““Any new attacks that lead to longer outages could have catastrophic consequences””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
The report of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine published on September 19, based on the results of site visits, interviews with technical experts, representatives of energy companies, local residents and officials, describes the far-reaching consequences of Russian attacks.
The UN emphasized that the destruction of the energy infrastructure endangers vital services such as water supply and drainage, heating, health care, education and the economy, and vulnerable groups of the population, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and internally displaced persons, are particularly affected. individuals and low-income families.
“The consequences for the civilian population from these attacks were completely predictable – millions of people were affected,” said Danielle Bell, the head of the MMPRU.
“This winter will be extremely difficult,” she added. – People are likely to experience regular power outages across the country. Any new attacks that lead to longer outages could have catastrophic consequences.”
The UN urged Russia to immediately stop attacks on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, noting that the destruction of critical energy facilities violates the principles of international humanitarian law, which are designed to protect civilians.
The international community in the UN mission was called on to direct priority assistance to the repair and restoration of the energy system of Ukraine.
“The consequences of these attacks will be long-lasting and require a comprehensive approach,” said Danielle Bell. “National and international partners must join forces to restore critical infrastructure and bring to justice those responsible for the damage.”
The UN recalled that in the period from March 22 to August 31, the Russian armed forces carried out nine large-scale waves of coordinated attacks on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, striking objects in 20 of the 24 regions under the control of Ukraine, including Kyiv . These attacks, using rockets, munitions and drones, caused serious damage to key energy facilities, including thermal, hydro and solar power plants. As a result of the strikes, at least 18 people died, and another 84 were injured.
The report notes that the Russian strikes resulted in the loss of about 9 gigawatts of production capacity, which is half of the amount needed by Ukraine during the winter period. According to one of the major energy companies cited in the report, attacks in 2024 damaged three times as many power units as in the winter of 2022-2023.
The damage was caused by widespread power outages across the country, with some cities experiencing blackouts lasting 12 or more hours a day during the summer heat. The report emphasizes that in winter, these effects can be even more serious due to low temperatures. According to forecasts of experts interviewed by the MMPLU, in winter, power outages will last from four to 18 hours every day.