Attachments
Introduction
Energy disruptions have become a defining feature of the war in Ukraine. Targeted attacks on power generation and distribution infrastructure have caused widespread blackouts, disrupted heating systems, and severely impacted essential services, compounding the conflict’s broader humanitarian and economic impacts. In early 2025, these challenges are unfolding amid growing uncertainty for Ukraine, marked by a sudden reduction in foreign assistance for both humanitarian operations and direct government budget support, including to the energy sector1 .
An understanding of geographic areas and population groups most vulnerable to energy insecurity can help mitigate shortterm impacts and inform sustainable solutions. Using the INFORM methodology as an analysis framework, this brief examines the vulnerabilities of households and enterprises to energy disruptions. Leveraging data from REACH’s Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) and Humanitarian Situation Monitoring (HSM), it aims to inform the prioritization of resources amid declining funding towards energy security for Ukraine’s conflict-affected population. Introduction March 2025
Key messages
• Continued attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure continue to disrupt electricity generation and distribution. While emergency repairs and increased imports have helped stabilize supply, localized blackouts, heating failures, and water disruptions remain widespread, particularly in frontline and de-occupied areas.
• Energy insecurity has deepened humanitarian and economic hardships, affecting access to essential services, livelihoods, and household resilience. Prolonged outages have undermined water and sanitation systems, disrupted healthcare and education, and driven up household expenditures, exacerbating vulnerabilities for displaced populations and those reliant on electricity for heating.
• Regions most at risk include Sumska, Kharkivska, Donetska, Chernihivska and Khersonska oblasts, where high hazard exposure, socio-economic vulnerability, and weak coping capacity converge. Localized impacts also vary at the raion level, with heavily conflict-affected and infrastructure-strained areas facing the greatest risks of prolonged energy insecurity.
• Uncertainty around international funding for Ukraine’s energy sector and humanitarian response could undermine resilience and recovery efforts. Reduced foreign assistance could delay infrastructure repairs, limit emergency support for affected populations, and weaken Ukraine’s ability to mitigate future disruptions, increasing long-term humanitarian and economic risks.