Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office has formally charged Russian soldier Mykola Senenko with raping a woman in Kherson Oblast in 2022.
Multiple Incidents
The charge is based on an investigation by The Kyiv Independent.
The news outlet had previously identified Senenko and another Russian soldier as involved in multiple incidents of sexual violence in Kyiv and Kherson oblasts during the early days of the occupation in March 2022.
Senenko, a recruit from the Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, served with Russia's 109th Motorized Rifle Regiment in the occupied parts of Kherson Oblast.
The Kyiv Independent’s findings, gathered through interviews with residents and officials, linked Senenko to an assault in the village of Krasnivka, Kherson Oblast.
This information was later passed to Ukrainian prosecutors. The details form the basis of The Kyiv Independent's documentary, He Came Back, which explores Russia’s use of sexual violence as a weapon during the occupation.
Victims Can't Wait for War to End
In April, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., Sergiy Kyslytsya, addressed the U.N. Security Council, asserting that Russian forces systematically use sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war.
By that time, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office had recorded nearly 300 cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by Russian forces, involving 188 women, 102 men, and 15 minors.
However, Kyslytsya warned that the actual numbers are likely higher, as many survivors have yet to come forward or report their experiences.
Kyslytsya underscored the urgent need for support and justice for survivors, noting that Ukraine recently launched a pilot program to provide financial reparations to victims of wartime sexual violence.
The initiative, supported by the Global Survivors Fund, aims to deliver immediate relief to those affected, offering a critical support system amid the ongoing conflict.
