UN inquiry says Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity
publishers 19articles 21first reported 26 Oct, 14:04 UTCdeveloping since 26 Oct · 7 editions
A United Nations-backed inquiry has concluded that Russia committed war crimes and crimes against humanity through systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that deprived civilians of heat, electricity, water and gas during freezing winters.
In a report presented Monday to the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said Russian commanders intentionally directed attacks against civilian facilities while knowing that heating infrastructure was indispensable to the population. It found that the attacks were carried out under a state policy intended to deprive civilians of essential energy supplies and inflict severe suffering.
The commission examined attacks dating from autumn 2022 and focused particularly on the winter of 2025-2026, when temperatures fell to minus 21 degrees Celsius. Its findings drew partly on interviews with 255 Ukrainians in Kyiv and eight other regions. The report described millions enduring prolonged outages, while hospitals lost access to critical equipment and some elderly residents could not use elevators to reach shelters during attacks.
Commission chair Erik Mose said renewed attacks ahead of winter posed serious threats to civilian lives and health.
The inquiry also found that Russia recruited men aged 18 to 60 from 29 countries through deception or coercion, amounting to human trafficking and violating international law. Many recruits came from economically vulnerable communities, the commission said.
Russia’s UN mission rejected the commission’s mandate and alleged that its conclusions relied on falsified data. Moscow has maintained that it strikes only military or military-related targets in Ukraine.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one (7 if wire copies count as one too); this version written 24 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- Given to the writer
- 8, 3 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8 (7 if wire copies count as one)
- This version written
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- kept as written
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