According to the former head of Ukrenerho, Zelensky is looking for a scapegoat for the failures in the energy sector

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is under fire from Russia for the country's inadequate preparation for another energy-intensive winter. The former head of the state energy company Ukrenerho, Volodymyr Kudryzkyj, warns of severe power outages.

In an interview with Politico, he said the government had ignored his plan to decentralize the energy system, which had enabled Russia to target large power plants.

Kudrytskyi was accused of embezzlement last week, sparking outrage among Ukrainian civil society and opposition lawmakers.

The former official describes the allegations relating to a contract he approved seven years ago as deputy director of Ukrenerho as “a blatant example of the Ukrainian leadership's aggressive use of the law to intimidate opponents, silence critics, and cover up its own mistakes.”

Kudryzkyj rejects the allegations and claims he is a scapegoat in a campaign by the presidential office. He says the charges were brought in such a way that “it is easier for the presidential office to push the idea that I am responsible for the failure to prepare the energy system for the coming winter – even though I have not worked at Ukrenerho for more than a year.”

He also criticized the government's slow progress in building protective concrete shelters for transformers. “They are terrified of public outrage this winter,” he added.

(max)