A Kyiv commercial court has barred Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator Ukrenergo, along with its registrars and authorities, from implementing a Sept. 26 Supervisory Board decision to dismiss the company’s CEO and management team, according to a ruling shared by lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak on Telegram.
On Sept. 27, Zheleznyak leaked a Supervisory Board statement confirming that Ukrenergo had removed Vitaliy Zaychenko as chairman of the management board and reinstated Oleksii Brekht.
The decision followed a Sept. 16 ruling by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), which found procedural violations in recent board appointments. The board also cited a loss of confidence in Zaychenko after weeks of internal conflict.
In June 2025, Zaychenko attempted to nominate external candidates to the Management Board on a non-competitive basis. The Supervisory Board instead approved the existing team without outside hires, according to the leaked statement.
These appointments were later challenged on procedural grounds. On Sept. 16, the NSSMC ruled that they lacked the required committee approval and ordered the Supervisory Board to correct the violation.
In response, the board dismissed Zaychenko and reinstated Brekht, who had led Ukrenergo from September 2024 to June 2025. Brekht, credited with keeping the grid operational during a difficult heating season and under Russian attacks, was named acting CEO.
“In compliance with this requirement, the Supervisory Board dismissed and plans to appoint a Management Board. However, given the circumstances, Mr. Zaychenko lost the trust of the Supervisory Board and was not reinstated. Instead, Mr. Brekht was entrusted with the management,” the statement says.
Zheleznyak also noted that Ukrenergo’s Supervisory Board was not allowed to publish the statement on the company’s website. According to the board, the Ministry of Energy required all press releases to be approved in advance, a policy the board criticized.
Ukrenergo had been led by CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi since 2020, during which it underwent corporate governance reforms and created a supervisory board. However, in August 2024, Kudrytskyi was unexpectedly dismissed amid tensions with then-Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, reportedly over political disputes. Supervisory board members Daniel Dobbeni and Peder Andreasen resigned in protest, claiming Kudrytskyi’s removal was politically motivated.
During his previous tenure, Brecht oversaw the renegotiation of “green bonds” issued in 2021.
In May 2025, the Ministry of Energy unilaterally amended Ukrenergo’s Articles of Association, changing rules for CEO appointments. Zaychenko, who had served as the company’s Chief Dispatcher since 2015, was then appointed Chairman of the Management Board. However, the Supervisory Board said he “exacerbated the conflict” by again proposing non-competitive board appointments.
The board concluded that Zaychenko’s actions threatened “the safe, professional, and corruption-free management of the company and Ukraine’s electricity system.”
“Given the circumstances, Mr. Zaychenko lost the trust of the Supervisory Board and was not reinstated,” it wrote.
