The authorities of the Russian Federation have committed war crimes by deliberately targeting civilian objects and crimes against humanity through sustained attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. This was the conclusion reached by the UN's Independent International Commission to Investigate Crimes During Russia's War Against Ukraine in a report published on October 26. The commission relied on the testimony of 255 people who survived the winter in these conditions in Kyiv Oblast, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Odesa Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Zaporizhia, and Zhytomyr Oblast, as well as the testimony of medical authorities, non-governmental Ukrainian doctors. According to the committee's assessment, the Russian commanders who gave the orders for the attacks were aware that the heating facilities chosen for the strikes were necessary for the civilian population, especially in winter. "The evidence gathered indicates that the attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure were carried out deliberately and in accordance with state policy aimed at depriving the civilian population of electricity and other essential energy-dependent services and causing suffering. The commission concluded that the Russian authorities committed crimes against humanity," the UN said.

The authorities of the Russian Federation have committed war crimes by deliberately targeting civilian objects and crimes against humanity through sustained attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. This was the conclusion reached by the UN's Independent International Commission to Investigate Crimes During Russia's War Against Ukraine in a report published on October 26. The commission relied on the testimony of 255 people who survived the winter in these conditions in Kyiv Oblast, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Odesa Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Zaporizhia, and Zhytomyr Oblast, as well as the testimony of medical authorities, non-governmental Ukrainian doctors. According to the committee's assessment, the Russian commanders who gave the orders for the attacks were aware that the heating facilities chosen for the strikes were necessary for the civilian population, especially in winter. "The evidence gathered indicates that the attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure were carried out deliberately and in accordance with state policy aimed at depriving the civilian population of electricity and other essential energy-dependent services and causing suffering. The commission concluded that the Russian authorities committed crimes against humanity," the UN said.