Power games over Ukraine’s electrical grid spark rule-of-law fears – POLITICO

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.