For months now, Russia has been bombing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with little clear purpose other than to terrorize civilians.
It looks like yet another Russian violation of the laws of war.
Countless missile and drone attacks in October and November have deprived millions of civilians – at least temporarily – of access to electricity, water, heat, and related vital services.
Just take one day as an example…
On November 23 alone, Russia’s attacks, in addition to killing or injuring more than 30 civilians directly, interrupted access to power for millions throughout Ukraine. The entire population of Kyiv, some three million people, had no access to water for the day, and parts of Kyiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa regions were completely disconnected from electricity.
That’s just one day. There have been many days like it, and the coldest months lie ahead. Average winter temperatures in Ukraine hover around minus 3 degrees Celsius and can plunge to minus 20 degrees (27 to -4 Fahrenheit).
In short, the misery is likely to increase – but this appears to be the Kremlin’s primary, and unlawful, objective with these endless waves of bombings.
The laws of war prohibit attacks on objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and violence or threats, “the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population.”
Yet Russian politicians, lawmakers, and other commentators on Russian state media have been cheering on this terror. Many widely applauded the prospect of Ukrainian civilians being left without heat and water in winter. A member of parliament, for example, said ordinary people should “rot and freeze.”
There’s something simply deranged about all of this. Whatever the Kremlin’s war aims were initially when it invaded its neighbor in 2014 and again in 2022, there seems to be nothing left now but a vindictive will to spread terror.
