Russia just got named for war crimes over Ukraine's power grid

A UN-backed commission just said Russia is committing war crimes.

And crimes against humanity.

The reason? Russia keeps bombing Ukraine's power grid on purpose.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine sent its report to the UN General Assembly a day ago.

It looked at years of Russian strikes on heating plants, power lines and gas sites going back to autumn 2022.

But it zeroed in on one winter. Last winter. 2025 to 2026.

Temperatures hit minus 21 degrees Celsius. And Russia was still hitting the grid.

The commission is chaired by Erik Møse, a former Norwegian judge. Pablo de Greiff and Vrinda Grover are the other two commissioners.

The UN Human Rights Council set this commission up right after Russia's full invasion began, back in February 2022.

This is the first report that's focused just on the energy attacks.

So who gets named? Vladimir Putin, Russia's President, for one.

The report says he made statements instructing attacks on Ukraine's energy system.

Then there's Sergei Shoigu, Russia's former Defence Minister. His successor, Andrey Belousov. And Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff.

All three named as responsible for planning and overseeing the strikes.

Here's the thing. The International Criminal Court already has arrest warrants out for Putin, Shoigu and Gerasimov, over separate charges.

But this new report doesn't come with any power to arrest anyone.

It's a formal finding. Sent to the General Assembly. Not a prosecution.

So what exactly did the commission conclude? Two things.

That this is the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects.

And the crime against humanity of other inhumane acts.

It found Russian commanders knew exactly what they were hitting. They knew those heating plants kept civilians alive.

And the attacks didn't stay the same size. Sometimes hundreds of drones and missiles at once. Growing in frequency, intensity and how far they reached, year after year.

Erik Møse says quote "As the cold season approaches, the attacks have intensified once again, raising serious concerns about the threats to civilians' lives and health".

That's the chair of a UN commission saying it's happening again, right now, as winter comes back round.