"The strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities are part of demilitarization, as they affect Ukraine's defense industry. They are also linked to one of the tasks we set for ourselves - demilitarization. Primarily, we believe that in this way we are influencing Ukraine's defense-industrial complex directly", - russian dictator stated in a conversation with Lukashenko.
As previously reported, according to the principles of international law, parties in an armed conflict are obligated to distinguish between civilian and military objects. Energy facilities theoretically could be considered dual-use objects, serving both civilian and military purposes. However, an attack on a dual-use object is illegal if the consequences for its civilian use entail excessive harm to the civilian population. The 4ussian leadership and its propaganda do not conceal that through barbaric shelling of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, they aim to deprive major cities of power and provoke a mass exodus of local residents.