teen said the drunk soldier's companion attempted to stop his colleague to no avail
  • The teen's attacker was allegedly from Donetsk and had a criminal past
  • The girl said she was later taken to a Russian commander who also threatened to rape her

A pregnant teen in Ukraine was reportedly raped by a drunk Russian soldier who she said threatened to kill her if she put up a fight.

The 16-year-old pregnant teen from Kherson, who was only identified as “Dasha,” accompanied her family out of their house's underground bomb shelter to eat in the kitchen when they spotted two Russian soldiers, one of whom was drunk. The teen said the drunk soldier called her into a separate room where he ordered her to undress.

“First he started telling me to undress. He said that if I don’t undress he will kill me,” the teen said in an interview with CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh.

The drunk soldier’s companion tried to stop his colleague from assaulting the teenager. However, he later left after realizing he could not stop his drunk colleague who then proceeded to rape the 16-year-old.

“When I resisted, he was strangling me. He said, ‘either you sleep with me now or I will bring 20 more men,’” the teen added.

The 16-year-old said she heard other Russians calling him “Blue,” that he was from Donetsk and that he had a criminal past. She said a group of Russian snipers pulled off her attacker but later took her to a commander who threatened to rape her again.

Dasha was six months pregnant at the time of the incident. CNN noted that it could not independently verify the allegations, but added that Ukrainian prosecutors confirmed the attack and called it a “war crime.”

There have been numerous reports of Russian soldiers threatening to rape Ukrainians since the war began on Feb. 24.

Olha, a 31-year-old resident of the eastern Ukrainian village of Malaya Rohan, told Human Rights Watch that a Russian soldier pointed a gun at her temple while he was raping her in a classroom at a school that was being used as a shelter. The soldier also shot twice at the ceiling in an attempt to give her more “motivation.” The incident occurred two weeks after the start of the invasion.

In mid-April, it was also reported that Russian soldiers took 25 females between the ages of 14 and 24 hostages in a basement in the town of Bucha where they were “systematically” raped and subjected to other acts of sexual violence during the occupation. At least nine of the victims became pregnant.

Olexandr Chernenko, 54, shows his neighbour's destroyed house, who according to him was killed by shrapnel, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Lukashivka, Chernihiv region, Ukraine April 27, 2022.
Olexandr Chernenko, 54, shows his neighbour's destroyed house, who according to him was killed by shrapnel, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Lukashivka, Chernihiv region, Ukraine April 27, 2022. Reuters / ZOHRA BENSEMRA