UN Human Rights Commissioner Türk outraged by Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector: Civilians bear brunt of burden
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was outraged by Russia's repeated large-scale attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure following new strikes last night that cut off heating and electricity in major urban centers, including Kyiv and Odesa.
This is mentioned in a statement by the press service of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, reports Censor.NET.
The main burden of Russian attacks falls on civilians
"This is happening at a time when the population of Ukraine is suffering from severe frosts, with temperatures dropping below minus 10 degrees Celsius at night," Türk noted.
He stressed that the main burden of these attacks falls on civilians.
They can only be described with one word – cruel. They must be stopped. The targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure is a clear violation of the rules of war," he added.
The UN Commissioner noted that last night's attacks with long-range weapons caused emergency power and heating outages in several regions. In Kyiv, according to the mayor, as of this morning, 5,635 high-rise residential buildings were left without heating, almost 80% of which had only recently had their heat supply restored after outages caused by a similar attack on January 9.
The most vulnerable groups of the population suffer the most
"This means that hundreds of thousands of families are now without heating, and in several areas, including a large part of Kyiv, there is also no water supply. The most vulnerable groups of the population, including children, older people, and people with disabilities, are suffering the most," he said.
According to Türk, Russia continues to carry out these large-scale strikes despite the existence of extensive and well-documented public information about their serious impact on the civilian population.
Russian attacks on energy infrastructure
Since October last year, Russian armed forces have resumed systematic large-scale attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure: strikes have been recorded in at least 20 regions of the country.
Following similar strikes in 2024, these attacks led to the degradation of Ukraine's energy system as a whole. This resulted in the introduction of power outage schedules in most regions of Ukraine, which in recent months have regularly lasted up to 18 hours a day.
I call on the Russian authorities to immediately stop these attacks. It is terrible to see civilians suffering," Türk emphasized.
What preceded it?
- As noted, on the night of January 20, 2026, Russian troops attacked the territory of Kyiv with strike drones. The Air Force also reported ballistic missile launches, including toward the capital.
- In addition, the enemy launched a Tu-95MS into the sky. Monitoring channels are reporting on possible missile launches.
- According to the Kyiv City State Administration, metro trains will run with changes due to the difficult energy situation.
- 5635 high-rise buildings were left without heat, and the left bank without water.
- The shelling damaged a school, houses, and non-residential buildings in the Dniprovskyi district.
- In addition, Russians attacked the Kyiv region: a man was killed in the Bucha district, and a gas station was damaged.
- As a result of a nighttime enemy attack, a critical infrastructure facility in the Vinnytsia region was hit.
- A critical infrastructure facility in the Rivne region has been attacked.
- An industrial facility in the Poltava region has been hit.
- In the Kherson region, four people were wounded as a result of attacks by the Russian Federation.
