UN rights chief 'outraged' by Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy system

GENEVA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The U.N. rights chief said on Tuesday he was outraged by "cruel" Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure which he said have cut off heating supplies to hundreds of thousands of families.

"Civilians are bearing the brunt of these attacks. They can only be described as cruel. They must stop. Targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure is a clear breach of the rules of warfare," Volker Turk said in a statement read out by a spokesperson at a Geneva press briefing.

Temperatures in parts of Ukraine have fallen below freezing and children and older people are among those most vulnerable, Turk said.