Russian attacks during the winter of 2025-2026 damaged Ukrainian power plants, heating facilities, substations, and gas infrastructure across nine regions, making repairs increasingly difficult and causing electric pump failures that disrupted water supplies

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The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine reported that Russia committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by intentionally attacking Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine's report submitted to the UN General Assembly concluded that Russian attacks on energy infrastructure were carried out pursuant to a state policy to deprive civilians of essential energy and cause suffering

Fearing they would become trapped in elevators during sudden power cuts caused by Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, elderly residents and people with limited mobility remained inside their apartments during air-raid alerts

Large-scale Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure reduced thermal power generation capacities by 70 percent in the most affected areas during the winter of 2025–2026

Ukrainian medical personnel documented civilian deaths and hospitalizations caused by extreme cold exposure in unheated homes, treating patients for hypothermia, frostbite, and respiratory illnesses

Prolonged winter power and heating outages left millions of Ukrainian civilians in unheated homes as outdoor temperatures dropped as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine based its 2025-2026 winter energy grid findings on interviews with 255 people across nine Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Kherson, and Odesa

Widespread electrical power cuts disrupted Ukrainian hospital operations and compromised the safe refrigeration of essential medical supplies, vaccines, and blood stocks

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine identified former Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, current Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov as responsible for planning and overseeing attacks on Ukraine's energy grid

Russia maintained that its military strikes in Ukraine target only military or military-related facilities, claiming energy infrastructure serves military purposes

Russia's UN Mission rejected findings from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine on October 26, 2026, stating that Russia does not recognize the commission's mandate and claiming the report relies on falsified data

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A temporary ceasefire began around the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky

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Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a joint phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin stated that Vladimir Putin cited confrontational policies by European Union and NATO member countries as the key factor prolonging the hostilities in Ukraine

Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Støre held a follow-up phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately after speaking with Vladimir Putin on October 27, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner participated remotely in the October 20, 2026 meeting in Oslo between Stubb, Støre and Zelenskyy alongside Steve Witkoff

Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Støre emphasized that they initiated the October 27, 2026 call with Vladimir Putin as leaders of Finland and Norway rather than representing Europe as a whole

Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Støre stated that as nations bordering Russia, the outcome of the war in Ukraine directly impacts Finnish, Norwegian, and broader European security

The October 27, 2026 call involving Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Støre marked the first direct contact between Vladimir Putin and European leaders since French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Putin in July 2025

The Kremlin stated that Vladimir Putin told the Nordic leaders, Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Støre, that a lasting peace settlement requires full and unconditional recognition of Russia's legal interests