Ukraine’s deputy defense minister slams sexual abuse in military

A Ukrainian deputy defense minister has castigated “unacceptable” sexual advances to female soldiers by commanders in the military.

The Guardian exposed the plight of female Ukrainian soldiers in its recent report on rampant corruption and rife sexual abuse in the Ukrainian armed forces.

Following the revelations, Hanna Maliar, a deputy defense minister, came out claiming she would pursue any of the commanders who had been credibly accused by a female soldier of sexual abuse.

“I will contact the police and bring the police by hand to investigate this. Give me all the information; I will personally contact the police. These things are unacceptable,” Maliar said.

The Guardian story said an army commander would order his female subordinates to be intimate with him or be prepared to be sent to psychiatric wards or have their husbands sent to the front lines to perish.

The whistleblower who made the revelations to The Guardian was Ukrainian platoon sergeant, Nadiya Haran, 27.  The deputy defense minister has said she was scheduled to meet with Haran.

Haran told the British newspaper that after discussing the cases with senior officers, she was told to “shut up” and then felt forced to ask to be transferred to another unit. “I left [my brigade] because there was this person high up the food chain who would harass women and I know these women,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's presidency said in a statement related to corruption that during police inspections of territorial recruitment centers for the armed forces, they had come across cases of corruption.

The statement said the cases “pose a threat to Ukraine's national security and undermine confidence in state institutions.”

MG