The wife of a Russian soldier would have given him permission to rape Ukrainian women during the invasion

Earlier this week, Kiev security forces released an audio of a conversation between a Russian couple, who were now reportedly identified as Roman Bykovsky and Olga Bykovskaya by Radio Liberty. In the clip, the woman is heard giving permission to her husband, a Russian soldier, to rape Ukrainian women during the invasion led by Vladimir Putin.

In the 30-second recording, the woman apparently identified as Bykovskaya clarifies that the permit is extended as long as he does not tell her anything and uses contraception.

The audio clip shared by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) opens with the blue and yellow title: “SECURITY SERVICE INTERCEPTION: Wives of Russian invaders allow their men to rape Ukrainian women”.

The voice of a woman, who is believed to be Olga Bykovskaya, says: “So yes, do it there, 'she says. “Ukrainian women there. To rape them. Yes. Don't tell me anything, understand,” he adds with a shy laugh.

Then the voice of a man is heard, believed to be that of Roman Bykovsky: “Aha. Then I should rape and not tell you anything.” “Yes, so you don't know anything,” the woman replies. They both laugh and then she adds, “Why do you ask?” “Can I really?” , he asks. “Yes, I'll let you. Just use protection,” he responds. The conversation ends with an “ok” of what was supposed to be Roman Bykovsky.

Radio Liberty investigators, including journalist Mark Krutov, discovered that the two phone numbers were linked to two accounts on the Russian social network VKontakte, belonging to 27-year-old Roman Bykovsky and his wife Olga Bykovskaya, both of whom were originally from Orel in Russia.

Radio Liberty journalists traced the phone involved in the call. Roman's account was closed to the public, but journalists found him portrayed in photographs uploaded by one of his friends.

They learned that Roman is now part of the 108th Airborne Assault Regiment of the Russian Guard, a unit known for its involvement in the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Also that the couple had moved to Crimea in 2018.

Olga's account, on the other hand, was open until it was deleted on April 13.

The man, contacted by journalists, denied that this was his voice in the audio, but the investigators say that his voice matched.

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky reported that “hundreds of cases of rape” in the areas occupied by the Russian army, “including underage girls and very young children”.

“Hundreds of cases of rape have been recorded, including those involving underage girls and very young children. Even a baby! Just talking about it is scary,” Zelensky said.

Several testimonies collected by the media corroborate the fears of the Oenegés, which point to signs of the use of rape as a “weapon of war”. A Ukrainian woman told the AFP agency that she was raped by two Russian soldiers when they learned she was the wife of a Ukrainian military man.

(With information from AFP)

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