World · Europe · 3 hrs ago
UN Inquiry Says Russian Attacks on Ukraine’s Energy System Were War Crimes
A UN-backed inquiry says Russia committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by attacking energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
The independent commission was set up by the UN Human Rights Council after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Its latest findings focus on attacks since 2022, especially during the severe winter of 2025–26.
The outages left millions without reliable heat, electricity, water or gas, and disrupted hospitals and access to shelters.
The commission says the attacks were directed at civilian infrastructure and caused great suffering.
It also found evidence that men from 29 countries were recruited through deception or coercion to serve in Russia’s armed forces.
Russia rejected the commission’s mandate and called its findings based on falsified data; the commission says attacks have intensified as winter approaches.
A U.N.-backed commission said Russia committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by intentionally attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The attacks left millions of civilians facing outages of electricity, heating, water and gas during severe winter conditions.
The commission said the attacks targeted civilian objects and inflicted great suffering on civilians.
Its report also found that men from 29 countries were recruited into Russia’s armed forces through deception or coercion.
Russia’s U.N. Mission rejected the commission’s mandate and said its findings relied on falsified data.
- Who
- The U.N.-backed Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine made the findings.
- What
- It said Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity. It also reported deceptive or coercive recruitment of men from 29 countries into Russia’s armed forces.
- When
- The report was submitted on Monday, October 26, 2026. It examined attacks and civilian impacts since 2022, with particular focus on winter 2025–2026.
- Where
- Ukraine; the commission presented its report to the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee.
- Why
- The commission said the attacks were intentionally directed against civilian objects and inflicted great suffering on civilians.
U.N. commission
Russia
Attacks on energy infrastructure
U.N. commission
The commission said the attacks intentionally targeted civilian objects and amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Russia
Russia has said its forces strike only military or military-related targets; its U.N. Mission said it does not recognize the commission’s mandate and called its findings based on falsified data.
The commission’s report traced attacks on energy infrastructure, including heating plants, power lines and gas facilities, from this period.
The commission examined civilian impacts during a severe winter when temperatures fell to minus 21 degrees Celsius.
The commission submitted its report to the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee.
- Commission chair
- Erik Mose
- Countries whose nationals were recruited
- 29
- Countries investigated for recruitment
- 48
- Severe winter temperature
- Minus 21 degrees Celsius (-5.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Civilian accounts reviewed
- 255 Ukrainians
- Regions covered in winter accounts
- Kyiv and eight other regions
4 sources
What people are saying
inflicting great suffering to civilians
the attacks have intensified once again, raising serious concerns about the threats to civilians’ lives and health
falsified data