'Rape is a weapon of war': Women protest outside Russian embassy in Dublin 

One of the women said their aim was to highlight horrific reports emerging from Ukraine of rape and sexual violence against women and girls by Russian soldiers.

She said while they felt “anxious” about carrying out this type of protest, they have been frustrated at the lack of reporting on sexual violence in this war.

“It is horrendous,” said Aoife from Kilkenny, who did not wish to be fully identified.

“It is a war crime, and it is a breach of international human rights law. 

We do acknowledge that the image can be quite triggering for survivors, but how triggering is it for our sisters and indeed brothers in Ukraine to experience this?” 

She said the idea to cover their heads and tie their hands came from viewing distressing images of women in Ukraine who were allegedly raped and brutalised, their bodies left lying on the road with their heads covered. She criticised the soldiers who are alleged to have treated women like this.

The protesters’ legs appeared to be covered with blood, to reflect the levels of violence that Ukrainian women have experienced at the hands of Russian soldiers since the invasion began, she said.

The substance used by the protesters was made from a mix of cornflour, cherries, cocoa powder, and agave syrup.

“The testimonies are coming so thick and fast from Ukraine,” she said on Sunday.

We were very conscious of the fact that while we have seen anti-war protests in Ireland, [but] we haven’t seen anything that stood in particular solidarity with women."

She said they deliberately kept the protest small as they were concerned about how the embassy or An Garda Síochána might react.

However, the event passed off peacefully, she said.

“We have a right to peacefully protest,” she said. "We were very conscious of that. It was a silent protest."

Images taken during the protest show the women standing in a line across the entrance. The walls and gateway have been defaced in recent weeks with red paint and swastikas drawn on the bricks.

The protest was welcomed by the Ukrainian Community in Ireland social media account. 

They shared an image of the four women on Twitter, and wrote: “What a powerful message from 4 brave women who appeared by the Ruᛋᛋian Embassy Dublin today! #RapeIsAWeaponofWar”.

This latest protest at the Russian embassy on Orwell Rd followed a call from Estonian women — who recently carried out a similar protest in their country — for women around Europe to protest the use of sexual violence in war.

Ukraine's ombudsman for human rights, Lyudmyla Denisova, has reported on numerous cases of rape and assault carried out by the Russian army.

She told the BBC that Ukraine wants a special United Nations tribunal to try Vladimir Putin personally for allegations of war crimes, including rape.

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