Speaker/Panelists

Russia’s systematic attacks on Ukraine’s power, heat and gas infrastructure have fundamentally reshaped how Europe must think about energy security. What once was primarily a question of supply diversification is today inseparable from physical protection, decentralization, rapid repair capacity and societal preparedness. Opening the conference, this high-level panel sets the political frame for the day. It brings together high-level decision-makers from government, industry and international organizations to draw the broader lessons from Ukraine’s energy battle: how resilience has been built and defended under fire, what role G7+, EU and NATO formats play in protecting critical infrastructure, and how policy, industry and investment can together make Europe’s energy systems more crisis-proof.

Ukraine’s electricity system has repeatedly faced targeted attacks that threaten its operational functionality and cause cascading effects on other critical infrastructure such as a heating, water supply, and telecommunications. Yet the electricity grid prevailed among others through rapid repairs, unprecedented speed in addition of maneuverable capacity, international support, as well as coordinated action with its European neighbors. This panel focuses specifically on the concrete actions taken by Ukraine’s main electricity sector actors and will examine how these measures and related learnings can inform European energy security, preparedness and resilience.

This session will explore how decentralization and the expansion of renewable energy can strengthen Ukraine’s energy security, particularly in the context of the current war-related challenges. The Russian war of aggression has had a disruptive impact on the way municipalities and Ukrainians view energy sources and supplies. Under pressure to maintain essential social services, many stakeholders have swiftly turned to developing decentralized renewable energy solutions. This has changed the status quo of centralized, fossil-based energy sources, enabling a leap in scaling up the achievements of pioneering municipalities into countrywide resilience plans that include renewable energy sources (RES) for the future. The mainstreaming of renewable energies across different sectors and infrastructures has greatly contributed to the resilience of Ukrainian municipalities against the backdrop of the Russian war. This session will examine the factors that enabled this transformative shift, explore future challenges, and consider the potential for cooperation and investment in Ukraine’s municipalities achieving a secure, decentralized energy future.

How can a resilient and sufficiently skilled workforce strengthen energy security — particularly in times of crisis and infrastructure disruption, as demonstrated by Ukraine’s experience during the past winter? How to prepare workforce for new threats and challenges? How to cope with workforce shortages? Energy security depends not only on infrastructure, but on people. As Europe strengthens the resilience of its energy systems, the workforce dimension has become increasingly critical. This is particularly evident in Ukraine, where repeated attacks on energy infrastructure – especially during the past winter – have highlighted the central role of skilled workers in maintaining supply, restoring damaged assets, and ensuring the continuity of critical services under extreme pressure. This high-level panel will focus on the workforce challenges behind energy security, with a particular lens from Ukraine. From shortages of technical specialists and engineers to the strain on municipal utility staff and emergency response teams, the discussion will explore what skills and capacities are most urgently needed, how workforce resilience can be strengthened, and which lessons can inform broader European and German strategies.

The session is structured as a strategic exchange between high-level decision-makers and technical practitioners. It offers Ukrainian experts the opportunity to present field-tested experiences and operational insights from integrating drone (detection) systems in the protection of critical infrastructure from drone and ground strikes. By analyzing these real-world applications, the panel aims to derive strategic and transferable lessons that can enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure. The panelists will analyze the current threat landscape and emerging trends in attacks on energy assets to determine how drone operations can be effectively integrated into broader protection architectures.

The focus of this session will be the heightened risk of attacks on critical water infrastructure in Ukraine and its implications on the humanitarian situation. Experience from ongoing strikes shows that water services are often disrupted through direct or indirect damage, particularly the attacks to the energy supply. Pumping stations, treatment plants, and sewage systems depend on continuous electricity; outages at the electricity grid quickly cascade into widespread service failures. Local actors and authorities as well as their international partners play a key operational role: The case of Mykolaiv demonstrates how targeted support and local innovation can restore services despite prolonged energy disruptions. This spotlight on local solutions will be presented by a representative of the City of Mykolaiv. In addition, a representative from the Ukrainian civil society, the local NGO Angels of Salvation, and an expert from the German organization arche nova will also contribute their expertise to the discussion.

Energy security starts locally. Ukraine’s experience under the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows that resilient municipalities—equipped with decentralized systems, efficient energy use, and strong crisis coordination—are critical to keeping the lights on under extreme conditions. Focusing on the upcoming winter, this high-level panel explores how local and regional preparedness in Ukraine can make the difference—and what international partners like Germany can do to support Ukraine effectively and strengthen their own resilience at the same time.

Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have made energy security one of the war's most urgent challenges. In response, the G7+ Energy Coordination Group was established to align international support, mobilize financing, and ensure rapid delivery of critical equipment. This panel brings together policymakers, international organizations, and industry representatives to assess the effectiveness of this coordination mechanism and its cooperation with existing support structures in the UN and EU system and newly established ones like the “Ukraine Energy Support Fund” by the Energy Community. How well has it performed under crisis conditions? What challenges remain in aligning multiple donors and stakeholders? And how can the current approach evolve from emergency response to laying the foundation for a resilient, modern, and sustainable energy system in Ukraine? The discussion will explore both immediate priorities and long-term questions around governance, reconstruction, and energy transition, with a particular focus on the pivotal role of the G7+ Energy Coordination Group.

We would like to highlight perspectives and experiences from Ukrainian and German actors working together, for a longer period of time, in the field of nuclear safety and physical protection of Nuclear Power Plants in Ukraine. Several actors on both sides are involved, connecting with each other via projects, comprising state regulators, power plants and agencies, as well as government institutions and private companies. While the cooperation is successful and well implemented, we would like to shed some light as well on how it was first established and how it evolved, and finally, what lessons could be drawn from each approach, how they vary and what the individual strengths and difficulties may be.