KYIV — Ukraine’s devastated energy grid is fast becoming a focal point for European concerns about rule of law in Kyiv, with Western allies fearing a political power grab is under way that may imperil efforts to keep electricity flowing this winter.
The flashpoint of the tensions is Kyiv’s decision earlier this month to fire Volodymyr Kudrytskyi as chief executive of the national power transmission network, Ukrenergo.
The official reason for the firing, leaked anonymously to Ukrainian media, was that Kudrytskyi failed to protect Ukraine’s grid from a hail of Russian airstrikes.
International observers almost immediately dismissed that explanation because Kudrytskyi is broadly respected for his efforts in repeatedly reviving the power after waves of Russian attacks. Diplomats and global lenders even issued a rare public rebuke over his dismissal, exhorting Kyiv to change tack. The G7 then lent its weight to that message.
