Kyiv court halts dismissal of Ukraine's energy grid chief at Energy Ministry's request
A Kyiv court halted the dismissal of Vitaly Zaichenko, head of Ukraine’s state-owned energy grid operator Ukrenergo, less than a week after his sudden removal along with members of the company's management board.
The halt followed a request from the Energy Ministry, according to the court's ruling.
Ukrenergo’s supervisory board fired Zaichenko and three management board members on Sept. 26, just three months after appointing him — prompting questions about potential tensions between the government and the supervisory board or a possible move to seize control of the company.
This is the second time in just over a year that Ukrenergo has seen its chief removed. His predecessor, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, was dismissed in September 2024 on the grounds of allegedly failing to protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure amid Russian missile strikes — accusations that were flatly rejected by former members of the supervisory board at the time.
In response to his dismissal, Ukraine’s National Energy Regulator launched a review of the dismissals at Ukrenergo, calling the leadership shake-up a potential "violation."
"Such developments threaten to undermine the trust of international partners and jeopardize electricity imports ahead of the heating season," the regulator's statement read.
Ukrenergo is the sole manager of the country's high-voltage power lines, as well as a member of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity that coordinates electricity transmission across Europe.
According to a copy of the ruling published by Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak, the court barred all state registrars from acting on the supervisory board's Sept. 26 decision to remove the executives.
The reasons for Zaichenko’s dismissal are unclear, with two prevailing but opposing narratives being given for his dismissal. Two sources with knowledge of the matter told the Kyiv Independent that Zaichenko is seen as close to the government, which has put him at odds with some board members.
One of the two sources, speaking under the condition of anonymity, told the Kyiv Independent that the supervisory board fired Zaichenko in an effort to curb political interference in the company's management and rein in allegedly corrupt interests.
The second narrative positions long-term Ukrenergo employee Oleksiy Brekht, who was appointed as the company’s acting CEO instead of Zaichenko, as a coup leader. A source familiar with Ukrenergo's management who spoke on condition of anonymity earlier told the Kyiv Independent that Brekht allegedly orchestrated Zaichenko's dismissal, having manipulated the supervisory board, potentially with the backing of the President’s Office.
Zaichenko earlier told the Kyiv Independent on the day of his dismissal, that he believes his removal to be illegal because the reasons were not explained to him and because it allegedly leaves Ukrenergo without a management board.
The supervisory board attributed the dismissal of Zaichenko and other management board members to its "loss of confidence in (Zaichenko) due to events that took place over the past few weeks" and to a Sept. 5 decision by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission.
The commission ruled that there had been procedural violations in the appointment of three Ukrenergo management board members.
Zaichenko was appointed head of Ukrenergo in late June after ten months of interim leadership.
