Reports of rape and sexual assaults on Ukrainian women have multiplied since the beginning of Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24.

Claims of sexual assaults date back to March 4, after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russian soldiers of committing rape in Ukrainian cities.

Kuleba did not present evidence supporting the allegations, and Reuters was unable to independently verify them.

Russia has denied that it has targeted civilians.

In mid-March, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, posted on Facebook that a Russian soldier had killed an unarmed civilian and then repeatedly raped his wife. After the post went viral, the White House said it was alarmed by the reports of sexual violence in Ukraine. The Kremlin rejected the allegations made by Venediktova

Allegations of sexual violence have been mounting. The Ukrainian Parliament’s Human Rights Commissioner, Lyudmyla Denisova, told the BBC that a telephone helpline offering support to survivors of sexual assault have received at least 25 reports of women and girls between the ages of 14 and 24 being raped by Russian soldiers in Bucha - the site of alleged mass killings under investigation by the UN as war crimes. Bucha is a small city roughly 29 kilometers northeast of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

Russia has denied committing atrocities in Bucha, calling the charges a "monstrous forgery" aimed at "denigrating" Russian forces. and would also take part in an investigation following the graphic images emerging from the city.

"It is a simply a well-directed - but tragic - show," said Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov. "It will not work," he added.

Rape and other forms of sexual violence are considered war crimes and crimes against humanity. Russian forces have faced accusations of perpetrating sexual violence in Eastern Ukraine prior to the Russian offensive that began nearly six weeks ago.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general and the International Criminal Court have said they will open investigations into reported sexual violence that include gang rape, and rapes committed in front of children.                       

Experts also warned that unintended pregnancies will be a likely consequence of the crisis in Ukraine.

Around 265,000 women were pregnant in Ukraine at the start of the conflict, and the UN says at least 80,000 are expected to give birth within the next three months.

The conflict has strained Ukraine’s health system, making it hard to serve the 6.5 million people displaced within the country, more than half of whom are women.

Relief workers are scrambling to provide health care for Ukrainians, including reproductive health care for Ukrainian women.