While diplomats discuss possible paths to peace, Russian forces continue to deliberately strike facilities on which the survival of millions of Ukrainians depends during the winter months. Systematic attacks on energy infrastructure have long gone beyond military tactics and have become a conscious strategy aimed at the civilian population.
Since the start of the heating season, more than 250 aerial strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities have been recorded. Dozens of thermal and hydroelectric power plants have come under attack—the very sites that provide heat, light, and water to Ukrainian towns and villages. Each such attack is carried out using massed strikes: dozens of missiles and drones are unleashed simultaneously on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
As temperatures plunge, millions of people are left without electricity, heating, and water supply. This is not a side effect of warfare—it is the direct objective of Russian war criminals. Ukraine’s Security Service classifies such strikes as crimes against humanity, for which accountability is предусмотрена both in Ukrainian courts and in international tribunals.
It is important to understand the nature of these crimes. Under international law, crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations. Every strike is documented, and everyone involved in planning and carrying it out will be identified. Justice may not come immediately, but it is inevitable.
Despite the scale of the destruction, Ukraine continues to restore damaged facilities. Repair crews work around the clock, often under the threat of repeat strikes. The government is strengthening protection of energy sites, coordinating efforts with the military. Across the country, an audit of “Points of Invincibility” is underway—more than 10,000 such locations have already been established. Additional support centers are being created, designed for long-term stays and 24/7 operation.
Alongside these inhumane physical attacks, Russia is waging an information war, trying to sow panic and defeatist sentiment among the population. The goal is simple and clear: to break the will of Ukrainian society and force Kyiv to accept terms of capitulation. This strategy did not work in previous years of the war and will not work now. Ukrainian society remains united and determined to continue fighting for its country’s freedom and independence.
Kyiv is urging the international community to step up support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Moscow. This is not only about military aid or economic sanctions. It is about a fundamental choice: the world can either stop an aggressor that deliberately uses cold and darkness as weapons against civilians, or accept that such methods of war are permissible in the 21st century.
Each day of war adds new evidence to a case that will inevitably be heard in international courts. But Ukrainians need justice not in the distant future—they need support now, as the fate of their country and the future of the international rules-based order are being decided.