For the first time in the same annual report, the UN has put Russian and Israeli military forces on the blacklist for sexual violence in armed conflict. The documented cases number in the dozens - from Gaza, the West Bank and prisons in Ukraine - and stem from the testimony of former prisoners and victims.

Against Israel, the UN confirmed the "torture" of 14 men, seven women, nine boys and one girl in Gaza and the West Bank. The specifics are hard to read: rape with objects, gang rape, genital mutilation, forced nudity, "searches without clear security justification." Perpetrators: the Israeli military, security forces, prison services.

Against the Russian forces, 310 cases related to the conflict are documented - rape, genital mutilation, electric shocks. Victims: predominantly male prisoners of war who spoke out after their release.

Israel reacted fast and without wrapping. Ambassador Danny Danon described the decision as "shameful and absurd," claiming the UN was equating Israel with Hamas (which is already on the list). The diplomatic effect: a "freeze" of relations with the Guterres cabinet until December 31, 2026. Russia still has no official response. Not that it needs one.

What does "UN blacklist" actually mean? Realistically - little. No sanctions, no international indictments, no state-level implications. It's a reputational document, with the look of an act. For Israel, already living with relentless pressure from international public opinion, even that symbolism lands like a slap. For Russia - perhaps one more footnote in an already long list.

For the Balkans, it's a reminder that the UN shows up where power can't be measured on the ground. Every victim of sexual violence from the 1990s wars - Bosnia, Kosovo, Croatia - knows the same lesson: international institutions react slowly, document strictly, and punish almost never. In the meantime, the lists grow.