The U.S. has reliable information that Russian military forces executed Ukrainians who were trying to surrender near Donetsk, a U.S. official said, writes usatoday.com.

According to Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack, the U.S. has credible reports and photos of individuals killed “execution-style” with their hands bound, including bodies showing signs of torture and accounts of sexual violence against women and girls.

“These images and reports suggest that atrocities are not the result of rogue units or individuals; they, rather, reveal a deeply disturbing pattern of systematic abuse across all areas where Russia’s forces are engaged”, - she said at a United Nations meeting.

Investigators and volunteers have also recorded what U.S. officials have described as a “troubling campaign” of brutality against civilians in towns near Kyiv after Russian forces withdrew from the area.