Damaged electrical substation in Ukraine. (Archive) UN human rights activists are alarmed by the intensification of attacks on the energy and railway systems of Ukraine Human rights
Experts from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) today expressed concern about the growing number of civilian casualties as a result of increased attacks by Russian armed forces on Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure, as well as a series of attacks on the country’s railway system.
Since March 22, human rights activists have documented four waves of attacks on energy infrastructure that have killed six civilians, injured 45, and damaged at least 20 facilities. Last Saturday alone, missile strikes damaged four thermal power plants critical to electricity production. Moreover, two of them are located in the west of Ukraine, hundreds of kilometers from the front line.
In recent weeks, attacks on the country’s railway facilities have killed at least 11 civilians and injured dozens of people in several regions of Ukraine, including the Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Donetsk and Cherkasy regions.
“These attacks have resulted in civilian deaths and have also jeopardized basic services such as electricity generation and rail transport,” said HRMMU head Danielle Bell.
Attacks on energy infrastructure cause frequent power outages, leaving millions of families without power. This also leads to interruptions in water supply. In some cities, such as Kharkov, rolling power outages are affecting the learning schedules of schoolchildren and students, especially those who study online.
Read also :
Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction needs are estimated at $486 billion
“Attacks on the railway system threaten a key mode of transport on which the people of Ukraine depend in plans for personal travel and the transport of essential goods, especially given the restrictions on air traffic and access to seaports,” Bell said.
HRMMU reports that civilians killed and those injured in recent attacks, including railroad and power plant workers, were either on or in close proximity to infrastructure at the time of the attacks.
Only last year This week there were three attacks on railway facilities. Thus, on April 25, in the village of Udachnoye, Donetsk region, as a result of a missile attack, the railway infrastructure was damaged, three railway workers were killed and four more were injured. Hours earlier, a missile damaged railway facilities in the town of Smela in the Cherkasy region, reportedly injuring several people.
At least 11 civilians were injured as a result of a rocket attack in the town of Balakleya, Kharkov region, which damaged a railway station and a train. A week earlier, eight civilians were killed as a result of attacks on railway facilities in the cities of Sinelnikovo and Dnepr.