Ukraine says Russia’s attacks on energy sector are crimes against humanity

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has classified Russia’s systematic attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure as crimes against humanity that are aimed at creating conditions for the destruction of the Ukrainian population.

“The SBU has gathered the necessary body of evidence confirming that Russia’s strikes on energy facilities are a deliberate and consistent Kremlin policy aimed at destroying the Ukrainian people and bear the hallmarks of crimes against humanity,” the agency said.

Since the start of the heating season, the SBU has documented 256 Russian air attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities, including strikes on 11 hydroelectric power plants, 45 combined heat and power plants, 49 thermal power plants, and 151 electrical substations.

“Each of these attacks was carried out as a combined operation, using dozens of Russian drones and missiles,” the SBU said.

The heaviest shelling targeted thermal and power generation facilities in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, as well as the Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv regions.

“These strikes, carried out during periods of sharp cold, led to large-scale power and heating outages and disrupted water supplies in the homes of millions of Ukrainian civilians,” the SBU said.

The SBU said the aerial attacks create conditions intended to destroy part of the civilian population. Ukraine’s criminal code defines such actions as international crimes carrying severe liability in Ukrainian and foreign courts.

“SBU investigators are working at the site of every enemy strike, collecting extensive evidence to ensure that every Russian perpetrator involved in these crimes is held fully accountable,” the agency said.