A Russian soldier allegedly filmed himself raping a one-year-old baby in Ukraine and shared the horrific video on social media.
Alexei Bychkov is accused of being the man behind the assault, with reports in the Russian media saying he was detained by local police.
The arrest comes after Lyudmila Denisova, commissioner for human rights in the Ukrainian Parliament, alleged on Saturday that Russian troops have raped children during the war.
In a statement on Telegram, she said a 14-year-old girl in Bucha was raped by five soldiers and as a result is now pregnant.
In another shocking incident, an 11-year-old boy in the same town was also raped in front of his mum, who was tied to a chair and forced to watch.
The ombudswoman added that three soldiers also raped a 20-year-old woman in Irpen.
An earlier statement shared on Friday said Russians had raped a 16-year-old girl and her 78-year-old grandmother in a village in the Kherson region.
‘There is no place on earth or in hell where racist criminals can hide from retribution’, Ms Denisova said.
She urged victims to report cases of sexual violence by soldiers, no matter how difficult it is, adding that they ‘must bear the strictest responsibility’.
On Tuesday, she also revealed further harrowing details of the rape of a woman in the Kharkiv region, who is now undergoing rehabilitation.
Ms Denisova wrote: ‘In the Kharkiv region, the Russian occupier raped a 29-year-old woman caring for her immobile mum for more than a week.
‘The woman repeatedly experienced sexual violence on his part, but was unable to reach law enforcement.
‘Soon a militant broke her phone. A week later, the racist began to talk to the woman about love and offered to send her away from the war.
In response to the woman’s refusal due to the inability to leave the mother, the villain simply shot the old woman in front of her daughter. The woman managed to escape and is now undergoing rehabilitation.’
Ms Denisova’s comments come a week after Human Rights Watch, HRW, released a report including witness accounts of Russian soldiers raping and executing Ukrainian civilians.
The organisation said it had found a case of ‘repeated rape’, two cases of ‘summary execution’ – one of six men and the other of one man – and unlawful violence and threats against civilians between February 27 and March 14.
‘The cases we documented amount to unspeakable, deliberate cruelty and violence against Ukrainian civilians’, said Hugh Williamson, Europe, and Central Asia director at HRW.
‘Rape, murder, and other violent acts against people in the Russian forces’ custody should be investigated as war crimes.’
Source: Metro
