Russian shelling of Ukrainian energy facilities is definitely a war crime and part of a plan to commit genocide against Ukrainians. The goal is to stop the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum (KSF) and former Prime Minister of Ukraine (2014-2016), made this statement during an extraordinary session of the KSF on the situation in Ukraine's energy sector and economy.
"What Putin is doing is a crime against humanity. After all, the bombing of Ukrainian infrastructure and energy facilities falls under the international definition of war crimes against humanity... The United States has postponed the decision to transfer Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. This is not just a matter of military victory. These missiles are not only one of the elements that deters russia, including from striking the Ukrainian energy sector. We need long-range weapons to show russia that we can strike its energy and military facilities as well," he said.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted that such attacks by the russian federation are an attempt at genocide against the Ukrainian nation.
"In addition to his military plans to seize Ukraine, Putin intends to freeze Ukraine. He hopes to freeze the Ukrainian people, but he will never freeze our will to win. In order to win, it is crucial that we gather our strength, resources, and means to get through this difficult winter," he said. At the same time, the KSF Chairman thanked the Ukrainian power engineers “for the fact that we have survived many winters and will survive this one.”
Regarding the financial aspect, the KSF Chairman reminded us that two-thirds of the state budget is allocated to defense, and the necessary funding for next year has yet to be secured. Kyiv is counting on the support of its European partners. “To survive this year and win this righteous war,” he emphasized.