UN Blacklists Russian Forces for Sexual Violence in Ukraine

The UN has added Russian armed and security forces to its annual blacklist for conflict-related sexual violence, citing abuses against Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian detainees.

The findings are included in the UN secretary-general’s annual report, reviewed by the Associated Press (AP) ahead of its official release on Friday.

The report lists 77 state and non-state actors across multiple countries identified as responsible for or linked to wartime sexual violence.

Russian forces were included for the first time based on verified cases involving POWs and civilians held in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.

According to the report, investigators documented 310 cases of conflict-related sexual violence despite limited access to affected areas.

“The vast majority of the victims were men,” the report said, referring primarily to detainees.

The UN said Russian authorities restricted access to international investigators during the reporting period.

Russia rejected the findings.

“We will write a letter to the secretary-general saying that these are unsubstantiated lies and alleged things which again portray Russia as a villain,” Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzia said.

The report also noted that Ukrainian monitors documented 31 cases involving POWs and detainees, most occurring before 2025.

Other countries listed

The report also added Israeli armed and security forces to the blacklist for the first time.

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It cited “patterns of sexual violence” against Palestinian detainees held by Israel, including rape, gang rape, forced nudity, invasive searches, and physical abuse.

The UN verified incidents involving 14 men, 7 women and 10 minors from Gaza and the West Bank.

Israel denied the allegations.

“We are done with this UN Secretary-General,” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said, accusing UN Secretary-General António Guterres of placing Israel “on the same blacklist along with Hamas, ISIS and the most depraved terrorist organizations in the world.”

The report retained Hamas on the blacklist over the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel in 2023, though many related allegations could not be independently verified due to restricted UN access.