The UN is investigating 300 unlawful killings in Ukraine, the head of its monitoring mission in the country Matilda Bogner told CNN Tuesday.
Speaking on CNN Newsroom, Bogner relayed the scale of civilian atrocities the mission has documented throughout the war so far, including cases of sexual violence and arbitrary detentions.
So far the mission has documented up to 5,000 civilian casualties, Bogner said, noting the actual number will be "thousands" higher. Currently the UN is investigating 150 cases of enforced disappearances.
"Again, the number of cases are higher than that, these are just the cases that we have sufficient information about to already look into," she said.
"We are hearing in some of the areas occupied by the Russian Federation, that they are targeting people who have pro Ukrainian views. For example, local officials, activists, human rights defenders, sometimes journalists who they consider have pro Ukrainian views are being detained. They often disappear. Some have been released, which is good, but others have since been found dead.
"We are also trying to document cases of sexual violence. Unfortunately it's very difficult to get full information. Victims usually are not willing to speak in areas that are unsafe, when they haven't had services provided to them.
"So it is very important that these services are provided, that people are able to have access, and move to safer areas. And it's only when that happens that we will start to get the full picture of what's really going on in the country."