Russia's assault on Ukraine's energy grid is a war crime, UN says

The United Nations has determined that Russia's frequent and intentional attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure constitute a war crime, a U.N. inquiry report said on Oct. 26.

In recent months, Russian forces have strategically escalated attacks on Ukraine's energy grid in the lead up to the freezing winter months to wipe out power plants, substations, and gas infrastructure, despite U.S. President Donald Trump having called for an energy ceasefire.

"Russian commanders ordering the attacks had the knowledge that the heating facilities they targeted in large civilian agglomerations were indispensable to the civilian population, in particular during the winter," a report from the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concludes.

Last winter, the Kremlin also focused its attacks on energy sources, leaving millions of Ukrainians without power in temperatures as low as minus 21°C.

Based on interviews with 255 people who endured these conditions across Ukraine, the commission concluded that "Russian authorities have committed the crimes against humanity of other inhumane acts."

One interviewed man described how, during winter, he would attempt remain awake through the night out of fear of falling asleep and dying from the cold. "The scariest thing was to fall asleep and not to wake up; it was like torture to be scared of dying from cold," he said.

"The waves of attacks by Russian authorities against Ukraine's energy infrastructure were carried out with intent and pursuant to a state policy to deprive the civilian population from essential energy supplies and cause suffering," the report outlines.

In addition, the report outlines how Russia's recruitment of soldiers from third countries also violates human rights law. Recruitment from 29 other countries through lies and coercion counts as human trafficking, the report finds.