NATO and Ukraine share lessons learned for strengthening civilian resilience and critical infrastructure

On 14-16 January 2026, NATO International Staff and the Government Centre for Security (RCB) in Warsaw, Poland, hosted a workshop on lessons learned from the ongoing Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Over 40 experts from Ukraine, Finland, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United States discussed their national approaches to regional and local coordination mechanisms to ensure continuity of essential services during conflict.

Ukraine's decentralisation reform empowers local and regional civil and military administrators to adapt and enhance structures and capabilities to meet new challenges. Representatives from the Ukrainian national government as well as the regions of Chernihiv, Dnipro, Odesa and Sumy shared their best practices on maintaining critical services, including energy, communications, medical evacuation, food supply, sheltering and transport, under wartime conditions. These efforts demonstrate the current high level of resilience of the Ukrainian society. NATO will share these lessons with Allies to consider implementing within their national structures.