Following the recent blackout in Southwest Berlin, energy resilience is no longer an abstract topic. Ukraine has been living with large-scale, targeted attacks on its energy infrastructure for years. The difference in scale is enormous, but the questions are the same: How can we better prepare our cities and critical systems for crisis situations? What does real resilience require?

This panel brings together practitioners and decision-makers who have dealt with blackouts not as theory, but as reality.

🎙️Our speakers:

• Vitalii Lukov, First Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv
Originally trained as a physics and mathematics teacher, Vitalii Lukov moved into municipal leadership, modernising infrastructure, improving public services, advancing energy efficiency and smart city solutions. During the full-scale war, he coordinated essential services, developed decentralised energy solutions, and prepared infrastructure for crisis conditions. At the panel, he will share practical insights on how a Ukrainian city operates under constant energy threats and what local governments can do to stay resilient.

• Mariia Tsaturian, Analyst and Communications Director at the Ukraine Facility Platform, former CCO at Ukrenergo
Specialising in energy policy, strategic communications, and international cooperation, Mariia led communications at NPC Ukrenergo from 2019 to 2024. During the full-scale war, she headed crisis communications and international engagement, supporting Ukraine’s synchronisation with ENTSO-E and coordinating cooperation with the European Commission, G7 governments, and international financial institutions. She will speak about grid resilience, crisis coordination, and the international dimension of wartime energy security.

• Dr. Maren Jasper-Winter, Head of Public Affairs at LEAG AG and Member of the Executive Board of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom
A lawyer by training with a doctorate on financing the decommissioning of nuclear power plants, she brings deep expertise in energy and regulatory policy. She previously worked at Vattenfall and has long been active in political leadership roles within the FDP, including serving in the Berlin House of Representatives. She will reflect on Berlin’s January blackout from a political and regulatory perspective and explore what Germany can learn from Ukraine’s experience — from strengthening legal frameworks to improving preparedness and building more resilient critical infrastructure.

🎤 Moderated by Nataliia Fiebrig, Co-founder and Director of Ukraine2Power.

📅 23 February 2026
🕓 16:15–17:00
📍 Kino 5
🗣 English

With support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Heinrich Böll Foundation Kyiv.

Join us for a conversation about resilience, responsibility, and practical lessons across borders.