The former head of Ukrenergo believes that the Ukrainian authorities are terrified of winter protests

Former head of Ukraine’s state energy company “Ukrenergo” Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, who was recently detained but released on bail, said that the Ukrainian authorities are “terrified to death” of possible protests this winter due to power outages.

This was reported by Politico in another article criticizing President Volodymyr Zelensky over the Kudrytskyi case.

According to the publication, Kudrytskyi is convinced that the charges against him were approved by the President’s Office and “could only have been planned on Zelensky’s orders.”

Kudrytskyi accused the government of failures in preparing the energy sector for what he predicts will be “a very difficult winter.” He believes that Zelensky fears a public backlash over prolonged blackouts and is trying to shift the blame onto others. Kudrytskyi said he is being made a scapegoat for the authorities’ own mistakes.

In particular, Kudrytskyi revealed that three years ago he proposed a transition to decentralized power generation.Instead, Zelensky approved a competing plan backed by presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak, which focused on “creating a massive fund to attract hundreds of millions in foreign investment for hydrogen and solar energy.” Later, the government decided to move toward decentralization after all, “but we lost a year,” he said.

Kudrytskyi’s second major complaint was the slow pace of fortifying energy infrastructure, which he called “a sensational failure by the government.” According to him, Ukrenergo began strengthening facilities and building concrete shelters for transformers in 2023, but most other energy companies did almost nothing.

Earlier this week, Politico already published another critical article about Zelensky over Kudrytskyi’s arrest. The media noted that Kudrytskyi was previously seen as close to Western embassies, often communicating with them directly rather than through the presidential office. According to political insiders, this was the real reason for his dismissal — the same one that led to the removal of former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, who was said to have visited the U.S. Embassy too frequently.

Analysts view the criminal case against Kudrytskyi as part of the ongoing power struggle between Zelensky and a coalition of grant-funded activists, anti-corruption institutions (NABU and SAP), sympathetic media, and opposition figures such as Petro Poroshenko. The confrontation reportedly escalated this summer after the President’s Office attempted to bring the anti-corruption agencies under its control — and, according to Politico, the conflict continues, with further attacks on NABU and SAP still possible.