UN inquiry finds Russia committed crimes against humanity through attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

Russian authorities committed crimes against humanity through attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, according to a United Nations inquiry whose findings the UN Human Rights Office published on 26 October. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, an independent body that investigates violations linked to the war, reached that conclusion in its report to the UN General Assembly, designated A/81/440.

Crimes against humanity are serious abuses committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population. The Human Rights Office said that Russian authorities also committed the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, meaning property and facilities that serve civilians rather than military purposes under the laws of war.

Russian forces have targeted Ukrainian power infrastructure since the early months of the war in 2022. Strikes on energy facilities have cut off heat and power on bitterly cold winter days, and the UN panel found that inflicting civilian suffering was the goal of the strikes in Ukraine, according to The New York Times.

The commission's chair, Erik Møse, presented the findings to the Third Committee of the General Assembly, a committee that handles human rights matters, in New York. Earlier this year, on 21 September, the commission had already expressed concern about the human impact of Russia's systematic targeting of energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

The commission also investigated the recruitment of foreign nationals to serve in the Russian armed forces.