The UN rights chief urges Russia to stop strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, warning of a humanitarian crisis as civilians endure freezing winter darkness.
GENEVA: The United Nations has called on Russia to immediately cease its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
UN rights chief Volker Turk warned the strikes are plunging civilians into darkness and extreme cold during a bitter winter.
He stated that the relentless attacks are depriving a long-suffering population of adequate warmth, water and electricity.
Turk highlighted that hundreds of thousands woke without power after another large-scale Russian attack overnight.
“The targeting of civilian infrastructure is prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Turk said.
He called upon the Russian Federation to immediately cease these attacks.
The consequences impact all areas of civilian life, with millions struggling with only a few hours of electricity daily.
Unheated schools have been forced to close and access to medical care has been severely hampered.
Civilians are facing continual bombardment alongside temperatures as low as minus 20C.
Kyiv asserts the strikes aim to sap morale and weaken Ukrainian resistance.
Moscow denies targeting civilians, though thousands have been killed since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The overnight nationwide attack on energy facilities also resulted in two fatalities.
