An Ukraine Energy Security Marshall Plan needs to be implemented to help clean energy solutions create energy security
February 20, 2026
By Ramona du Houx
NEW YORK CITY, NY. Due to attacks on Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure, “power cuts now structure daily life when families cook, when children study, when hospitals schedule procedures,” Arthur Erken, of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told reporters recently.
February 24, 2026 marks four years since Putin launched his full scale invasion in Ukraine. Over 9.6 million people have been displaced, and another 3.7 million internally displaced within Ukraine. Over 6 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee and are residing abroad, according to IOM and UN reports. According to the IOM, one of every three displaced households, someone is living with a disability, and in more than half, someone manages a chronic illness. This winter, with temperatures down to -22 degrees Fahrenheit, communities have faced living without heating, electricity and household essentials.
Putin’s deliberate targeting of civilian power sources, plunges daily life into darkness in freezing temperatures without any regard to life. It happens yearly and civilian deaths are on the rise. In 2025, the total number of civilian casualties was 31 per cent higher than in 2024 and 70 per cent higher than in 2023, with over 15,000 civilians killed since the conflict began. Children and their families are living in a hyper-alert state, sheltering in basements, isolated, with limited social connections.
“Having grown up in a country shaped by war and having served during the Global War on Terror, I know firsthand that war is never an experience one would wish on any society. The resilience shown by the people of Ukraine since the invasion by Russia has been extraordinary,” said Naweed Kawusi, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) Chief Operating Officer, former. Afghanistan National Army colonel. fmr. Director General of Police Support for Afghanistan Ministry of Interior Affairs, fmr. USAID Senior Advisor, fmr. UNICEF, Senior C4D Officer. “With credible, well-sequenced recovery planning, Ukraine has the capacity not only to rebuild, but to emerge stronger. Prioritizing the energy sector will be critical. Clean energy is energy security, and it offers a durable path to insulating the country from coercion by aggressive petro-states.”
Safe housing, reliable energy and essential services should never be considered luxuries. They are fundamental to people’s survival, and safety. Decisions most Americans take for granted are a matter of life or death in Ukraine, from how to keep one’s family warm and safe to medical care and putting food on the table.
“Four years on, the courage of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire us all. This anniversary invites not only remembrance, but a renewed determination to support Ukraine on its path to victory, and recovery. As Americans we cannot imagine what it means to suffer without heating in freezing temperatures let alone living in constant fear of an attack that could end your family’s lives and yours. It is our responsibility to understand what is happening in Ukraine, why the country must remain a sovereign independent democracy and how we can help,” said Ramona Cornell du Houx, EOPA Communications Director, President of the Solon Center for Research and Publishing. “Ukraine is already using clean energy sources to keep hospitals, schools, and other important infrastructure running in war zones. Helping this cause will give the country energy security. Elected Officials to Protect America developed, working with Ukrainians, the Ukraine Energy Security Marshall Plan (UESMP). Its components provide a blueprint for nations to become independent from fossil fuel dictators and create healthier, prosperous communities.”
Since the start of the Russian full-scale war in 2022, Ukraine has deployed 1.5 gigawatts of distributed solar, enough to power roughly 1.1 million homes — and grid operators intend to almost double the country’s renewable energy production over the next four years. Additionally, 19 wind turbines within 60 miles of the front line are operational producing 324 megawatts (MW) of wind in 2025 alone, and the country brought online a 200 MW battery plant, demonstrating that clean, decentralized energy is a pillar of national security and defense.
“This model, scaled up with the Ukraine Energy Security Marshall Plan, would directly weaken Russia’s war economy and transform energy infrastructure into a strategic defense asset,” said Darka Harnyk, analyst, Elected Officials to Protect America Program Officer for EOPA’s Ukraine Energy Security Marshall Plan. “The UESMP advances clean energy as a pillar of international security and resilience, as dependence on fossil fuels finances authoritarian regimes and enables strategic coercion.”
Autocratic Petro-states drive up oil and gas prices when they see fit, causing instability and insecurity for people around the world. Putin used the fact that European nations had become energy dependent on Russian oil and gas to wage his war against Ukraine.
Despite sanctions, Russia is still funding the war from oil and gas profits with the assistance of like minded dictators. Putin has made his objectives clear many times stating he wants his country to return to the “greatness” when it was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). His desire to take over the sovereign democratic Ukraine should not be underestimated.
When Putin invaded four years ago his forces were met by the unwavering resilience of the Ukrainian people. While their resilience remains strong, they should never have to live without electricity and heat. That’s where the UESMP can help. For Ukraine clean energy is not only a means of survival it means energy security that will lead to prosperity. The UESMP could become a model for other nations to use.
Igor Tregub has been the Political Director for Hromada, an Ukraine nonprofit advocacy organization. In that role helped raise over $150,000 in relief funds for his embattled homeland, including for solar-compatible batteries.
“I was welcomed to the US with open arms in Berkeley where I’m proud to call home, yet my homeland will always be Kiev, Ukraine. Every day a part of me dies knowing we’re still fighting on the front lines, still upholding our democracy. We’re a proud nation who will never give up,” said Igor Tregub, Berkeley City Council Member, EOPA California Leadership Council Member. “I know we can rebuild infrastructure that has been hit by drones and missiles with distributed smart microgrids right now, as part of the Ukraine Energy Security Marshall Plan.(UESMP) It would be inhumane to wait for the end of the war to start to rebuild energy infrastructure as millions continue to suffer.”
Micro grids of distributed clean energy are more resilient against attacks than traditional infrastructure as they don’t have single points of failure. Some hospitals in Ukraine are using this technology now.
Ukraine’s energy sector ranks among the most heavily affected from Russia’s invasion, with up to 93 percent of damaged or destroyed assets across power generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.
“Despite the scale of destruction, Ukraine’s recovery offers an opportunity for transformation. The country cannot only rebuild what was lost, but also redesign its economy and infrastructure on resilient, sustainable, and future-ready foundations. Ukraine could become nearly self-sufficient in primary energy by breaking its historic dependence on imported fossil fuels, once 70 percent of Ukraine’s energy mix. New value chains in clean technologies, sustainable construction materials, and bio-based industries would drive regional growth and anchor long-term industrial modernization,” said Dr. Ievgeniia Kopytsia, Oxford University, legal scholar and policy expert advancing climate and environmental governance across Ukraine, and the EU, Elected Officials to Protect America Ukraine policy expert.
What began as an invasion in an attempt to erase a sovereign nation has become a defining test of the unity of democratic nations and of their shared commitment to peace, freedom and democracy. Putin is destined to fail.
