---
title: "Kucherenko Urged the Government to Appoint Full-Fledged Heads of Energoatom and Naftogaz Before Winter"
description: "Deputy Chair of the Rada's energy committee, Oleksiy Kucherenko, urged the government to appoint full-fledged heads of key energy companies before the heating season. In his words, the responsible enterprises are still headed only by acting officials."
date: 2026-08-25T08:26:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/kucherenko-urged-government-to-appoint-energo-company-heads-before-winter
tags: [ukraine-energy, government, naftogaz, energoatom, parliament, winter-season]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Kucherenko Urged the Government to Appoint Full-Fledged Heads of Energoatom and Naftogaz Before Winter

## 🎯 Key Points

- Deputy Chair of the Rada's energy committee, Oleksiy Kucherenko, on August 24, 2026, urged the government to appoint full-fledged heads of strategic energy companies before the heating season.
- In his claim, Energoatom, Naftogaz, Tsentrenergo, Ukrtatnafta, and the oblenergo companies of five regions (three of them frontline) are still headed only by acting officials.
- The deputy demanded that the state stop shifting responsibility to supervisory boards and assign personal responsibility to the Prime Minister.
- Context: former Prime Minister Yulia Svyridenko is being considered as a candidate for the head of Naftogaz; in July 2026 the Rada appointed Koretsky as Prime Minister.

On the eve of Independence Day, Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Public Utilities, Oleksiy Kucherenko, issued a public statement demanding that the government take direct responsibility for the work of strategic state energy companies. In his words, ahead of the heating season, which the authorities describe as one of the most difficult, the state, as a shareholder, must more actively fulfill its functions and stop evading responsibility. The statement was made on Sunday, August 24, and was published by the deputy on Facebook.

### A Call on Independence Day

In his statement, Kucherenko directly pointed to the need for personnel decisions at the top of the energy sector. "Perhaps it is time for the state, as a shareholder, to start managing its state companies, and for the government to take responsibility on itself," the deputy wrote. He emphasized that "the pillars of the country's energy security cannot be left without leaders in such a period," and called on the Prime Minister and the cabinet of ministers to personally bear responsibility for successfully getting through the upcoming heating season.

### Which Companies Lack Full-Fledged Leaders

Among the enterprises that, according to the deputy, are still headed only by acting officials, he named the largest electricity producer, Energoatom; the company Naftogaz, responsible for supplying gas to households; the main state heat-generation company, Tsentrenergo; as well as the state oblenergo companies in five regions, three of which are frontline regions. Kucherenko separately mentioned the state oil refinery Ukrtatnafta. Thus, in his assessment, virtually all key links in the country's energy vertical remain without full-fledged leaders.

### Criticism of Shifting Responsibility to Supervisory Boards

The deputy placed a separate emphasis on the practice of citing supervisory boards when explaining management problems. Kucherenko stated that the state must stop transferring responsibility to these bodies "when it is necessary to conceal its own indecision." In his logic, it is precisely the government and the Prime Minister who should bear personal responsibility for the results of the work of subordinate strategic companies, rather than shifting it to collegial management bodies.

### Political Context: Who Bears Responsibility

The statement came against the backdrop of reshuffles in the energy portfolio. It was previously reported that former Prime Minister Yulia Svyridenko is being considered as a candidate for the head of Naftogaz. Meanwhile, according to open sources, in July 2026 the Verkhovna Rada appointed Yuri Koretsky as the new Prime Minister, and back in January 2026 the parliament failed to pass a vote on appointing Shmygal as Minister of Energy. Against this backdrop, Kucherenko's call for the government's personal responsibility is perceived as an address to the current cabinet headed by Koretsky.

### Contradictory Data

The difference lies primarily in how various media outlets interpret the statement. RBC-Ukraine and other sources present Kucherenko's speech as a constructive call for personnel decisions and for the government to take responsibility ahead of the heating season. At the same time, a number of media outlets (for example, materials in the vein of news.mail.ru) characterize the same statement as the deputy's emotional reaction to the crisis in the energy sector, using evaluative phrasing such as "hysteria." The factual data on the date of the statement (August 24, 2026) and the list of companies mentioned coincide across sources; the discrepancy concerns only the tone of presentation and whether the speech is a systemic call or public criticism. In addition, the claim that the listed companies are headed exclusively by acting officials is the deputy's own position and has not been confirmed by a separate independent audit in the provided sources.

Thus, Kucherenko's statement highlights an acute personnel issue in Ukrainian energy on the eve of winter: before the start of the heating season, a number of strategic companies, in the parliamentarian's assessment, remain without full-fledged leaders, and responsibility for their work, in his words, must be assigned to the government and the Prime Minister personally.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [In the Rada, the government was urged to appoint heads of Naftogaz and Energoatom before winter](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/radi-zaklikali-uryad-priznachiti-kerivnikiv-1787646182.html) - Подтверждает суть заявления Кучеренко о необходимости назначения руководителей до зимы и перечень компаний.
- [Rada deputy Kucherenko threw a fit over the crisis in Ukraine's energy sector](https://news.mail.ru/society/68736486/) - Фиксирует то же выступление, но в оценочной/эмоциональной подаче; использовано для блока о различии интерпретаций.
- [The Rada appointed Koretsky as Prime Minister of Ukraine](https://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2026/07/16/28909513.shtml) - Контекст: действующий премьер на момент заявления — Корецкий (назначение 16.07.2026), что согласуется с упоминанием Свириденко как экс-премьера.
- [The Rada failed to pass a vote on appointing Shmygal as Minister of Energy](https://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2026/01/13/27612673.shtml) - Контекст: действующий премьер на момент заявления — Корецкий (назначение 16.07.2026), что согласуется с упоминанием Свириденко как экс-премьера.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Who issued the call to appoint heads of energy companies?
**A:** Oleksiy Kucherenko, Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Public Utilities, in a statement published on Facebook on August 24, 2026.

### Q: Which companies, according to the deputy, are headed only by acting officials?
**A:** Energoatom, Naftogaz, Tsentrenergo, Ukrtatnafta, and the state oblenergo companies in five regions, three of which are frontline.

### Q: Who does Kucherenko hold responsible for the heating season?
**A:** Directly the government and the Prime Minister personally; he called for an end to citing supervisory boards.

### Q: Is the claim about the status of the leaders a confirmed fact?
**A:** It is the deputy's own position; in the provided sources it is not confirmed by a separate independent audit, so it is presented in the article as his assessment.