The United Nations' human rights commissioner on Monday condemned Russia's repeated attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities and said he feared for civilians there this winter.

Volker Turk said the population is "trapped in cycles of terror, through ongoing attacks by the Russian Federation striking civilian facilities like hospitals, schools and supermarkets, and repeated waves of targeting of energy infrastructure leading to countrywide blackouts.

"I fear for Ukrainians this coming winter," he told the UN Human Rights Council.

Turk said he was troubled by the impact on civilians of the recent escalation in fighting, including in the Russian region of Kursk.

Ukrainian forces made a large-scale push into the region, which borders Ukraine, on August 6.

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Turk's office said it had asked Russian authorities last month for access to areas of the country affected by the conflict, including Belgorod, Briansk and Kursk.

But he said Monday that Moscow had declined their request.

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