The National Police of Ukraine suspects Vyacheslav Dubenko, a Russian soldier from the 1st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Western Military District, of rape, deportation, and forcing a young Ukrainian woman into sexual slavery during Russia’s occupation of the Kharkiv region.
According to Ukrainian authorities, in March 2022, Dubenko and his fellow soldiers entered a private home in a village in the Izyumsky district, where the 21-year-old victim lived with her family.
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Over time, he frequently visited her and pressured her into sexual relations. In April, he allegedly raped her twice, threatening her with weapons and harm to her family.
By June 2022, Dubenko and two other soldiers, referred to as “Ibrahim” and “Maga” in the notification of suspicion, allegedly forced the woman to go with them to Belgorod, Russia.
She was reportedly locked in an apartment, where Dubenko held her captive for over a year. Authorities say he repeatedly beat and raped her while keeping her in a secured apartment with iron bars on the windows and a locked door.
In January 2023, the woman attempted suicide by ingesting boric acid. Dubenko took her to the hospital, where doctors did not believe her story about the abduction. Once her condition improved, they discharged her and sent her back “home” – to Dubenko’s apartment.
Subsequently, Dubenko was detained for desertion. As a contract soldier, he was able to voluntarily leave the service. After his arrest, the woman contacted her relatives and fled Russia. Doctors and psychologists have since worked with her in Ukraine.
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Dubenko denies the charges
In an interview with ASTRA, Dubenko denied all accusations. He admitted to participating in Russia’s full-scale invasion but claimed he was only “a driver delivering food.” He insisted he was unarmed and only helped local residents with food.
One of the residents, Dubenko recalls, “repeatedly asked to leave with a convoy to Russia,” but the military refused her. Dubenko says that “she just dreamed that Russia would take over all of Ukraine.”
After a while, according to Dubenko, the alleged victim voluntarily traveled to Russia by herself and even lived independently in Belgorod, working unofficially and preparing to apply for Russian citizenship.
“She asked for help finding a rental home, and I helped. I’ve seen her a couple more times. As far as I know, she was translating all the documents and preparing to apply for citizenship. She also unofficially worked somewhere in the market as a seller. I never saw her again. I quit my job and live in Moscow,” says Dubenko.
To support his claims, Dubenko sent ASTRA a photo of himself with the woman, where she appeared free and smiling. However, he did not provide her last name, saying that “he didn’t remember it because he barely knew her,” nor could he confirm her current whereabouts. The authenticity and timing of the photo remain unclear.
Apartment owners say they lived as a couple
Ukrainian police have identified the Belgorod apartment where the woman was allegedly held. ASTRA spoke with the property owner’s relatives, who confirmed that Dubenko rented the apartment.
Despite Dubenko’s claim that he barely knew the victim, the landlords said he lived with the woman and described them as a couple. They recalled seeing her only once – when they handed over the keys.
“He lived with her. They arrived together. He said they met during the war and had a romantic relationship. Everything was clean and paid for, and the neighbors had no complaints. There were no bars on the windows,” said a relative of the landlord.
Dubenko’s criminal record
Leaked databases reveal that Dubenko was previously convicted of phone theft in 2008 and for falsely reporting a terrorist act in 2009. Records show that since at least 2019, he has been registered in Naro-Fominsk, near Moscow, in the Kalininets military settlement, where his military unit is based.
The case is ongoing, with Ukrainian authorities continuing their investigation.
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