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April 02, 2026

By Philip Burgess Cox

Rebuilding Ukraine starts local—and Canada has a role to play, says ̽��ϵ�� (UVic) scholar Tamara Krawchenko. 

This week, resolutions informed by Krawchenko’s research were formally adopted by the Council of Europe’s 50th Congress Session in Strasbourg, representing more than 200,000 regional governments across 46 European states. 

A lead researcher at the UVic-led Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET) initiative and associate professor with the School of Public Administration, Krawchenko has previously contributed research on Ukraine’s governance reforms to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development  and London School of Economics’ , examining how Ukraine’s decentralization reforms are critical for its democracy, reconstruction and European integration.  

Q: What resolutions did the Council of Europe adopt and why do they matter? 

This week the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe formally adopted resolutions attached to a report I co-authored, titled “A Strategic Approach to Supporting the Recovery and Reconstruction of Ukraine at Local and Regional Levels” at its 50th session. 

The resolutions formally commit the Congress to a set of principles for how Ukraine’s recovery must be governed. They declare that reconstruction cannot succeed without empowering local and regional authorities to lead in their own communities, rather than having recovery policies and programs dictated from the top down. It also makes clear political commitments: condemning Russia’s illegal war of aggression, affirming Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stating that Russia must pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction—with frozen and confiscated Russian assets identified as a source for those efforts.  

Adoption of these resolutions represents a formal, pan-European consensus among the governments closest to citizens that local communities built on decentralized and renewable energy systems must underpin any path to lasting recovery and security. 

Q. Why is energy so important to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction? 

Since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Russia has destroyed 50 per cent of Ukraine’s total energy infrastructure, devastated its production capacity, and damaged or destroyed all 15 of the nation-state’s thermal power plants. 

By December 2025, direct damage to Ukraine’s buildings and infrastructure was estimated at approximately $195 billion USD. More than 14 per cent of Ukraine’s total housing has been damaged or destroyed, affecting more than three million households. 

Approximately 3.6 million Ukrainians remained internally displaced and nearly 6.8 million had sought refuge abroad.   

Rebuilding a decentralized energy system that can withstand attack is not only imperative for those already impacted; it also provides an opportunity to modernize, not just restore. This is a national government priority.  

Q: Why are local governments so central to recovery? 

Local governments are closest to the people and best placed to deliver the services communities need—from repairing roads and schools to supporting displaced families and veterans.  

Ukraine’s decentralisation reforms since 2014 have provided municipalities with their own budgets and decision-making authority, which proved critical during wartime: local leaders with local knowledge were able to keep essential services running, coordinate emergency response, and sustain democratic governance even under extreme conditions. 

However, many frontline and war-affected communities have lost experienced staff, seen their tax bases collapse, and face unclear divisions of responsibility between levels of government. Smaller and rural municipalities in particular often lack the capacity to manage large reconstruction projects effectively, creating a real risk that recovery investments would flow to stronger cities while the most devastated communities are left behind. 

Empowering these local and regional governments through reforms and energy independence not only builds resilience at the local level, it also bolsters national security, mitigates the risks of climate change and prepares Ukraine for a more prosperous, democratic future.  

Q: What are the lessons here for Canada? 

Ukraine is one of the world’s most important test cases for rapid governance innovation under pressure. Ukrainian local and regional governments have adapted at extraordinary speed—coordinating civilian defence, managing mass displacement, maintaining public services under fire, and pioneering decentralized approaches to drone warfare, cyber resilience and community-based emergency response. Local governments have been integral to that success. As Canada increases its focus on national defence and the resilience of its own critical infrastructure, these lessons are relevant to learn from. 

Canada also has much to offer in return. The Council of Europe’s resolution calls explicitly on local and regional authorities of member states—and by extension, like-minded partners globally—to use existing cooperation platforms and bilateral partnerships to offer practical support to Ukrainian counterparts. The now-defunct Federation of Canadian Municipalities program,  (PLED) demonstrated exactly this model—pairing Canadian and Ukrainian municipalities to share expertise in local economic development, finance and democratic governance. Renewing a program like PLED would put Canada’s municipal expertise to work where it is urgently needed, while deepening the bilateral relationships that serve both countries’ long-term security and democratic interests.