The author writes:

• Russia’s war against Ukraine has revealed stories about the heroic resistance efforts of Ukrainian women… However, comparable stories have been entirely lacking on Russia’s side.
  • Stories of rape and abuse in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories have shaken the world, with male Russian soldiers featured as systematic perpetrators. Perhaps it is only a matter of time until stories of Russian women involved in these crimes start to emerge.
• Throughout 2023, stories had started to emerge of Russian servicewomen being forced into sexual relations by their superiors. This paints a picture of Russian servicewomen less like heroic combatants…and more like the victims of life’s circumstances pushed into the army ranks.
• [Russian] government efforts have recently extended to try and [recruit] more women [into the military] … though the proposed roles were for only cooks and medical staff.
• Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate has published a list of members of the 64^th motorized rifle brigade [allegedly involved in the massacre in Bucha town]. Among those 1,648 names, sixty-five (or 4 percent) were women.
  • Ukrainian women veterans recounted numerous Russian women in the fighter ranks…being particularly brutal torturers.
• [Following the Soviet training of civilian women as snipers], the notion seems to have deeply permeated the Russian psyche that any civilian woman of the opposing side could be an undercover sharpshooter—and thus a legitimate target.
• In 2022, Ukrainian security services have made public a telephone conversation between a Russian serviceman and his wife, who encouraged him to rape Ukrainian women.
  • It may be helpful to realize a not-uncommon complicity of civilian women in war crimes in recent historical contexts. 
• It is important to note the prominent role of the traditional anti-war activism of women whose husbands or family members have been called to serve in Ukraine.
  • The Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers (CSM) has been particularly active. 
  • In anti-mobilization rallies, women comprised 51 to 71 percent of all protesters.

Read the full report at FPRI.

The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author. Photo by Russian Defense Ministry (Mil.ru) shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.