The head of Ukraine’s power grid operator Ukrenergo has been dismissed from his post, supervisory board members announced on September 3, denouncing the decision motivated by “political reasons”.
The move comes as Ukraine’s power grid has been badly damaged by Russian bombing, causing regular power cuts and raising fears of a difficult winter for Ukrainians.
Protecting infrastructure from Russian strikes
According to a statement by two members of the supervisory board of Ukrenergo, its secretary general Daniel Dobbeni and Peder Andreasen, the decision to dismiss the company’s director Volodymyr Kudrytsky was taken “by mutual consent” at a meeting on protecting energy facilities from Russian strikes. In response, Daniel Dobbeni and Peder Andreasen submitted their resignations, denouncing a dismissal “premature”, “without reasonable grounds” et “motivated by politics”.
According to Ukrainian media, Volodymyr Kudrytsky was officially dismissed on the grounds that he failed to protect the country’s critical infrastructure from Russian strikes. Ukrenergo did not immediately comment on the change. Kudrytsky had been at the helm of the company since 2020. His dismissal follows the June dismissal of another official in charge of the power grid, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov.
1.5 billion euros of international aid
Ukrenergo has received more than €1.5 billion in international aid since the start of the Russian invasion to restore its damaged network, ensure its operation and protect it. However, Daniel Dobbeni and Peder Andreasen stated in their statement that they had “felt political pressure from the first days of (their) work”especially for “appointing to the board of directors people whose professional qualities were questionable”Before the announcement of the dismissal of the head of Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s Western allies had expressed their concern about such a decision.
“Such an event could compromise our collective ability to support Ukrenergo and other priority measures for Ukraine’s vital energy security.”the European Union responded on Sunday in a letter addressed to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal. “The trust established by Mr. Kudrytsky in relations with Europeans was perhaps Ukrenergo’s greatest asset.”for his part regretted on Facebook Sviatoslav Pavliouk, head of the Association of Ukrainian Energy-Saving Cities.
