GENEVA / VIENNA – Continued Russian attacks on critical energy infrastructure are increasing the vulnerability of Ukraine’s civilian population as winter approaches, raising concerns that already difficult living conditions could worsen, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in its latest update to the Human Rights Council.
During the severe winter of 2025-2026, Russian armed forces continued to launch systematic waves of attacks against Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure as temperatures plunged to minus 20°C. More power installations, transmission lines, heat supply facilities, and gas facilities have been damaged or destroyed. Millions of civilians endured prolonged power outages, shortages or lengthy absence of heating.
Civilians interviewed by the Commission described temperatures inside their apartments falling to the point where many developed health problems, including psychological conditions. A 74-year-old woman from Kyiv, living on the 18th floor, told the Commission that freezing temperatures, exacerbated by power cuts which frequently stopped lifts, left her cold and trapped. “There was no way to go in or out. I lay cold and hungry, without medicine, without anything,” she said. Ukrainian authorities recorded cold-related deaths and injuries. Those who could relocated during the coldest months.
“Continued attacks on energy infrastructure are making living conditions increasingly unbearable for civilians, and we are concerned that the coming winter will be more difficult to endure,” said Erik Møse, Chair of the Commission.
The Commission has also followed reports concerning attacks carried out by Ukrainian armed forces on infrastructure in the Russian Federation and in Russian controlled areas of Ukraine. Those reports indicate an increase in civilian casualties and damage or destruction of civilian objects. However, due to lack of access and information, the Commission has been unable to investigate these incidents.
Another issue investigated by the Commission focuses on the imposition of Russian patriotic and military education on Ukrainian children. Since 2022, the Russian Federation has strengthened and systematically emphasised patriotic education in its own curriculum, which it has extended to the occupied areas. Classes devoted to patriotic lectures about Russia have been added to school programmes, including for children as young as three years. Ukrainian children in occupied areas are forced to enroll in schools which follow the Russian curriculum, with teachings glorifying the Russian Federation. Non-compliance is met with threats and coercion.
Modules on practical military training on the use of weapons and military drills are part of the mandatory curriculum for children from the age of 14. State-sponsored Russian youth organisations, which have increased their presence in occupied territories further reinforce patriotic indoctrination and military training. Exposure to patriotic and military training has a profound impact on children. Some find this system unbearable, choose to flee to territories under Ukrainian Government control, often alone, and encounter considerable security risks and hardships.
A third area of the Commission’s ongoing investigations is the recruitment of foreign nationals to fight in the armed conflict. Many foreign nationals have joined knowingly and voluntarily both the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces.
The Commission has focused on foreign nationals from a range of countries across different continents, who ended up serving in the Russian army through deception. Agents and intermediaries lured them promising lucrative civilian jobs and facilitated their travel to the Russian Federation. Soon after arrival, they were compelled to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence. The vast majority did not understand Russian or the terms of these contracts and found themselves serving on the frontlines.
Also, some foreigners present in the Russian Federation, including persons serving prison sentences, were coerced by Russian authorities to fight in Ukraine.
Many among the recruits died shortly after reaching the frontlines, were reported missing, injured, or were taken prisoners by Ukrainian armed forces. Their families have been left in anguish to search from afar for information about the fate of their loved ones, while recruiting agents usually block their calls.
As the armed conflict continues, the Commission is concerned by ongoing severe physical and psychological harm, grave hardships inflicted on the victims and their families, as well as the broader impact of the destruction. It reiterates the importance of both judicial and non-judicial accountability measures, including the provision of multifaceted support to the victims.
The Commission will present findings of the ongoing investigations in its report to the General Assembly’s 81st session in October 2026.
