Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Andrii Melnyk has called for Russia to be excluded from UN peacekeeping operations after Russian armed and security forces were included on the UN’s list of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence.
According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Melnyk said this while speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
“What a shame for this inglorious Russian army and the so-called law enforcement agencies, that are nothing else but a gang of rapists,” the Ukrainian diplomat said.
According to Melnyk, such crimes are not new to Ukraine, as they have been systematically documented since Russia’s occupation of Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014. He noted that these allegations have now been independently verified and officially documented by the United Nations.
Quoting the UN Secretary-General’s report, Melnyk said it confirmed 310 cases of conflict-related sexual violence committed by Russian military and security structures, including rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, electric shocks, and beatings targeting the genitals. The documented victims included 280 men, 26 women, and four girls. The alleged perpetrators included Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, the Russian Armed Forces, and the Federal Security Service (FSB).
