For almost five years, Vladimir Putin has been seeking to conquer Ukraine for reasons few understand. Some think it is part of a grand scheme to recreate the glorious Soviet empire. Some think it is designed to keep Ukraine out of NATO, which Putin believes is not a defensive organization at all but rather part of a sinister plot by capitalist countries to invade Mother Russia. Others think Russia needs the industrial and agricultural capabilities of Ukraine to prop up its crumbling economy. Many western companies are reluctant to invest in Ukraine because they fear a Russian victory would see those investments wiped out. Octopus Energy is not one of them. It deals exclusively in renewable energy and is now the largest electricity supplier in the UK, where it is also heavily involved in electric car sales and leasing. It has expanded to energy markets in France and Texas as well. Octopus Energy Steps Up Not to put too fine a point on it, Octopus Energy is showing the way forward to a clean energy future. Where others wring their hands and fret about renewables, Octopus is putting its head down and getting on with the job. In a press release on June 25, 2026, it announced a joint venture with DTEK, the largest private energy company in Ukraine. The two companies are creating a new entity called Project RISE, which will put an investment of €100 million to work building rooftop solar and battery storage all across Ukraine. The joint venture will give Ukrainian businesses and public sector organizations the ability to generate and store electricity onsite, thereby reducing the impact of power outages as Russia continues attacking large-scale energy infrastructure. The new installations will integrate Octopus Energy’s Kraken battery management system to lower electricity bills by giving customers the power to cut peak hour consumption and sell surplus energy back to the grid. The joint venture company will install equipment at no upfront cost, with the customers taking ownership of the equipment after the ten-year contract period ends. Resiliency “While old school energy companies look at Ukraine and see too much risk, we see a nation building the most resilient, forward thinking energy system on the planet,” Greg Jackson, the CEO of Octopus Energy, said. “Distributed solar and batteries are the ultimate shield against infrastructure attacks. You can’t knock out a grid when every rooftop is its own power station. By pairing DTEK’s unmatched determination with our technology, we aren’t just helping keep the lights on today; we are proving that a decentralized green energy system is the fastest way to build a secure future.” The joint venture paves the way for DTEK and Octopus Energy to secure long-term financing for the large-scale rollout of Project RISE. The companies are in negotiations with several financial institutions to finance the project, and both will hold an equity share in the joint venture. “Today marks an important milestone for Project RISE,” DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said. “Strengthening our partnership with Octopus Energy creates the platform to scale our project over the next five years and attract the investment needed for long-term success. The future of Ukraine’s energy relies on more distributed, more flexible and more resilient system. While many people still see Ukraine as a risk, our partners at Octopus rightly see an opportunity to build a stronger energy system that can be achieved through innovation and partnership.” About DTEK DTEK is part of System Capital Management, an international investment company and one of Ukraine’s largest employers and taxpayers. Founded by Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist Rinat Akhmetov, it has a portfolio of more than 250 enterprises spanning numerous industries in over 30 countries. Project RISE — Resilient Independent Solar Energy — is the first initiative of its kind in Ukraine. It aims to deliver 100 onsite solar and battery storage projects across businesses and public sector institutions over the next three years, raise €100 million in funding, lower customers’ electricity bills, and stabilize the grid. Thousands of Ukrainian factories, hospitals, schools, offices, and shopping centers live under constant threat of power outages as Putin and his thugs continue to target the country’s energy infrastructure. Since the start of the war, 70 percent of Ukraine’s thermal power capacity has been damaged, destroyed, or seized, while extraordinarily high financing costs have slowed or halted energy investments. Decentralizing generation — moving away from large power plants towards local, self-generated energy — strengthens resilience and accelerates the shift to renewables. The joint venture will install equipment at no upfront cost. YASNO, another division of SCM, will install the solar panels and batteries, and Octopus Energy will connect them to its AI-powered Kraken operating system. The projects will be financed by banks and investors, supported by grants and guarantees. The Kraken platform allows customers to optimize their energy use in real time, cut costs during peak hours, and sell excess electricity back to the grid. The partnership is consistent with the long-term commitment of Rinat Akhmetov to Ukraine’s recovery. He has prioritized international partnerships that bring investment, technology, and expertise to Ukraine, supporting both its near-term energy security and its longer-term sustainable development, SCM said in a blog post. Energy Security Before America’s Jackass In Chief decided to start a war with global implications at the end of February, energy security was not a very high priority for many countries. You ordered a cargo of LNG. When the ship arrived, you offloaded it, then burned it to produce electricity. While you were doing that, another ship was on its way with more LNG. But then the shipments stopped abruptly and everyone suddenly got new clarity about the importance of distributed energy and its ability to provide energy security. Ukraine has suffered greatly at the hands of Putin and Trump, who abruptly abandoned Ukraine to its fate late last year. In that context, the announcement by DTEK and Octopus Energy is one of the few bright spots for that beleaguered nation this year.