Since Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead for the war on February 24, thousands of troops have rushed into Ukraine and waged a violent battle against their neighbour. Missiles have struck several buildings, leaving a path of destruction as millions of Ukrainian refugees desperately flee the country in fear of Putin’s regime. In the five weeks until midnight on March 29, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had recorded 3,090 civilian casualties in Ukraine – 1,189 killed and 1,901 injured.

On Wednesday UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Russia may have committed war crimes by killing civilians and destroying hospitals in its pounding of Ukrainian cities.

Nile Gardiner, a foreign policy expert and former aide to Margaret Thatcher, has warned Putin is becoming “increasingly deranged and unhinged” and there is “no end to the evil this monster is capable of”.

He told Express.co.uk: “Putin poses a huge threat to the freedom of the world today. This invasion is an act of barbarism and complete madness. He looks increasingly deranged and unhinged.

“I’m very concerned about what comes next.

“Putin will follow the invasion with occupation and quite likely ethnic cleansing in Ukraine, as well as mass killing.

“We should be prepared for the possibility of Putin setting up concentration camps, and inflicting horrific, horrendous suffering on the Ukrainian people.

“He is capable of genocide – he doesn’t care at all about human life.

“We are looking at savagery and barbarism on an epic scale with Putin, so we cannot underestimate what is happening and what might happen.”

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Earlier this week, Ms Bachelet told the Human Rights Council on Ukraine: “Homes and administrative buildings, hospitals and schools, water stations and electrical systems have not been spared.

“Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited under international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.”

The UN official said her office had received credible allegations Russian forces had used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times, and that her office was also investigating alleged use of cluster munitions by Ukraine.

Russia has frequently denied using such weapons or targeting civilians since the start of the Ukraine invasion, describing it as a “special operation” to disarm and “denazify” its neighbour.

Ms Bachelet also said her office ad verified 77 incidents in which medical facilities were damaged, including 50 hospitals.

She added: Civilians are enduring immeasurable suffering, and the humanitarian crisis is critical.

“In many areas across the country, people urgently need medical supplies, food, water, shelter and basic household items.

“Above all, they need the bombs to cease, and the weapons to fall silent.”