Russia’s targeted attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure constitute a violation of international humanitarian law and must be stopped.
This was stated by Assistant UN Secretary General, coordinator of the UN system in Ukraine Matthias Schmale, who spoke at a press briefing in Geneva on Friday on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and preparations for winter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
He cited a UN human rights report released a few weeks ago which clearly demonstrated that attacks on energy infrastructure are attacks on civilians, because energy is required for heating, cooking and other necessities. Therefore, deliberate attacks and destruction of energy infrastructure, on which the civilian population depends, are a violation of international humanitarian law and must be stopped, Schmale said.
He emphasized that the level of destruction in Ukraine’s energy system as a result of Russian airstrikes is of great concern. According to Schmale, although the Ukrainian government is trying to prepare for winter in the best possible way, it seems that the situation now looks much worse than last winter, and further Russian attacks could make it even worse.
The coordinator of the UN system in Ukraine also expressed great concern about the drone strikes that Russia launches at Ukraine. He pointed out that such use of attack drones is also “part of psychological terror”, because the sound they make as they fly terrifies people and as they don’t know whether they will strike.
Schmale also warned Russia against strikes near nuclear power plants, the disruption of which, in addition to the threat of radiation leaks, would be the worst scenario for Ukraine’s energy supply system throughout winter.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, from October 2022 to September 2024, Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities were subjected to 1,024 Russian attacks.
Source: UN calls on Russia to stop attacks on Ukraine’s energy system
