Russian air strikes on Ukraine’s electricity generation, transmission, and distribution facilities probably violate international humanitarian law, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).
The report published on Thursday focused on nine waves of attacks between March and August this year.
HRMMU said it had visited seven power plants that were damaged or destroyed by attacks, as well as 28 communities affected by the strikes.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that multiple aspects of the military campaign to damage or destroy Ukraine’s civilian electricity and heat-producing and transmission infrastructure have violated foundational principles of international humanitarian law,” the report said.
The first big wave of strikes hit in 2022, several months after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year.
The attacks have continued throughout the war, though Moscow has markedly stepped up its campaign since last March.
Each wave of strikes has left Ukrainian cities without power for hours at a time for weeks on end.
Ukraine says the targeting of its energy system is a war crime, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for four Russian officials and military officers for the bombing of civilian power infrastructure.
Russia says power infrastructure is a legitimate military target and has dismissed the charges against its officials as irrelevant.
