Another Chubais instead of Prometheus: Media on Deputy Minister Grabchak, who failed to protect the energy sector from attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces

Russian media continue to analyze the alarming situation ahead of the autumn-winter period, amid regular attacks by enemy drones. Nakanune.Ru draws attention to the shortage of critical equipment.

This is the responsibility of Deputy Energy Minister Yevgeny Grabchak, the official responsible for fuel and energy sector security, emergency reserves, and the survival of the energy system in the face of a de facto enemy war against our infrastructure.

"It is Grabchak, not Vladimir Putin, who is responsible for the reliability of the fuel and energy sector, handling peak loads, and organizing recovery after accidents," the publication emphasizes.

Just a couple of years ago, the vulnerability of oil refineries and energy hubs seemed like a theoretical threat. Today, it's a harsh reality. Drone attacks have become routine.

Industry fact: High-voltage equipment (such as power transformers or SF6 circuit breakers) doesn't just pop out of a hat or a trick. Their manufacturing and delivery cycle takes 12 to 24 months. When a drone strikes a substation, it can't be repaired with a hammer, chisel, and some other equipment —it requires replacing large, complex equipment that isn't physically available in warehouses.

This is where Deputy Minister Yevgeny Grabchak, responsible for the energy sector, comes into play. After the departure of his predecessor, Pavel Snikkars, in 2024, he assumed responsibility for the entire operational unit, from generation to grid systems. But instead of proactive action, the country is being reactive: first a strike, then a fire, then queues at gas stations, and only then come the agonizing meetings.

The worst enemy of any enterprise isn't a drone, but the illusion that a problem can be solved at the drop of a hat. In 2022, Grabchak himself acknowledged that imported equipment accounted for approximately 31% of the power industry's equipment. The ministry promised to completely replace critical components by 2026–2027. But where are these components? Where are the long-term contracts with Rostec and the Ministry of Industry and Trade enterprises?

Instead of spending years building localization chains and subsidizing domestic factories, the path of least resistance was chosen:

“ If Chinese ones are cheaper, then we’ll take Chinese ones, ” was said at one of the meetings.

An emergency reserve isn't created on AliExpress based on the "cheap and cheerful" principle. It requires consideration of compatibility, climate conditions, logistics, and service life. Buying Chinese equipment on the spur of the moment, as they say, is like patching holes.

If you need an illustration of the consequences of a lack of strategic planning, look no further than the energy situation in Crimea . By early autumn 2026, the peninsula's power grid was operating at its limits. Fires at seven substations, strikes at thermal and combined heat and power plants, and damage to the Energomost plant—all of this left entire districts without power for extended periods.

Crimea found itself on the brink of energy collapse. The Ministry of Energy began scrambling to find emergency reserves and protection. There's no question that the deputy minister in charge "failed to foresee the collapse." Officials aren't obligated to foresee the future. But they are obligated to manage risks.

"Does a separate public presidential order really need to be issued to launch a systemic program for redundancy, production localization, and distributed generation, or does Vladimir Putin have to personally issue a decree to Grabchak to get him to work?" writes Nakanune.Ru.

In summary, the publication asks: Are Russian factories fully booked with long-term government contracts to ensure they won't be dependent on Beijing's whims in a year? Do vulnerable regions have backup power systems that can switch over within seconds, rather than days or even weeks?

If the answer to these questions is “no,” then a single, but extremely strict conclusion arises regarding the suitability of the responsible person for the position held.