Sophie condemns Putin: First British royal to visit Ukraine denounces Russian forces for using rape as weapon of war

30 April 2024, 08:50 | Updated: 30 April 2024, 09:01

The Duchess of Edinburgh has denounced soldiers who use rape as a weapon of war after visiting Ukraine on Monday.

Sophie visited Ukraine in a show of solidarity with the women, men and children impacted by the war and to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

Her unannounced visit to the region was the first made by a member of the royal family since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.

During the trip, she denounced the use of sexual violence to “demean, degrade and destroy” women and girls as she said they “pay the highest price” in war.

The senior royal spoke with survivors of sexual violence and torture, both male and female, and heard from children who were returned to Ukraine after being forcibly separated from their families.

Speaking at an evening reception at the residence of the UK ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Harris, Sophie said: “Rape is used to demean, to degrade and to destroy. And we have to get better at trying to prevent that from happening.

“Where we cannot prevent it from happening, what we must do is put measures in place to support those who have fallen victim to such crimes.”

She also said she had met with survivors of sexual violence and thanked them for their openness.

“I thank them for that honesty in telling me what happened to them.

“Their stories are sad. I hear many stories like this, sadly, from around the world. But I appreciate their time and their openness," she said.

The Duchess also visited the site of a mass grave in Bucha where victims of the Russian occupation were buried and there were reported rapes of girls as young as 14.

She continued to say that she had met people who “played a large role in Bucha and Irpin” to help their communities, and will “take those stories home in my heart”.

There was also a trip to see a bridge which was blown up to stop Russian soldiers advancing on the capital, Kyiv.

The trip involved a visit to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) office to meet with war victims, as well as seeing the historic Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv alongside first lady Olena Zelenska.

The unexpected visit is a symbolic message of royal support for Ukraine and was at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Shortly after the beginning on the invasion, King Charles, then Prince of Wales, visited Ukrainian refugees who had come across the border into Romania.

Prince William also visited British troops in Poland near to the Ukrainian border in March 2023.

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The Duchess has previously visited a number of countries - such as Kosovo, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Colombia - to highlight the issue and hear first-hand testimonies from survivors.

She is the first member of the Royal Family to visit Ukraine since the conflict started in February 2022.

Last year she became the first royal to visit Baghdad in Iraq, again addressing the issue of violence against women and attending events supporting better access to education for girls.

She announced her commitment to champion the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative and the UN’s Women, Peace and Security Agenda on International Women’s Day in 2019.

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On Friday, Buckingham Palace announced King Charles’s doctors are “pleased” with the progress he is making in his fight with cancer and he will resume “a number” of public duties.

The Palace said his “treatment programme will continue" as he has not yet been given the all-clear but that his medical team are "very encouraged" by the progress he has made.

They added future engagements will remain “subject to doctors’ advice,”.

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