Amid widespread suffering and more than 180,000 documented war crimes committed by Russia during its war on Ukraine, the heightened risk of sex trafficking of Ukrainians has been largely absent from US and European policy discussions.
Millions of forcibly displaced people, in particular women and children, have become increasingly vulnerable to transnational criminals exploiting instability, weak oversight, and humanitarian corridors since the full-scale invasion.
While criminal networks exploited Ukrainians for trafficking before 2022 – more than 300,000 mostly women may have been affected between 1991 and 2021 according to the International Organization for Migration – the full-scale invasion has exacerbated such crimes.
By 2025, the war had forced 6.9 million people – mostly women and children – to flee Ukraine, displaced an additional 3.6 million within its borders, and driven more than half the country’s children from their homes, making Ukrainians increasingly vulnerable to traffickers. As of February 2026, the latest United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees data shows that there are currently 5.9 million Ukrainians externally displaced, with the majority are located in Europe.
Yet the link between sex trafficking and Russia’s war isn’t often made in public discourse, and research has been limited. Cases are likely to be underreported and reliable data on Ukrainians being trafficked within Russia and Russian-occupied territories is scarce.
Alongside russification, forced indoctrination, and militarization, the thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Moscow are vulnerable to Russian criminals forcing them into prostitution. Moscow claims it is saving Ukrainian children from such crimes, but Russia’s longstanding history of trafficking and credible reports of abuse suggest otherwise.
“Crisis and emergency situations put children at greater risk of being separated from their parents and protective environment, and of being displaced without control or supervision by the authorities,” Benoît van Keirsbilck, an independent expert advising the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, warned in 2024. “These children are easy prey for child traffickers, illegal adopters, and exploitation, including sexual exploitation.”
And Russian sex trafficking networks have a long history.
Canadian journalist Viktor Malarek wrote in The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade in 2003 that the main orchestrator of the trafficking of Eastern European women, including Ukrainians, was Russian organized crime, and the pattern has continued.
Malarek described beatings, mass rape, and the killing of voiceless women in a chilling account which foreshadowed the widespread sexual brutality and inhumanity of Russian soldiers in Ukraine’s occupied territories after 2022.
Russia has forcibly transferred as many as 1.6 million Ukrainians to Russia, Belarus, and the occupied territories, and, given the role of Russian organized crime in sex trafficking, Ukrainians forced into Russian-controlled territories face a significantly higher risk of exploitation.
“Traffickers target Internally Displaced Persons and subject some Ukrainians to forced labor, forced conscription, and sexual exploitation in Russia-controlled areas, including via kidnapping, torture, and extortion,” the US State Department said in a trafficking report published in September.
And the number of recorded cases is likely to be the tip of the iceberg, such as language barriers, fear of authorities, unawareness of where to seek help, and limited research contribute to underreporting.
Criminal gangs “exploit Ukrainian victims in sex trafficking and forced labor in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Germany, other parts of Europe, China, Kazakhstan, and the Middle East,” the State Department said. It also noted that “traffickers increasingly exploit Ukrainian victims in EU member states.”
Human trafficking is an international crime and should matter to the US, UK, EU, and the rest of the civilized world, as a fundamental question of human dignity. Whatever Americans’ and Europeans’ views on Russia’s war on Ukraine, it is clear that the increased sexual exploitation of Ukrainians is a direct consequence of the instability created by Moscow’s aggression.
Addressing it requires a more coordinated policy response from Washington, London, and Brussels.
First, policymakers should prioritize the investigation and disruption of transnational trafficking networks exploiting Ukrainians. This includes strengthening intelligence-sharing and law enforcement cooperation among Western partners and targeting financial flows, including cryptocurrency transactions, that sustain criminal operations.
Second, there is a clear need for more systematic research and data collection. Policymakers need a better understanding of trafficking routes, network hubs – including those operating in Western countries – and the security and economic implications for local communities, such as the inflow of dirty money.
Third, increased funding should be directed to victim protection, prevention, and rehabilitation. This includes expanding support for NGOs, safe houses, and services for displaced populations, particularly women and children.
Fourth, international criminal actors should be publicly identified and, once apprehended, face severe legal consequences.
Finally, trafficking must be more integrated into policy discussions on Russia’s war. Recognizing the link between the war and sex trafficking brings the issue into sharper focus and highlights the wider consequences of the war, not only for Ukraine but for international security and democratic resilience.
Ilya Timtchenko is a Fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at CEPA.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe’s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis. CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.
