黑料社区

KYIV: A former Ukrainian state energy operator chief suspected of embezzlement was ordered to be kept in detention by a Kyiv court Wednesday, stoking fears of political interference as the country enters its fourth war winter.
The ruling comes months after President Volodymyr Zelensky failed to curb the power of anti-corruption agencies, with critics saying the government may resort to more covert means of exerting pressure on political opponents.
Volodymyr Kudrytsky, a former head of Ukraine鈥檚 state energy company Ukrenergo, who had been sacked last year, is accused of misappropriating over $1.6 million of state funds in 2018, the prosecutors said.
The Pechersk District court in Kyiv on Wednesday ruled 鈥渢o apply to Volodymyr Dmytrovych Kudrytsky ... a preventive measure in the form of detention,鈥� a judge said.
He will spend two months in pre-trial detention unless he comes up with a $300,000 bail.
Kudrytsky called the ruling 鈥渁bsurd and unfounded,鈥� according to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper.
Head of Ukraine鈥檚 parliament anti-corruption committee Anastasia Radina said on social media that 鈥渁s of now, the case appears to be nothing more than pressure鈥� against Kudrytsky.
According to Ukrainian media, Radina and a few other lawmakers said they were ready to guarantee Kudrytsky鈥檚 bail.
Kudrytsky had overseen Ukraine鈥檚 electricity grid since 2020, including in the crucial years of the Russian invasion that has put the country鈥檚 energy infrastructure under immense pressure.
But he was suddenly dismissed last year in a move denounced as politically motivated by some members of the company鈥檚 board.
This year鈥檚 Russian campaign against Ukrainian energy infrastructure is especially harsh, with media reporting that strikes maybe halted 60 percent of Kyiv鈥檚 natural gas production, a predominant fuel for heating in the country.