The United Nations has called on Russia to immediately stop attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. As winter approaches, intensified shelling threatens millions of civilians who risk losing electricity, heating, and other vital services.
This was stated on November 9 by Kayoko Goto, Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division of the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, during a UN Security Council meeting devoted to the situation in Ukraine.
According to the UN representative, Russia continues to increase the intensity of strikes on critical energy facilities, and the consequences of these attacks for the civilian population are becoming increasingly serious.
“We again strongly call for an immediate cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure,” — stated Goto.
She warned that continued shelling in winter could lead to significant humanitarian consequences, including deterioration of living conditions and a new wave of forced displacement of Ukrainians.
According to UN data, from October 30 to November 2, Russian strikes damaged several important energy facilities. As a result, hundreds of thousands of households in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions were left without electricity, in some cases for several days.
Outages also disrupted water supply and public transport, especially in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Over the past weekend, as a result of new Russian strikes on the energy sector of Dnipropetrovsk region, about 600,000 more people were left without electricity, according to UN data.
The organization expressed particular concern over threats to Ukraine's nuclear safety.
Goto noted that strikes on energy infrastructure create additional risks for the safe operation of nuclear power plants. The UN is concerned about reports of repeated attacks on substations connected to Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency continues to record military activity in the area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
The UN representative stressed that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law and must be stopped.
Data on the growing number of civilian casualties were also presented during the meeting. According to UN information, in September at least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 wounded in Ukraine. This is 85% more than in the same period of 2025.
Amid the worsening situation, the UN supported diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war and called on the parties to use the upcoming trilateral talks of Ukraine, the US, and Russia in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11 to achieve concrete results.
Goto also reiterated the UN Secretary-General's call for an immediate, complete, and unconditional ceasefire as an important step toward a just and sustainable peace in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.
