What Preparing for Winter and eOselia Have in Common

What do preparing the energy infrastructure for winter and the eOselia government program for subsidized mortgages have in common? At first glance, nothing. However, with a slight shift in perspective and a broader view, the connection becomes clear.

Investments That Pay Off in the Future

Preparing for the heating season and addressing the aftermath of shelling are, beyond being purely humanitarian necessities, investments in the country’s physical resilience.

These are expenses today that help prevent much greater losses tomorrow. The government, local communities, and energy companies are investing in the restoration of utility networks, the development of distributed generation, and the protection of critical infrastructure. The need for such investments is steadily increasing: according to the latest joint assessment by the World Bank, the European Commission, the UN, and the Government of Ukraine, the energy sector remains among those with the greatest need for recovery, and the scale of damage has increased by more than 20% in the past year alone.

Here, it is not only the cost of physical damage that matters. According to RDNA5’s estimates, direct damage to Ukraine’s energy sector as of the end of 2025 amounted to $24.8 billion, while the sector’s total economic losses are estimated at $88.2 billion. In other words, the economic cost of disruptions in the energy sector is several times greater than the cost of the directly damaged assets. That is precisely why investments in generation, transmission grids, and infrastructure protection are not merely reconstruction costs, but also a way to reduce further economic losses. It also affects the country’s vital functions: ensuring that enterprises, hospitals, schools, transport, and businesses are able to keep functioning. This means preserved jobs, stable tax revenues, and economic activity even in the midst of war.

Investments That Build the Future

The government’s eOselia program follows the same rationale. Affordable mortgages drive an entire economic chain: banks provide loans, developers build, manufacturers of construction materials are awarded contracts, communities collect taxes, and people gain jobs and their own homes.

Every mortgage loan represents a flow of capital. The banking system finances not only the purchase of apartments but also the production of concrete, metal, glass, lumber, furniture, and finishing materials, as well as logistics and engineering services. Construction traditionally has one of the largest multiplier effects in the economy, as it generates demand for dozens of related industries.

The scale of impact is also evidenced by the Program’s results

As of the end of June 2026, 27,024 loans totaling UAH 47.5 billion had been issued under the eOselia program. Oschadbank is the undisputed leader in this mortgage program, having issued 9,763 loans totaling UAH 16.3 billion, with a market share of 35% - the highest among the banks participating in the program. These are billions of hryvnias that are circulating in the real economy, creating jobs, generating tax revenue, and supporting the development of small-, medium-, and large-sized businesses.

eOselia has long since become more than just a housing program. It supports domestic demand while private investment remains subdued due to war-related risks, and enables the construction industry to operate even during wartime.

This occurs against the backdrop of domestic demand generally remaining one of the key factors supporting the Ukrainian economy. According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), in 2025, private consumption contributed approximately 4.7 percentage points to real GDP growth. Therefore, programs that support long-term household demand while channeling funds into the Ukrainian construction sector are important far beyond the housing sector.

And affordable home ownership means more than just better living conditions. It is an incentive to stay in Ukraine, work, start a business, and plan for the future. Moreover, the need for it is extremely high: according to World Bank estimates, about 14% of the country’s housing stock has already been damaged or destroyed by the war. In total, 4.3 million people in Ukraine are already in need of housing: this includes internally displaced persons (IDPs) and citizens whose homes are in a state of disrepair.

There is also another connection between eOselia and the country’s preparations for winter, one that has become particularly evident in recent years. It is much easier to make private housing energy-efficient and energy-independent. The owner is the one who makes decisions about insulating the apartment, replacing windows, installing backup power sources, energy storage systems, alternative heating, or other energy-efficient equipment. In rental housing, such decisions are largely up to the property owner and are therefore often postponed or never implemented at all.

In fact, investing in private housing also becomes an investment in a family’s energy resilience.

This process already has a financial dimension. As of August 1, 2026, Oschadbank had issued 2,000 loans totaling UAH 770 million to individuals for residential energy upgrades, effectively accounting for the bulk of the retail lending market. This represents 72% of all loans for residential energy upgrades in Ukraine. In other words, energy independence is gradually becoming not only a matter of government investment but also a distinct area of household investment.

While the government ensures the stability of the country’s energy system, apartment owners ensure the energy efficiency of their own homes. These two levels complement each other. For individual families, this means another practical advantage: a significantly higher chance of staying warm all winter, even in case of disruptions to centralized electricity or heat supply.

Investments in Resilience

Preparing for the heating season helps the country and its economy function even when critical infrastructure is under attack. eOselia contributes to economic activity, construction, bank lending, and domestic demand.

Ukrainian families’ investments in their own energy-efficient homes complement this system, enhancing resilience at the level of individual homes and families.

This is the common economic logic behind two initiatives that, at first glance, seem different: an investment today creates an asset that supports economic activity while reducing future vulnerability. For the energy sector, this means power generation, transmission grids, and secure infrastructure. For families, it means their own homes, which can be adapted to new energy realities.

That is precisely why preparing for winter and the eOselia initiative are not two distinct government initiatives. They are complementary tools of a unified economic policy with a shared goal: to make Ukraine stronger, more resilient, and more attractive for living and investing.