A United Nations commission has concluded that Russia's sustained attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are war crimes, saying they turn the cold of winter into a weapon against civilians.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine presented its findings in a report submitted to the UN General Assembly on Monday. The document reviews years of Russian strikes on heating plants, power lines, gas facilities and other installations, beginning in the autumn of 2022.
The report arrives as Russia has intensified such attacks. According to the account of the war, Moscow has tried each year since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022 to cause hardship among Ukrainians, with an apparent aim of eroding the country's will and capacity to defend its territory.
The commission examined how large-scale strikes on the energy system have affected civilians, as well as their combined effect since 2022. "The frequency, intensity and geographic range of systematic waves of attacks with hundreds of drones and missiles at a time have increased over the years and inflicted significant damage to Ukraine's energy sector," the report said.
It paid particular attention to the severe winter of 2025 to 2026, when temperatures fell to minus 21 degrees Celsius (-5.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Millions of people endured long outages of heating, electricity, water and gas, and were left to cope with intolerable living conditions, the commission found.
Investigators assessed that Russian commanders who ordered the strikes knew the heating facilities they hit were indispensable to the civilian population. "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 stated.
Commission chair Erik Mose noted that with the cold season approaching, "the attacks have intensified once again, raising serious concerns about the threats to civilians' lives and health."
Fighting continues daily on both sides, and there is little sign that a ceasefire is near. On Monday, a Russian strike on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia injured four people overnight, regional governor Mykhailo Semikin said on Telegram. Separately, Russia's Ministry of Defence accused Ukraine of repeatedly striking the Russian-controlled southern town of Oleshky ahead of a planned local ceasefire this week.
The commission, which was established by the Human Rights Council, also accused Moscow of human trafficking linked to the recruitment of foreign fighters into the Russian armed forces, "in violation of international human rights law." The report said most of those recruited have been killed or gone missing, while others have been injured or captured. During the war, now nearly five years old, there have been numerous reports of men from India being tricked into fighting on the front lines.
