UN details humanitarian toll of strikes on Ukrainian energy, heat facilities
Tweet URL Ukrainian authorities reported eight civilians killed and 35 others wounded in Russian attacks on the city of Dnipro on Monday, while Russian authorities
Tweet URL Ukrainian authorities reported eight civilians killed and 35 others wounded in Russian attacks on the city of Dnipro on Monday, while Russian authorities reported at least six people killed by Ukrainian strikes on Russian and Russian-controlled territory over the weekend. Moscow began the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, eight years after annexing the Crimean Peninsula. The UN has repeatedly and forcefully condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion, with multiple General Assembly resolutions demanding Russia withdraw its forces while the UN and its partners continue to provide crucial humanitarian assistance. The latest civilian casualties come as Russia and Ukraine escalate attacks on critical energy infrastructure. Russian authorities reported on Sunday that Ukrainian forces set a major oil refinery ablaze, which could deepen Russian fuel shortages. Meanwhile, Russian armed forces targeted energy facilities across Ukraine throughout the 2025-26 winter months, causing emergency electricity outages affecting millions of Ukrainian civilians, according to a UN human rights office (OHCHR) report released on Monday. Attacks target electricity and heating The OHCHR report said that Russian attacks had destroyed energy generation, transmission and distribution facilities through the frigid winter months.
“Loss of electricity and heating during winter affected people’s health, safety and ability to maintain an adequate standard of living, particularly for older people, those with disabilities and families with children,” Danielle Bell, Head of the UN’s Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said in a press release. The report, titled Attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and update on the human rights situation in Ukraine, finds that Russia carried out at least 423 attacks on electricity generation, transmission and distribution facilities, as well as at least 74 strikes on centralised heating infrastructure, which supplies heating and hot water to most Ukrainian urban households. Russian attacks caused hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians to lose access to heating during the country’s coldest winter since 2010. Due to extensive damage, OHCHR said it will not be possible to fully restore energy generation capacity by next winter, meaning that civilians may be left to face the cold once more. Civilian death toll rises The report also documents increased civilian casualties, continuing violations against prisoners of war, and ongoing restrictions on fundamental rights in territory occupied by Russia.
The BriefWire