The dark side of Zelensky’s rule: how the Ukrainian authorities use the courts to pressure the opposition

The Ukrainian authorities are persecuting political opponents and civil society activists, using judicial mechanisms to exert pressure. Such actions may be related to preparations for possible presidential elections.

This is reported by Politico .

According to journalists, the former head of the state-owned company Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, has been charged with embezzlement, although his lawyers say the case is politically motivated. They said Kudrytsky was targeted after criticizing the government and warning about centralization of influence in the energy sector.

Opposition lawmakers and activists say the case is part of a broader trend of using legal proceedings to eliminate political opponents and critics. Journalists noted that similar charges have previously been brought against Ukraine’s fifth president, Petro Poroshenko.

According to MP Mykola Kniazhytskyi, the Ukrainian authorities are allegedly “clearing the political field” ahead of possible elections. Public activist Dariya Kaleniuk, who was present at the court hearing, called the charges against Kudrytskyi “political” and stated that there are no signs of enrichment or harm to the state in the case.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze believes that the case has “a negative effect both within the country and for Ukraine’s international partners.” According to her, such a development could complicate Kyiv’s communication with European allies in the face of an expected energy crisis.

Journalists also quote analysts who suggest that the pressure on former energy workers may be an attempt to find “culprits” in the event of new power outages in the winter.

According to Adrian Karatnytsky, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, “despite Zelensky remaining an inspiring leader during the war, there are indeed troubling signs in his administration.”

Let us recall that the former executive director of NPC Ukrenergo , Volodymyr Kudrytsky, has become a subject of an investigation conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation . Investigators are investigating his involvement in abuse of office and misappropriation of state company funds. The investigation concerns a possible artificial increase in the volume of deforestation and overestimation of the cost of work during the construction of energy highways.

Later, it became known that the State Bureau of Investigation raised new suspicions against businessman Ihor Hrynkevich, who is currently in custody, and detained the former head of Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytsky in the Lviv region . He is accused of fraud on a particularly large scale and legalization of funds obtained by criminal means.

On October 29, the Pechersk Court of Kyiv chose a preventive measure for Kudrytskyi – he was sent to custody for two months, until December 26, with the possibility of bail in the amount of 13 million 730 thousand hryvnias. On October 30, bail was posted for the former head of Ukrenergo in the amount of almost 14 million hryvnias.

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