Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents A low-tech fix is delivering high-impact results George Simion will face Nicusor Dan, a mainstream candidate, in a run-off There are five luxuries it can no longer feasibly afford Friedrich Merz’s career is one of unforced errors and puzzling missteps Both Donald Trump and Ukraine’s diplomats will consider it a success Registered in England and Wales. No. 236383 | Registered office: The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT | VAT Reg No: GB 340 436 876 Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Ukrainian woman has alleged she was raped by two Russian soldiers earlier this month after one of them shot dead her husband Natalya said the crimes took place at her home near Shevchenkove village Her son was crying in a nearby room while she was repeatedly raped The mother and her four-year-old child fled the property when her attackers fell into a drunken sleep They headed west and are now living in the Ukrainian city of Ternopil Last week, Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, said the country had launched its first investigation into a rape allegation made against Russian troops The case in question was brought by Natalya She also told the newspaper how her son is still unaware of his father’s death After Russian forces entered the village on 8 March Natalya and her husband hung a white sheet on their gate to show they were civilians Natalya added that the family’s dog was shot dead by one of the soldiers the following morning who had leered at her earlier the same day came to her home with a younger officer she had not seen before The 33-year-old said the younger man killed her husband when he went out to see who was causing noise outside The pair then entered the house and ordered her to undress One of them then reportedly told her to be quiet or else he would get her son and “show him his mother’s brains spread around the house” Then they both raped me one after the other They didn’t care that my son was in the boiler room crying They told me to go shut him up and come back All the time they held the gun by my head and taunted me They fell asleep on their third visit to the house Natalya said: “While I was opening the gate my son was standing next to his father’s body but it was dark and he did not understand it was his father ‘Will we get shot the same as this man here?’” because the village is still occupied,” Natalya said “I don’t know how I will live with all of it but I still understand that my husband built this house for us I would never be able to bring myself to sell it.” Natalya’s testimony comes shortly after Maria Mezentseva highlighted her case and said Ukraine would “definitely not be silent” about such crimes “There are many more victims rather than just this one case which has been made public by the prosecutor general,” the politician told Sky News over the weekend Earlier this month, Lesia Vasylenko, another Ukrainian MP, spoke of how many German women were raped by Russian troops in the Second World War. “Russia again is using rape as an instrument of war Moscow denies that its troops have targeted civilians since it invaded Ukraine last month at least 1,119 civilians have been killed so far Pro-Russian troops are pictured in Dokuchaievsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on 28 March 2022 govt and politics","score":0.79238},{"label":"/society/crime/personal offense/assault","score":0.777231},{"label":"/society/crime/personal offense/torture","score":0.690294},{"label":"/society/crime/personal offense/homicide","score":0.678716},{"label":"/family and parenting/children","score":0.666573},{"label":"/society/crime/personal offense/kidnapping","score":0.548726},{"label":"/law Europe Tim StickingsMarch 29 I call on all states to criminalize the use of the ‘Z’ symbol as a way to publicly support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine Public support of this barbarism must be forbidden.