Russian Soldier To Undergo Closed Trial In Ukraine For Raping Kyiv Woman Repeatedly After Shooting Her Husband,

JAKARTA - Ukraine is expected on Thursday to hold a preliminary hearing in its first trial against a Russian soldier accused of raping Ukrainian women during the Moscow invasion, the first of dozens of such cases.

The suspect, Mikhail Romanov, 32, who is not in Ukrainian custody and will be tried in absentia, is accused of killing a civilian in the Kyiv capital region on March 9 and then repeatedly raping the man's wife, according to court files.

Russia's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment, and Reuters was unable to reach the soldier. Previously, Moscow had denied allegations of war crimes.

Romanov is accused of raping a 33-year-old woman after he and another Russian soldier shot her husband Oleksiy in the village of Bohdanivka in northeastern Kyiv.

The two soldiers then left and came back twice to rape her, court files said. Unlike the Romanovs, the identity of the second soldier has not been established.

It was not immediately clear what kind of legal representation Romanov would have at the trial, which will be held behind closed doors.

A prosecutor working on sexual assault cases told Reuters it was investigating about 50 such crimes. However, the number of sexual assault cases by Russian soldiers since February 24 is likely to be much higher.

Officials, activists, and doctors say many survivors are afraid or unwilling to go to police and prosecutors with their cases, for fear of reprisals from Russia and stigma from their Ukrainian neighbors.

Separately, a spokesman for the attorney general's office said a prosecutor may comment on the trial publicly after Thursday's hearing.

Ukraine says it is investigating thousands of potential war crimes committed during Russia's invasion, which began on February 24. Attorney General Iryna Venediktova told Reuters many of the suspects were in Russia, but some had been held by Ukraine as prisoners of war.