The Ukrainian government seized ownership of top national oil producer Ukrnafta and Ukrntatnafta, the country’s largest refinery that shut down after being hit by Russian missile strikes in the first months of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Both companies were controlled by Igor Kolomoisky, an oligarch who backed Zelenskyy’s 2019 presidential bid and is now facing investigations into the insolvency of PrivatBank, another of his former businesses. Kyiv also took over the manufacturer MotorSich, a maker of aero turbines and helicopter engines based in Zaporizhzhia, a city near the front line in the south. “Such steps, which are necessary for our country in war conditions. . . will help provide the urgent needs of our defense sector,” Zelensky said in a statement on his Telegram channel. “In these difficult times, we must direct all our forces to liberate our land and people and support the Ukrainian army.” The state seizures — which other officials described as temporary — come after weeks of Russian missile and drone kamikaze attacks on power infrastructure across Ukraine caused hours-long daily blackouts and power outages across the country. They also come a year after the president pushed through parliament so-called “de-oligarchy” reforms aimed at curbing the influence of the nation’s wealthiest businessmen. Kolomoisky faces domestic and international investigations into the insolvency of PrivatBank. The commercial lender was nationalized in 2016 after authorities uncovered losses of more than $5 billion that had not been recorded on its balance sheet. Vyacheslav Boguslaev, the former owner and chairman of MotorSich, was arrested last month on charges of treason. Local prosecutors allege he funneled through export helicopter engines needed by Moscow. Boguslaev sold his controlling stake in MotorSich to Chinese company Skyrizon several years ago, but Ukrainian trust and security authorities blocked the move by freezing the shares. Both Kolomoisky and Boguslaev have denied wrongdoing. AvtoKraz, a truck manufacturer that produces vehicles for domestic military transport as well as missile systems, was also among the groups placed under state control. It was previously owned by Ukrainian oligarch Kostyantyn Zhevago, who has lived in exile in recent years as Ukrainian authorities prosecuted him over the insolvency of a bank he previously owned. Zaporizhtransformator, a producer of power grid parts located in Zaporizhzhia, was also seized by the state. Previously owned by businessmen including Kostyantyn Grigorishin, its seizure is designed to ensure a steady supply of components needed to repair Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure. At a joint press conference Monday with Zelenskyy’s national security chief Oleksiy Danilov and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov insisted that the state’s takeovers of these businesses did not legally amount to “nationalizations.” “This is a direct takeover of wartime assets. These are completely different legal forms,” Reznikov said, according to Reuters.
