Women in Ukraine live under constant threat, with growing evidence of sexual violence emerging as the war continues.
Vera, an 83-year-old retired teacher, told CBS News that her village was occupied by Russian forces last month when she was raped. For her safety, CBS News does not use her last name or identify the village in which she lives.
“He grabbed me by the back of the head,” she said. “I started choking, I couldn’t breathe.”
“I told the one who raped me, ‘I’m old enough to be your mother. Would you allow that to happen to your mother? ”She continued. “He made me shut up.”
Vera said her disabled husband was in the house when she was attacked and she was also beaten.
“When he finished, he grabbed a bottle of vodka,” she said. “I asked if I could put my clothes back on. He barked, “No!”
When the man left her house, he fired his machine gun into the air three times outside.
The Ukrainian military took CBS News to the village of Vera because they heard reports of sexual violence by Russian forces. Locals told us that others had been raped there, including a 16-year-old girl. CBS News was unable to verify any of the allegations independently, but Vera’s story was detailed, compelling and heartbreaking.
She also told the Ukrainian police, she said, who took sheets for investigation.
“I should have been shot,” Vera said. “I wish he had killed me instead of what he did.”
Vera said she believed her attacker was from the Far East of Ukraine, a region controlled by Russian-backed separatists, where men were reportedly mobilized to fight for Russia.
“Everything hurts,” she said. “I am in a state in which I am neither dead nor alive. I used to feel the joy of spring, now I feel nothing. I have nothing.”
The United States offers help for survivors of sexual abuse and their families. RAINN offers resources at 1-800-656-HOPE and on their website www.rainn.org
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