After Russia began the war in Ukraine nearly four years ago, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, then head of Ukraine’s state-owned national energy company Ukrenergo, struggled to keep the lights on, writes "Politico".
Somehow he managed and continued to do so every year, earning the respect of energy executives around the world by ensuring that the country was able to withstand Russian missile and drone strikes on the power grid and avoid catastrophic power outages - until he was suddenly forced to resign in 2024.
Kudrytsky’s dismissal was condemned by many in the energy industry and set off alarm bells in Brussels. At the time, Kudrytskyi said he was a victim of the ruthless centralization of power that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, are pushing for. He said he feared that "corrupt individuals" would take control of the state-owned company.
According to his supporters, it is this kind of talk - and his refusal to remain silent - that explains why Kudrytskyi found himself in a glass-enclosed courtroom in central Kiev last week, where he was on trial on embezzlement charges. Now opposition lawmakers and civil society activists are rebelling, calling it yet another example of how the Ukrainian leadership is using the judiciary to intimidate its opponents and silence its critics, accusing them of corruption or collaboration with Russia.
Among others who have received the same treatment is Zelensky's predecessor in office, Petro Poroshenko, who was sanctioned and put on trial on corruption charges this year - a move that could prevent him from running in future elections. Sanctions have often been used against opponents, effectively freezing assets and blocking the sanctioned person from carrying out any financial transactions, including using credit cards or accessing bank accounts.
Poroshenko has since accused Zelensky of creeping "authoritarianism" and a drive to "remove any competitor from the political landscape".
This could also explain why Kudrytsky was brought to trial, according to opposition lawmaker Mykola Kniazycki. He believes that using the judiciary to discredit opponents will only get worse as the presidential administration prepares for possible elections next year in the event of a ceasefire. Knyazhytskyi fears they are using the courts to "clear the field of competitors" in order to rig the election. Others, including prominent Ukrainian activist and head of the Anti-Corruption Center Daria Kalenyuk, say the president and his cronies are using the war to monopolize power to the point that it threatens the country's democracy. Kalenyuk was in the courtroom for Kudrytskyi's two-hour hearing and echoed the former energy chief's claim that the indictment was "political." She said the case made no legal sense and was made "even more bizarre" when the prosecutor detailed the charges against Kudrytskyi: "He failed to prove that he benefited in any way." from an infrastructure contract that was ultimately not fulfilled, she explained.
The case in question concerns a contract that Kudritskyi approved seven years ago as Ukrenergo's then-deputy director for investments. However, the subcontractor has not even started work on the infrastructure improvements that were assigned, and Ukrenergo has managed to recover an advance payment.
Kalenyuk's concerns are shared by opposition MP Ina Sovsun, who said: "There is no evidence that Kudritskyi made a fortune from this."
"There was no damage. I can't help but think that all of this is politically motivated," she said.
Sovsun appeared at the arraignment to offer himself as a guarantor, if necessary — Two other lawmakers also offered to act as guarantors, but the judge instead decided to use a different procedure to release Kudrytsky from pretrial detention, requiring him to pay a $325,000 bail.
A senior Ukrainian adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity, rejected the defense's description of the case against Kudrytsky as politically motivated and said there was no basis for the embezzlement charges. "People should wait on this case until the full hearing," he added.
For former Deputy Prime Minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, however, the case “does not look good from any angle – neither from an internal point of view nor when it comes to international partners.” She said the timing is unfavourable for Ukraine, as it coincides with Kiev’s continued appeal for more European energy aid ahead of what is likely to be the most dangerous winter of the war.
With Russia’s missile and drone strikes on a much larger scale than before, Ukraine’s energy challenge is likely to be even more serious. And unlike in previous winters, Russia’s attacks are targeting Ukraine’s natural gas drilling, storage and distribution facilities, in addition to its electricity grid. 60% of Ukrainians currently rely on natural gas to heat their homes.
Some Ukrainian energy executives also fear that the prosecution of Kudrytskyi may be part of a preemptive tactic to find a scapegoat to shift blame if the country’s energy system can no longer withstand Russian attacks.
Citing unnamed sources, Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported two weeks ago that former energy executives fear they will be accused of failing to do enough to increase the resilience of energy infrastructure and strengthen facilities.
“Now they need a scapegoat,” said a foreign policy expert who has advised the Ukrainian government. “There are parts of Ukraine that will probably not have electricity until spring. It is already 10°C in apartments in Kiev and the city could have long power outages. People are already angry about this, so the presidential office needs scapegoats,” he said.
“The opposition will accuse Zelensky of failing Ukraine and argue that he should have had reserves in place to prevent long power outages or a major freeze,” the expert added.
Adrian Karatnytsky, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of "Battlefield Ukraine", also worries about the direction of the political path. "Despite being an inspiring and courageous wartime leader, there are indeed troubling elements in Zelensky's administration," he noted.