Russian female combat doctors working in Ukraine are reportedly forced to become so-called “field wives,” or sex slaves.
independent news outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty posted an interview On Tuesday, along with military personnel who said male officers forced women into sex slavery and those who refused would face horrific abuse.
In an interview, the woman, who identified herself as Margarita, said she had been in rehab for the past two months and was taking antidepressants due to severe trauma she suffered in Ukraine.
Margarita’s tragic experience leaves her suffering from constant nightmares and panic attacks.
“Even when I’m not alone and doing something, I see all the horrors before my eyes,” said Margarita, who Vladimir Putin’s officer committed against his men. He referred to alleged cruelty and abuse.
Margarita, a single mother with grown children with special needs in the city of Belgorod, retired from the army in 2017 after 11 years of service. But last summer she decided to volunteer as a doctor in Ukraine to support her family.
According to the woman, as soon as she arrived in Nizhny Novgorod for training, the colonel commanding the tank platoon singled her out and tried to make her a “field wife.” and pleasure male officer.
Margarita rejected the colonel’s sexual advances, which continued after the platoon was sent to fight in Ukraine.
According to Margarita, the colonel was determined to make her suffer and ordered his men to create impossible living and working conditions for her.
“For a month I was just sleeping outside,” recalls Margarita. “Others spent the night in tents or houses, but I slept on the ground in a small forest by the road.”
Margarita said her goal was to “break” her spirit and agree to have sex with the Commander, but she persisted and was sent to the front lines in retaliation.
Margarita said the medical platoon she was a member of included seven women aged between 23 and 38, many of them married, who were each pressured to serve at least one police officer. was being put on.
“When we went there, of course, no one knew what was going on. And when we figured it out, there was no turning back,” she said.
On one occasion, Margarita claimed to have witnessed a policeman shoot his “field wife”, a medic named Svetlana, in a drunken or jealous rage.
“We made it look like Ukrainians did it,” Margarita said of the shooting. “[The officer] He shot her hand as if to protect her and returned from the hospital about three weeks later. “
Margarita said, before the shooting, officers hit Svetlana with a rifle butt in full view of the others.
According to Margarita, the married Svetlana called her husband in Russian and told him about his sexual relationship with the platoon officer.
Another colleague of hers, Alina, was “given” to officers in September.
“They just put her in front of the fact. You will be with this person. He likes you.”
“Girls went for it,” she said. “And most of the girls were reconciled with it. They decided they were better off living in paradise with this war — with food and cigarettes.
The whistleblower said not a single woman tried to flee to Russia because she could not cross the border safely and risked being shot by her own country’s military.
But female servicemen weren’t the only ones who suffered shocking abuse at the hands of commanders.
According to Margarita, male conscripts who refused to fight on the front lines were locked naked in damp basements infested with rats.
If that method fails, she said, commanders also have more “own” ways to get their subordinates to comply with orders.
“They will force [conscripts] dig your own grave They dug a hole and were forced to lie there,” Margarita said. “And other men at gunpoint spread dirt all over them. They can’t even get their heads out…then the platoon or company commander walks off and shoots hole after hole.”
The female medic said that those who survived the shooting were “fools” who had come out of the grave and would be sent into battle in that condition because they no longer cared about anything.
Margarita said she treated several recruits who had been beaten by fellow servicemen. Otherwise, I received on-site medical attention so as not to draw attention to the abuse.
The woman said some of the Russian soldiers, who were starving and desperate to escape the waterlogged trenches where they would stay for weeks, shot herself in the leg.
“When they took off their combat boots, I was horrified. I’ve never seen anything like this since. They were fleshy black with dried blood on them. Even my toes were no longer distinguishable.” “The only thing left to do was amputate.”
Despite her painful experience, Margarita said she was willing to sign up again to serve in the Russian army because she said she could not make a living as a civilian.
“And I want to help them, so at least they’ll be fed. I have a certain sense of duty, something unfinished,” she admitted.
