Vladimir Putin has drafted 130,000 conscripts into the Russian army in a desperate attempt to turn around his stalled invasion, according to western officials.
Intelligence officials believe that the conscripts will be thrown into the fight for eastern Ukraine along with Russian troops being redeployed from Georgia, parts of which they have occupied for over a decade.
The move came as the UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Russia should be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council and US President Joe Biden said called for war crimes trial against the Russia President.
Biden said he would seek more sanctions after reported atrocities in Ukraine.
“You saw what happened in Bucha,” Biden said. He added that Putin “is a war criminal”.
Russian troops are accused of massacring, torturing and raping hundreds of civilians in Bucha and Irpin.
Ukraine launched a war crimes investigation after bodies of civilians were found on the streets after Russian troops pulled out of areas around the capital Kyiv.
Ukrainian authorities say the bodies of 410 civilians have been found in the areas around Kyiv so far.
One Ukrainian MP claimed soldiers have raped girls as young as ten and branded women’s bodies with swastikas.
Boris Johnson described the discovery of mass graves as “sickening”.
The Prime minister said: “The UK will not stand by whilst this indiscriminate and unforgivable slaughter takes place.
“We are working to ensure those responsible are held to account. We will not rest until justice is done.”
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted: “Given strong evidence of war crimes, including reports of mass graves and heinous butchery in Bucha, Russia cannot remain a member of the UN Human Rights Council. Russia must be suspended.”
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 states responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe.
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