In a statement delivered at the 63rd Human Rights Council in Geneva, the UK Mission to the WTO, UN and other international organisations said Russian armed forces systematically and repeatedly targeted energy facilities across Ukraine throughout the 2025–2026 winter. According to the mission, millions faced electricity outages and hundreds of thousands went without heat during Ukraine's coldest winter since 2010.

The statement also said July was the deadliest month for civilians in over four years, with 437 killed, including a record number of children. The mission said Russia struck Ukraine's energy infrastructure over 130 times in August alone, and it called on Russia to accept the full and unconditional ceasefire offered by Ukraine to enable negotiations towards a just and lasting peace.

The UK statement further alleged that Russia is deceiving foreign nationals into fighting its illegal war and militarising a generation of Ukrainian children in the Temporarily Occupied Territories. It asked the Council how it could strengthen accountability and help deter further attacks on essential infrastructure. The statement was published on 22 September 2026.