Ukrainian cities continue to be targeted by Russian missile strikes. UNOCHA/Adedeji Ademigbuji
The trend continued into October. On the night of 6 to 7 October alone, a Russian cruise missile and drone attack killed 22 civilians and injured 45 in Pryluky, in Chernihiv region.
“The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, head of the human rights monitoring mission.
Energy assault
The high casualties came as Russian armed forces resumed systematic attacks on energy infrastructure.
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On 13 and 14 October, strikes hit multiple energy facilities, including Kyiv’s three main power stations, temporarily leaving 600,000 people in the capital without electricity, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Ukrainian armed forces also targeted electricity and heating infrastructure in occupied territory and in the Russian Federation, the mission said.
“Systematically attacking electricity and heating infrastructure as winter approaches is bound to inflict significant suffering on the civilian population,” Ms. Bell warned.
Risk of displacement
Damaged homes and attacks on energy also risk forcing Ukrainians who have returned home to flee again this winter, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) warned.
“For millions of Ukrainians, the challenge is no longer simply whether they can return home. It is whether they can remain there safely and right now the conditions are making it difficult,” said Arthur Erken, IOM Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
Some 1.45 million returnees now live in frontline districts, and during the last cold season only 32 per cent of households could heat their homes adequately.
Around 2.1 million older people live alone in apartment buildings, leaving them especially exposed to prolonged power and heating cuts.
Less than seven per cent of IOM’s crisis response plan for Ukraine this year has been funded, Mr. Erken said, calling for urgent support to repair homes, improve insulation and maintain essential services.
Another diesel shortage
Meanwhile, the eighth localised ceasefire brokered by the international nuclear energy watchdog (IAEA) between Ukraine and Russia, began on Thursday to allow repairs to a damaged backup transformer, strengthening the connection between the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and its sole remaining external power line.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi welcomed the cooperation of both sides but warned that diesel fuel at the plant was running low, with no deliveries since March.
“It is essential that steps are taken to increase the volume of diesel fuel available on-site prior to winter, when the situation may become acute,” he said, renewing his call for maximum military restraint from all sides.