UN rights chief 'outraged' by Russian attacks on Ukraine energy sites amid freezing temperatures

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The UN high commissioner for human rights on Tuesday said that he was “outraged” by the renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure amid extreme winter conditions, stressing that civilians are "bearing the brunt" of these attacks.

In a statement, Volker Turk said he was "outraged by the repeated large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure in Ukraine," following strikes overnight that cut heating and electricity supplies in major urban areas, including Kyiv and Odesa.

"This, as the people of Ukraine are gripped by extreme cold, with temperatures below minus 10 degrees Celsius at night," Turk said.

According to the UN rights office, last night's attacks using long-range weapons caused emergency power and heating outages in several regions.

In Kyiv, the city's mayor reported that 5,635 multi-story residential buildings were left without heating on Tuesday morning, nearly 80% of which had only recently had heating restored following a similar attack on Jan. 9.

"This means that hundreds of thousands of families are now without heating and several areas, including a significant part of Kyiv, are also without water," Turk said.

The human rights chief stressed that the impact of the attacks is being felt by civilians across Ukraine, as repeated strikes damage infrastructure essential for daily life during winter.

"Civilians are bearing the brunt of these attacks. They can only be described as cruel. They must stop," he said, noting that those most vulnerable include children, older people and those with disabilities.

Since October last year, Russian armed forces have carried out "systematic large-scale attacks" on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with strikes recorded in at least 20 regions, the office noted.

Following on similar strikes in 2024, it added, that these attacks have degraded Ukraine's energy system as a whole, which has resulted in rolling power outages across most regions of Ukraine, routinely lasting up to 18 hours per day over recent months.

“I call on the Russian authorities to immediately cease these attacks,” Turk said. “It is appalling to see civilians suffering in this way.”