UN official says Russia is using rape as a military strategy

Russia is reportedly deploying rape and sexual assault as a military tactic in its ongoing assault on Ukraine, a UN official claimed this week. 

Pramila Patten, the U.N. special representative of the Secretary-General on sexual violence in conflict, claimed in an interview with AFP this week that there have been reports of Russian soldiers carrying sexual aids with them while engaged in military combat. 

“When you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it’s clearly a military strategy,” she said.

Patten further claimed that there have been "many cases of sexual violence against children who are raped, tortured and sequestered."

She said that since Russia first launched its invasion in February she has been stressing "the importance of having credible investigations into these cases of violence.”