Ukraine rape victims suffer in silenceAFP, KYIV, UkraineWhen war erupted in Ukraine and reports that Russian soldiers were using rape as a weapon of war began to surface, Yulia Sporysh wasn’t sure she was the right person to help. An activist protesting rape during war and supporting Ukraine last month prepares for a demonstration in front of the Russian Consulate in New York. Zelensky said in April that Russian troops who withdrew after trying to capture the capital Kyiv had left in “hundreds” of rape victims in their wake, including children. At least one woman in the south of the country said she was raped by several Russian soldiers. The well-known rights group, which also has a phone number for the war’s rape victims, has received just over a dozen calls in relation to 17 people — including one man.
