The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has concluded that Russian authorities committed war crimes and crimes against humanity through systematic attacks on the country's energy infrastructure. In findings presented to the UN General Assembly on October 26, the commission also reported compelling evidence of human trafficking in the recruitment of foreign nationals into the Russian military.
The commission investigated the consequences of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure beginning in autumn 2022, with particular attention to the winter of 2025–2026. According to its findings, the attacks grew more intense and affected an increasingly large area. Some waves of strikes involved hundreds of missiles and drones launched simultaneously.
The destruction of energy facilities caused prolonged disruptions to electricity, heating, water and gas supplies. Millions of Ukrainians were forced to live under these conditions during winter, when temperatures fell to minus 21 degrees Celsius.
The commission collected testimony from 255 people across nine Ukrainian regions and examined information provided by government agencies, medical professionals and nongovernmental organizations.
Investigators concluded that Russian authorities deliberately carried out the attacks as part of a state policy intended to deprive civilians of essential services and inflict suffering.
The commission classified deliberate attacks on civilian objects as war crimes and the systematic infliction of suffering through the destruction of energy infrastructure as crimes against humanity in the form of other inhumane acts.
A separate investigation examined the recruitment of foreign nationals. The commission found compelling evidence of trafficking in persons from 29 countries, involving Russian authorities working with intermediaries.
According to the investigation, recruiters presented themselves as representatives of legitimate companies or organizations enjoying government support. Men were promised employment and assisted with visas and travel to Russia, but upon arrival were coerced into signing Russian-language contracts with the Defense Ministry.
They were subsequently sent to the front in Ukraine and assigned dangerous missions. Some were killed or went missing, while others surrendered or were captured by Ukrainian forces.
The commission called for an end to human trafficking and for victims of the practice to be released from the Russian armed forces.
Investigators also examined reports of Ukrainian strikes on energy facilities in Russia and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. However, the commission said that a lack of access to those territories and the absence of responses from Russian authorities prevented it from conducting an equally detailed investigation into the consequences of those attacks.
The commission's conclusions constitute an international legal assessment of its investigative findings, not a criminal judgment issued by a court.