16.09.2025
Yurii Boiko, a member of the Supervisory Board of PJSC “NEC “Ukrenergo,” presented an overview of the current state of Ukraine’s energy sector, the key challenges caused by military actions, and the strategic directions for its recovery and development as part of the Energy Club’s online course “Communications and Interaction in Energy: Strategies for PR, Marketing, GR and Lobbying in Ukraine.”
Yurii Boiko’s career began in 1995. He has held various leadership positions in the energy sector, served as Deputy Minister of Energy, and also acted as the Minister of Energy of Ukraine, coordinating the development of the electricity complex and market. Mr. Boiko has a specialized engineering and management education.
Drawing on his extensive experience in the energy sector, in his presentation “The Energy Sector of Ukraine: Current State, Challenges of War, and Development Prospects,” he focused on the consequences of military aggression for the country’s generating capacities. The lecturer detailed the massive challenges faced by the transmission system operator “Ukrenergo” — significant equipment destruction due to numerous attacks on the power grid, the need for unprecedentedly rapid restoration work, and countering cyber threats. The lecture also included information about the consequences for consumers – problems with electricity supply and a general decrease in the level of electricity consumption in the country.
An important part of the speech was the topic of the strategic integration of the Ukrainian power system into the European network ENTSO-E, which has opened up new opportunities for cross-border electricity trade.
Yurii Boiko spoke in an interview with the Energy Club’s media department about the relevance and timeliness of the training, how the educational course helps energy sector specialists build proper communications with stakeholders and partners, and about the most important “homework” for Ukrainian energy companies for successful integration into the European market.
“Modern business cannot develop successfully without a well-built communication system. For the energy business, this statement is doubly important. Therefore, such courses are and will remain very relevant for our country, considering the integration into the European market,” he emphasized. “And I saw a sincere interest from the audience, a desire to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. Feedback is the key to the success of any educational process, so the numerous questions from the listeners only underscored the course’s relevance. Such projects need to be continued, focusing on the practical needs of the market and understanding the varying degrees of readiness of the audience to apply the knowledge gained.”
– Mr. Boiko, your lecture opened the course, setting a strategic framework for all subsequent topics. What key challenge for the Ukrainian energy sector is most underestimated today, specifically from a communications perspective, and how does this course help specialists prepare for it?
– The Ukrainian energy sector, given the ongoing process of integration into the European energy market, as well as the war and the expected post-war recovery, is in many ways in a formative stage. Accordingly, the communication component is still very far from the established practices and standards that operate in the European Union.
We see some large companies that are building systemic communications with society and other stakeholders. But a significant part of the market players has not yet realized the direct link between properly built communications and cash flows. We are talking about loans, investments, stock placements, and the implementation of joint projects. Therefore, communication with foreign partners, and potential investors, in a form that is familiar to them, is very important and, in my opinion, underestimated by our companies.
Equally important is proper communication with society, at least with the residents of the communities where a company operates. The population is the largest stakeholder, and communication with them is often not at the proper level, even in large companies. I think this area is the most promising for development. After all, the energy sector is facing major changes. So the success of any reforms, and their support by the people, will depend on communications that are properly constructed in terms of distribution channels and content. This course will definitely help in solving these tasks, as it helps to structure the communication experience of the participants.
– How has the perception of Ukraine’s energy sector by international partners changed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and what role have well-built communications, as discussed in the course, played in this?
– Even before the full-scale war, we saw the interest of international partners in Ukraine’s integration into the common European energy space. For example, long before the invasion, negotiations began on Ukraine’s accession to ENTSO-E, the unification of power systems, and so on. But when missiles and bombs started flying at Ukraine, these processes accelerated significantly. Even the European bureaucracy demonstrated unusually high work rates for itself.
Communication flows with partners, primarily from our side, also intensified. We owe the huge volumes of assistance that Ukraine and its energy companies received in large part to competent and intensive communications. The role of energy in ensuring people’s livelihoods and the economy’s operation during the war, the need for equipment and materials for recovery after enemy strikes, the necessity of building distributed generation, increasing cross-border capacity – all this was communicated in a timely and effective manner, with an understanding of which interested parties the information should reach and by what means.
– What is the one, most important “homework” assignment in the field of communications that Ukrainian energy companies must complete to be ready for full integration into the European market?
– In my opinion, the main task is to ensure the transparency of their work. Our energy business must become understandable to our partners. Europeans will understand and accept mistakes, losses, and insufficient work efficiency. But even a hint of corruption, human rights violations, and the like will be enough for them to sever relations with Ukrainian partners. Because this is already a matter of the reputation of the company that does business with compromised partners. And reputation holds a very significant share in the value system of Western companies. Therefore, the communications of the Ukrainian energy business must constantly prove not only its efficiency but also its social responsibility, careful attitude towards the environment, respect for human rights, and other priorities important to partners.
I think that very soon, life will force most Ukrainian energy companies that cooperate with European partners to produce non-financial reports according to European standards, where all these issues are disclosed. And this is just one of the many communication channels that must be used for successful work in the European market.
– Your advice to the audience.
– Only one thing—constantly develop, master new technologies and tools, and do not forget that communications must be truthful. It is difficult to build a reputation, but it is very easy to irretrievably lose this critically important component of a company’s assets.
