UN commission says Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are war crimes

What the commission found

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine submitted its report to the UN General Assembly on Monday, 26 October. The commission, which works under the UN Human Rights Council and consists of independent human rights experts, concluded that Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are war crimes. Its findings also include crimes against humanity. The commission examined the impact on civilians of large-scale strikes on heating plants, power lines, gas facilities and other infrastructure since the autumn of 2022, along with their cumulative effect. Waves of attacks now involve hundreds of drones and missiles at a time, and the commission says their frequency, intensity and geographic range have grown over the years. The report also cites official Russian declarations about further attacks and a plan to carry them out.

Winter attacks and civilian harm

The report focuses on the severe winter of 2025-2026, when temperatures dropped to minus 21 degrees Celsius (-5.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Millions of people in Ukraine faced lengthy outages of heating, electricity, water and gas, and the commission said they were forced to endure intolerable living conditions. Thousands of households had to go without heating that winter. The commission assessed that the Russian commanders who ordered the attacks knew the targeted heating facilities were indispensable to the civilian population. The report also says the cold harms the physical and mental health of Ukraine's population. Erik Mose, who chairs the commission, said the cold season is approaching and that the strikes have picked up again:

“the attacks have intensified once again, raising serious concerns about the threats to civilians' lives and health”

Forced recruitment and trafficking

Beyond the energy strikes, the commission accused Moscow of human trafficking linked to the recruitment of foreign fighters. It said there is convincing evidence that men from 29 states were lured with false offers of civilian work. Amnesty International raised similar allegations in September. The report says most of the recruited soldiers have been killed, are missing, were wounded or were captured, although the commission gave no figure for how many people were affected. According to Ukrainian government figures, more than 28,000 foreign nationals from over 130 countries have signed contracts with Russian armed forces since the February 2022 invasion.

Ceasefire outlook

Russia and Ukraine continue daily attacks on each other as winter approaches, and there is little sign of a ceasefire. The report comes as Russia has stepped up strikes on civilian targets. Moscow has sought every year since the full-scale invasion in February 2022 to inflict suffering on Ukrainian citizens. The attacks appear aimed at draining Ukraine's will and ability to keep defending its territory. The commission's findings are the first in the report's own words to link these strikes to specific legal conclusions, and the report itself sets out the official Russian declarations behind its finding.