DU Interview with Antje Himmelreich and Lea Pheiffer: Blackouts in Ukraine
Ukraine's energy and utility infrastructure remains under massive pressure. Since the beginning of 2026, Russian forces have carried out targeted, widespread attacks on power plants, substations, and other parts of the electricity system. These attacks have caused significant damage and repeated power outages in many regions of the country. Heating and water supply systems are also affected by the power outages, as they are largely dependent on a functioning power supply. Repairs to these systems will take several weeks, even once the power supply is restored.
In our short #DUInterview with a member of our management board Antje Himmelreich (Institute for East European Law / University of Regensburg), and our research assistant Lea Pheiffer, we assess these attacks from the perspective of international law.
Photo credits: Denkraum Ukraine
How are the targeted attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure to be assessed under international law?
Under international humanitarian law, military targets such as military bases, barracks, weapons depots, ammunition depots, military vehicles, etc., may be attacked in an armed conflict. Military attacks on civilian objects, including civilian infrastructure, on the other hand, are not permitted, as they usually do not constitute military targets. But even if the civilian energy infrastructure were a valid military target, attacks may violate international law if the expected damage to the civilian population is disproportionate to the concrete military advantage.
The Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which has been severely damaged by Russia in recent weeks, is not a legitimate military target, but a purely civilian object. In any case, the blackouts have caused disproportionate damage to the civilian population. These targeted attacks are therefore in violation of international law and constitute an act of terrorization of the Ukrainian population.
Photo credits: Denkraum Ukraine
How does international humanitarian law protect critical infrastructure like the power supply?
Attacks on civilians and civilian objects that are not military targets are prohibited. Facilities indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, including critical infrastructure, are under special protection. Under international law, all practical precautions must be taken to avoid disproportionate harm to the civilian population in the event of a military attack.
According to all available information, the Russian attacks were specifically directed against critical infrastructure in Ukraine. The heating system, the electricity, and the water supply were particularly affected. Given the particularly cold winter in Ukraine this year, with temperatures in the Ukrainian capital falling to minus 20 to 25 degrees at night, this civilian infrastructure is of crucial importance. Its failure not only restricts everyday life and causes massive disruptions to public life for the civilian population but also poses considerable risks to health and life: homes remain unheated, medical care is hampered, and water supplies are interrupted.
Photo credits: Denkraum Ukraine
What legal consequences could the systematic blackouts have?
Targeted or disproportionate attacks on civilians or civilian facilities may be punishable as war crimes. Prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and national courts is therefore possible.
International criminal law applies the principle of individual criminal responsibility. Only specific individuals may be punished. However, criminal prosecution of Russian crimes in Ukraine is currently difficult to enforce, as the specific perpetrators, i.e., the military decision-makers, the political leadership, and those directly carrying out the attacks, are difficult to identify under conditions of war.
However, investigations against the perpetrators can also be conducted in absentia, i.e. in their absence. This is already happening and is extremely important for subsequent criminal proceedings against those responsible - hundreds of thousands of pieces of evidence are being collected and recorded by Ukrainian authorities, NGOs, and the civilian population, as well as the International Criminal Court; the course of events is being reconstructed, and specific perpetrators are being identified. The defendant’s physical presence is not required for this. Convictions can also be handed down in the absence of the perpetrators. Ukrainian courts have already issued such judgments, albeit in small numbers. After the war ends, they will help when it comes to restoring justice for the victims of war.
Antje Himmelreich
Antje Himmelreich is a senior researcher at the Institute for East European Law in Regensburg, focusing on the law of the post-Soviet states. Since 2019 she lectures in East European law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Regensburg. In the center „Think Space Ukraine“, she co-leads the research field „War, Peace, Post-War-Order“ together with Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Herbert Küpper and Prof. Dr. Cindy Wittke.
Lea Pheiffer
Lea Pheiffer completed her bachelor’s degree in British studies at the University of Regensburg in 2023. Since 2023, she has been pursuing an interdisciplinary master’s in European studies at the University of Regensburg, specialising in international law, transnational human rights protection, EU law, geopolitics, European politics, and global history. Since 2025, she has been a student assistant in the research area of “War, Peace and Post-War Order” of the “Denkraum Ukraine” / “Think Space Ukraine”.