The report, covering incidents from the start of Russia’s full‑scale invasion on 24 February 2022 through 31 July 2026, attributes 89 percent of the documented cases to Russian authorities – including the armed forces, prison service and national security agencies – and 11 percent to Ukrainian authorities.

Based on confidential interviews with hundreds of victims, court documents, official records and other material, the UN investigators found that men in detention were the most common victims, though women and children also suffered sexual abuse in occupied territories.

One of the clearest patterns identified was the use of a Soviet‑era field telephone, known as a “tapik,” or a taser to deliver electric shocks to the genitals of Ukrainian POWs and retained medical personnel. The practice was reported in 155 cases, representing 27 percent of the male detainee cohort examined.

The report also catalogues other forms of sexual violence, including rape, attempted rape, genital mutilation, beatings to the genitals, forced nudity, threats of sexual assault and other degrading treatment. Survivors recounted extreme abuse, such as being raped with a baton, penetrated with cell‑door keys, or assaulted with a shovel handle.

Women and children were not spared. In occupied Zaporizhzhia, a woman said a Russian soldier repeatedly raped her for a month, linking the abuse to her husband’s detention. In Kherson, another woman reported repeated rapes and threats of gang rape. The youngest documented survivor was a four‑year‑old girl, and the oldest an 82‑year‑old woman, both allegedly abused by Russian forces.

The UN also recorded sexual violence attributed to Ukrainian authorities against Russian and third‑country prisoners of war, primarily involving threats, forced nudity, electric shocks and other degrading treatment.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the findings “raise concerns that sexual violence is continuing alongside the war” and warned that the documented cases likely represent only a fraction of the total, given the chronic under‑reporting of such crimes. He called on both sides to investigate credible allegations promptly, thoroughly and impartially, and to hold perpetrators accountable regardless of rank.