UN panel finds Russia committed crimes against humanity targeting Ukraine's energy grid

Russia carried out war crimes and crimes against humanity by deliberately attacking civilian energy infrastructure in Ukraine, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded in a report submitted to the UN General Assembly on Monday.

The commission found that the strikes on power and heating systems were carried out with intent and reflected a state policy to deprive the civilian population of essential energy supplies and cause suffering. It said Russian commanders who ordered the attacks knew that heating facilities were indispensable to civilians, particularly in winter.

Large-scale Russian drone and missile attacks last winter reduced Ukraine's thermal power generation capacity by 70 percent in the most affected areas, according to Kyiv. Temperatures dropped to as low as -30 degrees Celsius on multiple occasions during an unusually cold season.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the report confirmed that Russia had deliberately deprived millions of people of electricity, heating and water, turning cold and darkness into instruments of war.

Russia's Permanent Mission to the UN rejected the commission's findings, saying it drew on falsified data provided by Ukrainian authorities via the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Kyiv. The mission said it does not recognise the commission's mandate, which was established through a UN Human Rights Council resolution passed days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.