U.N. Panel Calls Russian Energy Strikes a Crime Against Humanity as Attacks Continue

U.N. investigators said Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure were aimed at causing civilian suffering, cut off heat and power on bitterly cold winter days, and amounted to a crime against humanity. Attacks continued this week. On Monday, October 26, 2026, a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia injured four people overnight, Governor Mykhailo Semikin said, and Ukraine's emergency service said two more were hurt in Chernihiv region. Russia's Defence Ministry said it hit power stations in Kharkiv and Khmelnitskiy region, a warehouse near Kharkiv, port infrastructure in Chornomorsk and a cargo vessel bound for Odesa. On Tuesday, officials said at least two people were killed and 15 injured overnight. Russian-installed governor Yevgeny Balitsky said a Ukrainian drone hit a Simferopol-to-Moscow bus carrying 31 people near Primorsk, killing one. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said one person died and 15 were injured in Kyiv. Russia's ministry said it struck defence industry and transport targets in Kyiv, including drone production sites. The United States has pressed Ukraine to stop hitting Russian oil refineries; President Zelenskiy said Kyiv would do so if Moscow stops targeting power infrastructure.

The left-leaning New York Times leads with the U.N. panel's conclusion, in its headline and excerpt, that civilian suffering was the goal of the Russian strikes and that they were a crime against humanity. It centers the loss of heat and power in winter. The available text does not include the daily casualty counts or Ukrainian strikes on Russia. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had. The alternative outlets, The Hindu and TRT World, take a different angle: they report overnight tolls and statements from both Russian and Ukrainian officials. The Hindu adds U.S. pressure over refinery strikes and Zelenskiy's conditions, and TRT World features the bus attack and Russian target claims. Neither mentions the U.N. finding in the text provided.