Surviving the winter: local energy hubs and community resilience in wartime Ukraine

Energy infrastructure is increasingly emerging as a strategic target in modern wars. Since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been among the primary targets of military attacks. Ukraine’s power plants, substations, and transmission networks have been hit by missiles and drones. Large-scale power outages, severe energy shortages, and the destruction of thousands of energy facilities have exposed the structural vulnerabilities of highly centralised energy systems.

Energy infrastructure as a battlefield

In large-scale waves of attacks in 2024 and 2025, Russia launched coordinated strikes, involving hundreds of drones and missiles launched simultaneously at energy infrastructure in several regions, including Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kyiv, and Odessa. The consequences were severe. According to the United Nations Development Programme, damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has reached approximately $6.5 billion, with over 12 million people experiencing electricity disruptions.

Additionally, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that these attacks on Ukraine’s energy system have significantly disrupted electricity supplies and caused widespread power outages nationwide. By late May 2024, about 70% of Ukraine's thermal generation capacity was either occupied or damaged, and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant —which provided one-quarter of Ukraine’s electricity prior to 2022 — remained under Russian control.

Ongoing attacks in 2025 and 2026 have intensified these challenges, particularly during winter months, when cities like Kyiv have experienced prolonged electricity outages. Consequently, ensuring stable access to electricity has become a central component of Ukraine’s national resilience strategy. Since the autumn of 2025, extended power outages have once again become a recurring reality for many Ukrainian cities and rural communities.

The situation deteriorated further in early 2026. January’s severe temperatures coincided with one of the largest waves of Russian attacks on critical energy infrastructure, triggering nationwide blackouts and exacerbating the country’s energy crisis. The consequences of these attacks were felt immediately across Ukraine. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, including the cities of Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih, more than 800,000 households were left without electricity. In neighbouring Zaporizhzhia, located near the frontline, outages spread across entire communities. After a winter of electricity outages lasting up to 12 to 14 hours daily, Ukraine is entering a new energy season under continued uncertainty and heightened risks to the stability of its power system.

Olena Pavlenko, president of the Ukrainian independent think tank DiXi Group, notes that the prolonged invasion has significantly complicated efforts to restore the country’s damaged energy infrastructure. According to Pavlenko, each new wave of large-scale attacks further weakens the system and makes recovery increasingly challenging. While repairs are ongoing, damaged facilities rarely return to their original condition, and restoration typically results only in partial recovery. Consequently, four years after the invasion began, power outages following attacks have become longer, while the technical and logistical complexity of repair operations has grown.

From centralised systems to community solutions

The war has accelerated a major shift in how energy resilience is understood. Traditionally, electricity systems have relied heavily on large, centralised power plants and extensive transmission networks. When these are damaged, entire regions can lose access to power.

Ukraine’s experience of war, however, demonstrates the value of decentralised energy solutions. Small-scale energy generation, local power systems, and autonomous energy units are increasingly helping communities maintain essential services during outages.

Local governments, civil society, and residents are developing community-based energy initiatives that operate alongside national energy systems. These initiatives are not merely emergency responses; rather, they represent a new model of energy governance in which local actors play a central role in maintaining energy stability.

Four emerging directions of community-led energy initiatives

Community-led energy initiatives in Ukraine have developed rapidly during the war. These initiatives focus on four key areas.

First, renewable energy systems, such as rooftop solar installations, are increasingly being installed in residential buildings. These systems allow apartment buildings to maintain electricity for essential services such as elevators, lighting, and heating equipment during blackouts.

Second, decentralised energy systems are being introduced in critical infrastructure facilities such as hospitals, water utilities, and municipal buildings. Solar power plants and hybrid energy systems help ensure uninterrupted electricity supply for essential services. For example, a 32.4 kW solar installation at the Zvyahel (formerly Novograd-Volynskyi) city hospital (Zhytomyr region) ensures the continuous operation of the hospital’s intensive care unit and generates annual savings of up to UAH 500,000 ($11,407.78).

Third, national and local authorities have established ‘Points of Invincibility’ (Punkty Nezlamnosti) across the country. These centres provide electricity, heating, internet access, and communication services during power outages, acting as local hubs of community resilience.

Finally, educational and public awareness campaigns are encouraging citizens to adopt energy-saving practices and support the broader transition towards sustainable energy systems. Recent initiatives demonstrate how structured efforts can cultivate energy-conscious behaviour. At the school level, the Lviv Municipal Community organised the Week of Energy Conservation in September. Through interactive lessons, creative competitions, and games, students learned practical methods to save energy at home, fostering habits that extend to families and the wider community. Nationally, Energy Efficiency Week 2025 expanded these efforts by uniting experts, local authorities, and businesses to promote sustainable practices through competitions and mentorship programmes. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how communities are actively strengthening the country’s energy resilience.

