Читайте українською тут.
Radio Liberty deleted the article on the website of the Russian service "He betrayed his family - he will also betray his family. Russian military cheat on their wives at the front/Предал семью — предаст и родину. Российские военные изменяют женам на фронте" after a number of Ukrainian human rights and media organizations came forward with a demand to recognize the unethical nature of this material and remove it from publication. This was stated in RFE/RL's response to a Media Detector request.
Following an assessment by Radio Liberty's ombudsman, the article was taken down, the press service confirmed.
The material is now genuinely inaccessible on the Russian service broadcaster's website.
Inquiring into the matter, Detector Media approached Radio Liberty's press service for comments and details on preventive measures against future recurrences. However, the broadcaster merely informed about the removal of the content.
On August 17, a collective statement was released by the Commission on Journalistic Ethics, the NGO "Women in the Media," "Public Radio," the Zmina Center for Human Rights, and several other human rights and media organizations. The joint statement expressed strong disapproval of a publication by Russian service "Radio Liberty" (RFE/RL), which suggested that Russian soldiers in Ukraine's occupied territories engaged in infidelity with Ukrainian women.
Ukrainian groups demanded the immediate removal of the material and urged RFE/RL to refrain from becoming a conduit for Russian propaganda. They called for measures to prevent romanticizing and normalizing instances of rape committed by the military from the Russian aggressor state.
Published on August 11, 2023, on the Russian Radio Liberty service's Sever.Realii project website, the article by Russian journalist Iryna Novak titled "Betray the Family - Betray the Front: Russian Soldiers' Infidelity" drew significant attention. The journalist employed phrases such as "married soldiers and officers find time and relationships with Ukrainian women" and "I thought he was a hero, but he is a hero-lover."
The petitioners emphasized that these narratives divert attention from the ongoing war that Russia initiated through a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Furthermore, they contended that such narratives justify sexual violence during conflicts (SINV), which constitutes a war crime. The petitioners argued that any sexual actions by the Russian military toward individuals living in occupied territories cannot be construed as consensual relationships.
Photo: Andriy Dubchak / Radio Liberty
