U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says men, women and children in eastern Ukraine "are being killed, tortured and raped." The top U.S. diplomat made the comments Monday in Geneva where he addressed the U.N. Human Right Council.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the human rights forum that "tangible progress" has been achieved concerning the cease-fire in Ukraine, and he urged Kyiv to distance itself from what he called "extremists."
The U.S. and its European allies are considering additional sanctions against Moscow for its actions in Ukraine, where President Petro Poroshenko has said Russian-backed separatists continue to violate a cease-fire agreement.
The U.N. Human Rights Office said Monday more than 6,000 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since April 2014, "in spite of successive cease-fires."