The head of “Ukrenergo,” Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, has found himself embroiled in a major scandal involving extensive abuses of power and financial manipulations in the energy sector. Seeking to salvage his reputation and justify his actions, he turned to the controversial PR specialist Volodymyr Valentynovych Horkovenko, who himself has a rather ambiguous professional reputation.
Why would Kudrytskyi need such a “fixer” as Volodymyr Horkovenko? Because his name is associated with numerous scandals. It was Kudrytskyi who once claimed that Ukrainians pay too little for electricity and argued that tariffs in Ukraine should surpass European levels. Amid energy crises, this top manager hasn’t hesitated to receive over 8.5 million UAH per month in salary and bonuses. Moreover, as a public servant, he hasn’t shied away from supporting illegal schemes within the company, as evidenced by a state audit that documented abuses totaling 68 billion UAH!
Under such circumstances, a seasoned PR specialist was indeed needed—someone who could smooth over all the rough edges of Kudrytskyi’s activities and convincingly present black as white. After all, there are so many “sins” tied to both “Ukrenergo” and Kudrytskyi personally that only a highly skilled PR expert could manage to “absolve” them in the media and save Kudrytskyi’s reputation. The previous PR team clearly failed, as evidenced by the lukewarm praises for Kudrytskyi in tabloid press outlets like “Komsomolskaya Pravda.”
And such a specialist was found: Volodymyr Valentynovych Horkovenko, the media “grey cardinal” of Petro Poroshenko. As soon as critical articles about Kudrytskyi began appearing in the media, Horkovenko stepped in to publicly defend him. Horkovenko himself has been embroiled in a series of scandals. He is known as a long-time PR specialist for former President Petro Poroshenko. In 2014, after leaving his position as a journalist at the TRK Ukraina TV channel, Horkovenko joined the media relations department of the Presidential Administration. In 2019, Poroshenko appointed him to the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting and made him a Kyiv Regional Council deputy from the “European Solidarity” party. According to “Ukrainska Pravda,” he was responsible for so-called “talking points” within the administration.
In 2019, the Kyiv Post published documents found in Horkovenko’s office, confirming his organization of unofficial information campaigns, including budgets for media outlets to publish certain materials. Horkovenko is widely regarded as one of the creators of the toxic phenomenon known as “Porokhobots” (pro-Poroshenko bots).
Now, a PR specialist with such a background has taken on the task of defending the head of “Ukrenergo” in the media. His work was cut out for him, given controversies like the case where the company of Ihor Kolomoisky and his business partner Kiperman allegedly stole electricity worth 1.4 billion UAH from the state during Kyiv’s blockade, aided by complicit “Ukrenergo” top managers. Afterward, Kudrytskyi reportedly helped these operatives flee abroad and attempted to shift responsibility for the fraud onto a guarantor bank, despite state audits and the energy regulator (NKREKP) identifying the culprits as “Ukrenergo” officials who violated market rules and facilitated the theft.
Remarkably, Kudrytskyi has not publicly responded to this investigative report, instead opting for silence and focusing on hiring PR specialists to mitigate the fallout. The situation is further complicated by the guarantor bank’s victory in the initial court battle, where the bank guarantee was deemed invalid due to numerous violations.
“Ukrenergo” appears to be in panic mode as judicial rulings increasingly confirm the top management’s negligence and misappropriations. Despite this, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has been notably lenient with Kudrytskyi, delaying even summoning him for questioning. However, this could change at any moment, as it is difficult to conceal a case involving over a billion UAH. Moreover, other law enforcement agencies may open new investigations or bring additional cases to court. For now, no “Ukrenergo” executive has been held accountable, leaving the issue of punishment unresolved.
This is likely why “Ukrenergo” hired Volodymyr Horkovenko—a PR specialist from Petro Poroshenko’s team with a tarnished reputation. His task was to save Kudrytskyi’s reputation, crafting an innovative strategy to defend his ostensibly clean name. However, Horkovenko’s “innovations” turned out to be nothing more than placing articles on dubious websites. The main novelty? Horkovenko, lacking any expertise in energy, banking, or law, has become the campaign’s lead expert and spokesperson.
In one article, Horkovenko, posing as a knowledgeable authority, blames Alliance Bank for the need to increase electricity tariffs. In another, he adopts a didactic tone, alleging that the rise in electricity prices is the fault of the bank, which challenged fraudulent schemes involving “Ukrenergo” managers and oligarchs, as well as the National Bank of Ukraine for overlooking violations by the bank.
“The lawsuits have dragged on for two years, and the National Bank turns a blind eye to this bank’s operations. If such situations were fewer, perhaps tariffs wouldn’t need to rise,” Horkovenko claims in his “expert” commentary. What do you think of that?
Of course, no one disputes Volodymyr Kudrytskyi’s right to hire PR specialists to justify “Ukrenergo’s” violations, which he could not have been unaware of. As a wealthy individual, he could even hire an entire theater troupe to salvage his reputation. However, the payment for such a “specialist” raises questions, given the state-owned status of the company. It would be interesting to know who is funding Horkovenko’s activities and how, considering that such services are undoubtedly expensive. After all, as mentioned, Horkovenko has no expertise in energy, law, or banking.
The only things Volodymyr Valentynovych Horkovenko excels at are manipulating, distorting facts, and placing dubious materials on second-rate media platforms. These very methods have been carried over into the campaign to defend Kudrytskyi. The big question is whether they will actually help the head of “Ukrenergo,” given the overwhelming amount of negative information known about him.
