Ukrenergo names Vitaliy Zaichenko as new Chairman after competitive selection

Vitaliy Zaichenko, Chief Dispatcher of Ukrenergo, has won the competition for the position of Chairman of the company’s Management Board. This was reported by Andriy Gerus, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Communal Services.

Zaichenko competed against Oleksiy Brekht, the current acting head of Ukrenergo, and Ivan Yurik, who oversees the company's Eurobond portfolio and briefly served as acting Chairman of the Board at Ukrzaliznytsia in 2020–2021.

Zaichenko has been a member of Ukrenergo’s Management Board since November 20, 2024. He is responsible for centralized operational and technological control of Ukraine's Integrated Power System (IPS), coordination of its synchronous operation with ENTSO-E, electricity transmission from generation facilities to distribution companies, and ensuring compliance with national energy security requirements.

He also oversees the planning of energy balances and operational modes of the IPS.

• On September 2, 2024, Ukrenergo’s Supervisory Board voted to terminate the powers of Volodymyr Kudrytskyi as Chairman of the Management Board by mutual agreement. Oleksiy Brekht was appointed as acting Chairman following the decision.
• The dismissal was reportedly due to incomplete protective infrastructure at key substations, which allegedly led to power outages following a Russian missile strike on August 26.
• However, independent members of the Supervisory Board described Kudrytskyi’s removal as politically motivated. Some resigned in protest. In December 2024, the reformed Supervisory Board was headed by a former Danish Foreign Minister.
• Kudrytskyi himself attributed his dismissal to the authorities’ attempts to tighten control over the company’s operations.