United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said Tuesday there had been an "extensive failure" by Russia to take adequate measures to protect civilians in Ukraine and that there were indications that Russian forces had committed war crimes there.

"There has been extensive failure by the Russian Federation to take adequate measures to protect civilians and protect civilian objects against the effects of their attacks," Turk said at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He added that his office's monitoring indicated "gross violations of international human rights law, serious violations of international humanitarian law, and war crimes, primarily by the forces of the Russian Federation."