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Russian soldiers 'using rape as strategy of terror' in war with Ukraine, says lawyer
war with Ukraine, according to a human rights lawyer.The comments come as harrowing reports of sexual assault by Vladimir Putin's troops on the front line continue to grow following the army's retreat from eastern areas of the nation.Activists from Human Rights Watch claim these are not isolated crimes, but part of a Russian strategy to instil further fear in Ukrainian citizens. Some women were even reportedly raped in public in an effort to terrify locals.Last month a soldier was detained back home after vile footage of a baby being raped was wildly circulated online.Similarly, a 14 year-old girl who was raped by five men in Bucha is now pregnant.Commenting on the horrifying reports, Kathleen Hallisey, Senior Associate at Hugh James Solicitors, said: "Given the depravity already displayed by Putin and his Russian forces in wiping out large swathes of Ukraine and massacring entire communities, it is perhaps unsurprising that Human Rights Watch has just released a report detailing rape and sexual violence by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians, including babies and children."She added that while rape by Russian soldiers may be something people feel they "can do little about", it was in fact important that the public put pressure on politicians to pursue justice against senior military commanders who allow it to happen.
