Top Ukrainian energy official killed at electrical substation
Top Ukrainian energy worker Oleksii Brekht was killed while on the job, after being electrocuted at a substation.
Brekht chaired the management board of Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s state-grid operator, since September 2025. He spent 24 years working at the company, which manages Ukraine’s embattled electrical grid.
"For the second day in a row, Oleksii Brekt personally supervised the restoration work at one of the energy facilities recently attacked by the enemy," Ukrenergo wrote on its website.
Brekht was briefly Ukrenergo's interim CEO in September 2024 following the controversial ousting of ex-head Volodymyr Kudrytskyi.
The company has suffered relentless Russian strikes as Moscow seeks to disconnect Ukraine from electricity. Employees work around the clock to reconnect homes and businesses to power.
"In the most difficult times for our state, when the enemy tried to plunge us into darkness, Oleksii Brekht took on colossal responsibility," the Energy Ministry wrote on Telegram.
Ukrenergo has also faced its own internal disputes, with current CEO Vialiy Zaichenko temporarily removed in September 2025 and briefly replaced by Brekht. The supervisory board later U-turned on the decision.
