UN finds "reasonable grounds" to believe energy infrastructure attacks violate humanitarian law

Russia's airstrikes on Ukraine's energy system may violate international humanitarian law, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

The report was based on observations of Russian strikes from March to August 2024. In total, UN representatives recorded nine waves of attacks on energy facilities.

"There are reasonable grounds to believe that multiple aspects of the military campaign to damage or destroy Ukraine’s civilian electricity and heat-producing and transmission infrastructure have violated foundational principles of international humanitarian law," the report states.

UN representatives wrote they visited seven power plants damaged by Russian strikes and 28 settlements. The report states that it will "take years" for Ukraine to mitigate the consequences of these attacks.

The document also states that such attacks pose a threat to water supply, sewage and sanitation systems, heating and hot water, public health, education and the economy.

According to the report, most homes in cities are connected to centralized heating and water systems. Mission members found that 95% of Kyiv's three million residents rely on centralized district heating.

"Without emergency electricity supply, millions of urban residents could be left without heat," the report says.

Experts from the UN Mission predict that in the winter of 2024-2025, Ukrainians will be without electricity for 4 to 18 hours a day. This summer, power outages were the second most common reason for citizens to leave the country.