Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ‘a war on women’s rights,’ EU leader tells Parliament

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid tribute to Ukrainian women who are fighting against Russia and decried the sexual violence carried out by Moscow's forces.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday paid tribute to the women of Ukraine who are fighting against Russia and decried the sexual violence widely attributed to Moscow’s forces, calling the invasion “a war on women’s rights.”

Speaking to a joint session of Parliament on the eve of International Women’s Day, von der Leyen highlighted that women, who were once barred from joining Ukraine’s armed forces, “broke the doors down” and “smashed the glass ceiling right over the head of their Russian invaders” to fight for their country.

“These women are an inspiration for all of us,” she said, receiving one of several standing ovations from MPs and senators.

Von der Leyen recalled her visit to Bucha, Ukraine, the site of atrocities against civilians believed to have been carried out by Russian troops, shortly after its liberation last April and the stories of “rape and executions in cold blood.”

“The United Nations says Russia is using rape and sexual violence as part of its military strategy in Ukraine,” she said.

“This is not only a war on Ukraine. It is also a war on human rights and it is a war on women’s rights.”

The United Nations says it has verified the killing of at least 2,296 women and girls since the start of Russia’s invasion over a year ago, adding the real number is “likely significantly higher.”

Nearly 70 per cent of Ukrainians displaced by the war who remain in the country are women, it adds, putting them at higher risk of sexual violence, human trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence.