Women in Ukraine who have reportedly been raped are fleeing the war-torn region for neighbouring countries such as Poland. There, some are discovering they are pregnant.

With their homes destroyed, their livelihoods gone and most of their friends and family either dead or missing, the women are now faced with the hardship of an unwanted pregnancy.

Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, explains that her colleagues are having firsthand experiences of dealing with pregnant victims.

"[There are] instances in which Ukrainian women who were raped by Russian soldiers now have problem with pregnancy," Matviichuk says.

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It's difficult to assess the scale of sexual violence that has taken place since the conflict erupted in Ukraine on February 24. Many victims are yet to come forward - if they will at all - given the chaos caused by the conflict and the continuing fighting.

According to the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an initial report by a mission of the body's experts documents a "catalogue of inhumanity" by Russian troops in Ukraine, including rape, claims Moscow denies. The OSCE also said it found evidence of human rights violations perpetrated by Ukrainian forces, but said these appeared to be on a far smaller scale.

UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said last week UN human rights monitors were seeking further evidence to support the allegations.

In the meantime, more accounts of sexual assaults continue to emerge. 

Victims who have escaped west to Poland only to find out they are pregnant, now face the trauma reality of being forced to continue with their pregnancies.

Catholic Poland implemented a near-total ban on abortions in 2021. It now has some of the strictest laws on abortion in the world. Though the procedure is legal in cases where "the pregnancy is as a result of a criminal act," most health clinics in Poland have generally refused to carry out the abortion. 

"It's problematic for Ukrainian women who have suffered from sexual violence to be in situations where they are in the territory of a foreign country which has other laws," Matviichuk continues.

According to the UN, more than four million people have fled the conflict so far, 90 percent of whom are women and children. Given the risk of abuse, gender-based violence and trafficking in a time of conflict, Oleksandra suspects that the number of victims will only increase.

But she worries that there are already many unreported cases of assault, with women reluctant to reach out for support.

"Sexual violence is a hidden crime and victims do not often apply for law enforcement bodies. They do not apply for assistance from others. There are a lot of others who will keep silent for years," she said.

Against an ever-growing number of suspected human rights abuses, Matviichuk and her team are struggling with how best to help these women, given their vulnerability.

"You have to be qualified not to harm and provide additional trauma to survivors of sexual violence," she explains.

"Our documenters are not prepared to work with such sensitive cases but even we have received several cases from different regions of women who have been raped by Russian troops in Kharkiv and Kyiv."

For now they will hope to do what they can for the victims they encounter.

"If they need an abortion they will be transferred to other countries where such abortion is allowed. This is our solution from this situation because we just don't know how many women potentially will need such assistance."

Since the beginning of the conflict, Russia has argued its military operation is aiding oppressed people in separatist regions of Ukraine. Moscow has denied allegations by Ukraine, other western nations and international bodies that its forces have committed war crimes.