Ukrenergo, a strategic state-owned enterprise on which the stability of the country's energy system depends, has been at the center of a number of criminal investigations, public scandals, and financial claims in recent years. Schemes with fictitious tender winners, overpriced contracts, losses of 380 million hryvnias, contracts with related entities, and issues of conflict of interest are just some of the claims that accompany the history of the company's management.
The turning point was the period when Volodymyr Kudrytskyi headed the project management office. He was supposed to develop the company's strategy and investment policy. At that time, the company was headed by Vsevolod Kovalchuk, an interim manager after 2014, who later appeared in criminal proceedings for possible abuse of office during public procurement.
In 2016, despite losing the official competition for the position of Ukrenergo chairman, Kovalchuk retained his position with the informal support of influential people. It was during this period that Kudrytsky gradually became a key figure within the structure.
From 2018 to 2020, the company concluded a series of contracts that later became the subject of criminal proceedings. One of the most high-profile ones was with Vizin Rich LLC. The company, with a capital of 100 hryvnias, a formal retired director, and frequent changes of legal addresses, received contracts worth tens of millions. According to the investigation, it was Kudrytsky and Serhiy Totsky, who was responsible for economic security, who signed contracts worth a total of more than 13 million hryvnias.
Concord Bank, which acted as the firm's guarantor, officially stated in court that the agreements were contrary to the interests of the state — effectively confirming their fictitious nature.
A separate story is the construction of the 500 kV Kreminska substation in Luhansk region. Since 2016, the cost of the facility has increased from 500 million to 1.7 billion hryvnias. According to the investigation, the tender conditions were formed in such a way as to reject cheaper offers. The losses caused to the state were estimated at 380 million hryvnias. In 2021, suspicions were announced against former officials under Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Despite the investigation, in 2020, Ukrenergo concluded new contracts — in particular, for 65 million hryvnias with the Soyuz corporation, associated with businessman Konstantin Hryhoryshyn and the Zaporizhtransformator plant. The cost of the equipment was comparable to previous tenders, the subjects of criminal cases regarding price gouging.
Journalistic investigative materials also pointed to the interests of the company's management in the "green energy" sector. The companies Khoros and Proenergy, headed by Kovalchuk's former subordinates, received lucrative contracts for connecting wind and solar power plants, including Rinat Akhmetov's Nikopolskaya SPP facilities.
At the same time, the company was showing financial losses. In 2021, Ukrenergo's losses exceeded 2.7 billion hryvnias. At the same time, the company's head in 2021 received an average of 558 thousand hryvnias per month - one of the highest figures in the state sector.
There were also questions about his personal declaration. In 2020, Kudrytskyi did not submit an annual report, arguing that Ukrenergo became a private JSC after corporatization. At the same time, 100% of the company's shares remain in state ownership.
In 2020, Ukrenergo Digital Solutions LLC was established, with Kudrytskyi as its co-owner. His deputy, Andriy Nemirovsky, was appointed head of the company. The company, established in October, showed revenues of almost a million hryvnias in just two months, and later won tenders, including for 750 thousand hryvnias for organizing corporate events. Experts call these circumstances signs of a potential conflict of interest.
The NEURC inspection in 2021 confirmed numerous violations, from failure to implement investment programs to inefficient use of funds. However, no significant personnel decisions or penalties were made.
Today, Ukrenergo remains critically important to Ukraine's energy security — especially in times of war. But the history of recent years demonstrates that reform promises have transformed into a series of corruption episodes, personnel decisions without competition, financial losses, and criminal cases without convictions.