The growing role of local communities in strengthening energy resilience is increasingly recognised not only by researchers but also by practitioners working directly with municipalities. As Yuliia Molodozhen, head of the Odesa regional office of the U-LEAD with Europe programme, notes, community-level energy independence is vital not only during wartime but also in shaping long-term local development strategies. According to Molodzhen, communities need to move toward greater energy efficiency and more responsible energy use.

Kyiv’s shift to rooftop solar

Kyiv provides a striking example of how community-led energy solutions can work in practice. Across the city, residents of multi-storey apartment buildings are increasingly installing rooftop solar panels to secure electricity during blackouts, often supported by municipal programmes that co-finance renewable energy installations. One such initiative, the ‘70/30’ programme, allows residents’ associations to install solar panels with significant financial support from the city government.

Several buildings in the Kyiv districts of Holosiivskyi, Dniprovskyi, and Pecherskyi (among others) have already implemented solar installations that keep essential systems running even during prolonged power outages. In some cases, these installations supply surplus electricity to the national grid. These projects illustrate how cooperation between residents and municipal authorities can produce practical solutions in times of crisis.

Local policy support and energy governance

Municipal support is critical to scaling these initiatives. Kyiv authorities have introduced several programmes to support energy improvements in residential buildings, including co-financing mechanisms for building modernisation, reimbursement programmes for independent power sources, and accessible financing for energy efficiency upgrades. Such initiatives demonstrate how local governments can act as coordinators of community energy projects, providing financial support, strategic planning, and regulatory guidance.

Importantly, these local initiatives are also connected to broader national and European energy policies. Ukraine’s push for decentralised, renewable energy systems aligns with its commitments under the Energy Community Treaty and the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement, particularly in relation to European energy regulations like the EU Renewable Energy Directive. As Ukraine continues to harmonise its legislation with European standards, community-led energy initiatives may become a central component of the country’s long-term energy strategy.

Ukraine’s decarbonisation efforts are tied to its deeper integration with Europe, not only through physical interconnection but also through policy, regulatory, and legislative alignment. In October 2024, Ukraine adopted a new climate policy law aligning national targets with those of the European Union, including moving the country’s net-zero CO₂ target from 2060 to 2050. Additionally, Ukraine held its first pilot renewable energy auctions in autumn 2024, supporting the target of a 27% renewable energy share by 2030. At the same time, the government has been streamlining procedures related to land allocation, permitting, grid connection, and environmental impact assessments, gradually aligning Ukraine with key European regulatory standards.

Government winter support measures (2025–2026)

Alongside community-led initiatives, the Ukrainian government has introduced a broader social support package to help citizens cope with the energy crisis during the winter months. The ‘Winter Support 2025–2026’ programme combines more than ten policy measures to mitigate energy shortages and economic hardship. Key provisions include electricity subsidies for residents of frontline regions covering up to 100 kWh per person or 300 kWh per household per month, as well as financial assistance for vulnerable groups and households affected by the war.

The programme also promotes long-term energy resilience through support for renewable energy installations and energy efficiency improvements, including state-subsidised loans for solar panels, wind generators, and energy storage systems for private households. Residential building associations may receive grants covering up to 70% of energy modernisation costs, or even full financing for reconstructing war-damaged buildings.

These policies complement local initiatives by creating financial incentives for households and communities to invest in decentralised energy solutions. In this sense, government support and grassroots energy projects form two interconnected pillars of Ukraine’s energy resilience strategy.

Building a resilient energy future

Ukraine’s wartime experience proves that energy resilience cannot depend solely on centralised infrastructure. Local communities, municipalities, and civil society organisations are increasingly becoming active participants in shaping energy security.

Community-led energy initiatives maintain essential services during blackouts and strengthen local autonomy while laying the groundwork for a more decentralised, sustainable, and citizen-oriented future energy system.

The innovations emerging under extreme wartime conditions may ultimately reshape Ukraine’s entire energy landscape.

Recent government programmes supporting household energy independence and building modernisation have further accelerated this transition towards decentralised and resilient energy systems.

Ukraine’s experience has reframed energy resilience from a primarily technical concern into a broader geopolitical and security priority. The wartime destruction of energy infrastructure has demonstrated that resilient energy systems must integrate decentralisation, redundancy, regional cooperation, and strong local capacity to maintain essential services during systemic disruptions.

In this evolving context, greater attention should be given to the formal legal recognition of energy communities, drawing on relevant regulatory frameworks developed within the European Union. Two key issues emerge for future policy development: whether the legal status of energy communities should be explicitly incorporated into Ukrainian legislation, and how to ensure their long-term sustainability during the post-war recovery period. Addressing these challenges will be essential for fostering a resilient, citizen-oriented, and sustainable energy system in Ukraine.

Tags: Ukraine, energy, energy security, energy resilience, local communities