Escalating attacks on infrastructure by Russia and Ukraine are leaving civilians increasingly vulnerable as winter approaches, UN investigators have warned, raising concerns about a repeat of last winter’s suffering.
The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said on Monday both sides had intensified long-range strikes against civilian sites, including energy, industrial and port infrastructure, as well as ships in the Black Sea.
The commission said Russian attacks during the winter of 2025-2026 caused prolonged power and heating outages as temperatures fell to minus 20°C, leaving millions of civilians without adequate heating.
“Ukrainian authorities recorded cold-related deaths and injuries,” commission chair Erik Mose told the UN Human Rights Council.
The commission also voiced concern over reports of Ukrainian attacks on infrastructure inside Russia and Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, saying they indicated rising civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects. It said it had been unable to investigate those reports because it lacked access.
“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,” Mose said.
The findings came after US President Donald Trump called last week for an energy truce between Russia and Ukraine, although neither side has confirmed it will participate.
Children, foreign recruits
The commission also reported on Russia’s imposition of what it described as patriotic education in occupied areas, including military training for Ukrainian children from the age of 14.
It said children were taught to handle weapons and carry out military drills.
Investigators also examined the recruitment of foreign nationals to fight for Russia, saying some had been deceived or coerced into joining the Russian armed forces.
Mose said agents and intermediaries had recruited people from various countries with promises of civilian jobs before they were allegedly compelled to sign contracts with Russia’s defence ministry.
Many recruits did not understand Russian or the contracts they signed and were subsequently sent to the front lines in Ukraine, he said.
The commission said some were killed, wounded, captured or went missing, leaving families searching for relatives from abroad.
