Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure a war crime: UN
UN commission notes Russian weaponisation of cold in nearly five years of attacks on heating plants and power lines.
Russia’s persistent attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure constitute war crimes as they weaponise the cold of winter, a United Nations commission has said.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine laid out in a report submitted to the UN General Assembly on Monday years of Russian attacks on heating plants, power lines, gas facilities and other infrastructure since the autumn of 2022.
The report was issued as Russia has stepped up its attacks on such civilian targets. Moscow has sought every year since its full-scale invasion in February 2022 to inflict suffering on Ukrainian citizens with an apparent ambition of draining the country’s will and ability to continue to defend its territory.
“Russian authorities have made official declarations concerning further attacks and referred to a plan to carry them out. The commission concluded that they committed war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects,” the report concluded.