Russia's missile and drone attacks on power stations and other civilian infrastructure in Ukraine are "acts of pure terror" that amount to war crimes, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on October 19.
"Yesterday we saw again Russia's targeted attacks against civilian infrastructure. This is marking another chapter in an already very cruel war. The international order is very clear. These are war crimes," von der Leyen said in a speech to lawmakers in the European Parliament.
For more than a week, Russia has repeatedly targeted civilian and infrastructure targets across Ukraine that have killed dozens of people and have disabled almost one-third of the country's power stations, cutting electricity in more than 1,000 cities, towns, and villages.
"Targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure with the clear aim to cut off men, women, children [from] water, electricity, and heating with the winter coming, these are acts of pure terror and we have to call it as such," von der Leyen said.
She also reiterated the European Union's support for Ukraine "for as long as it takes."