Russian troops have "tacit permission" to rape civilians, according to a top British human rights lawyer in charge of gathering evidence to prosecute Moscow for war crimes, the Edinburgh Evening News reported over the weekend.

Helena Kennedy said evidence gathered so far demonstrates that "serious offenses of a grievous kind" have been committed by Russian soldiers against citizens.

She told Sky News that "a change has taken place internationally in the recognition of rape as a weapon of war and what that means is not that an instruction is given from the top to go out there and rape citizens, women and girls and anybody else, but it’s about the sort of tacit permission that’s given," explaining that it is "the way in which no one is brought to book or called into line or disciplined and so that gives an immunity to soldiers on the ground they know that this is permissible."

She stressed, according to the Evening News, that in addition to rape, there are many other crime taking place, such as "bombing residential areas, bombing hospitals and orphanages, the business of bombing the theater — where it was quite clear that citizens, civilians, were in hiding and the word children was plastered on the ground so any aerial bombardment could see what they were dealing with."

Kennedy emphasized that the International Criminal Court has "already embarked upon an investigation."

• US Promises More Aid, Return of Diplomats in Secret Kyiv Visit
• Almost 5.2 Million Ukrainians Flee War: UN