The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (UNHRM) predicts that Ukrainians may experience severe power outages this winter, which could lead to power outages lasting from four to 18 hours a day. These data are given in the recent report of the Mission.
MMPLU experts note that military attacks on the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine, including facilities for the production and transmission of electricity and heat, violate the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. They indicate that the attacked facilities pose a serious threat to water supply, sewage, sanitation, heating, hot water supply, public health, education and the economy as a whole.
MMPLU visited seven power plants that were affected by the attacks, as well as 28 settlements that were hit. It was found that a large part of the urban population of Ukraine, which uses centralized heating systems, can expect serious difficulties with heat supply. For example, in Kyiv, almost 95% of residents depend on centralized heating systems, which require electric pumps to operate, which can be disabled without a reliable power supply.
The experts also noted that problems with energy have become one of the main reasons for the departure of Ukrainians abroad in the summer of 2024. This emphasizes the need for an urgent solution to the issues of restoration and protection of critical infrastructure in order to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity and heat in the conditions of a long war.
