Amid reports of Ukrainian victims being raped by Russian soldiers, Ukrainian member of Parliament Maria Mezentseva tells Newsmax the sexual violence is being ordered by Russian military and political officials as a weapon to intimidate and humiliate.
"The basic conduct of war are being bridged," Mezentseva, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, told Thursday's "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
Women and children are not just being taken as hostages, but they are being raped — sometimes before their own families as a weapon against the Ukrainian people and even at the "order" of Russian leaders — Mezentseva told Van Susteren.
"People are saying that things are happening during war times, but the brutality of the Russian army we have seen with many NGOs [non-government organizations] as a conclusion that these things that were happening, specifically sexual violence, raping, were sort of an order coming from the top army officials and political leadership of Russia as of the way of intimidating or humiliating Ukrainian population."
There are "even worse" reports of underage children being raped and even having to witness the rape of their parents, Mezentseva added.
"It's about children under aged, it's about witnessing — as you are being a witness, but becoming a victim yourself by seeing, as, for instance, your mom or even dad being raped," she said.
Mezentseva is working to set up hotlines and victim support in Ukraine, but she is stressing the victims need the courage to even come forward, because it is such a horrific atrocity to report amid Russia's war in Ukraine.
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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