State-Owned Company Driven to Bankruptcy Over 1.6 Million Debt While Thermal Power Plant Burned Under Fire
The Commercial Court of Donetsk Region has opened bankruptcy proceedings against Donbasenergo following a claim by a small creditor. However, the real cause of the collapse lies in years of unprofitable operations, the loss of the Starobeshivska thermal power station, and the destruction of the Sloviansk thermal power station, which until its shutdown was the only source of heat for the entire city.
By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik
May 19, 2026 · 2 min read
On May 19, the Commercial Court of Donetsk region opened bankruptcy proceedings in the case of PJSC "Donbasenergo". The formal pretext — a debt to the Kyiv cleaning company LLC "SLAVCLINSERVICE" totaling 1.625 million hryvnias. For an enterprise with an established capacity of 880 MW, this is a trifle. But this particular debt turned out to be the last straw.
What remained of Donbasenergo
Formally, the company had two thermal power stations. Starobeshivska TPP — on territory not controlled by Ukraine since 2014, its indicators have not been included in Donbasenergo's reporting since March 2017. Sloviansk TPP in Mykolaivka, Donetsk region — the only operating station and the sole source of heat and hot water for city residents — shut down on April 6, 2025 following another Russian strike.
That is, by the day proceedings opened, the enterprise no longer had any working assets.
Losses that went nowhere
Donbasenergo's financial problems are not a consequence of the full-scale invasion. Back in February 2022, the company stated that the price of electricity sales covered only fuel costs: "there is no opportunity to purchase coal and conduct current repair work". In just 9 days of that February, losses from TPP operations amounted to 33 million hryvnias.
In response, shareholders decided in 2021 to initiate a reorganization procedure — before opening bankruptcy proceedings. The Kyiv Commercial Court in January 2022 accepted the application to approve the reorganization plan and imposed a moratorium on satisfying creditor claims. The reorganization was supposed to save the company then. It didn't.
Who owns it — and this matters
The ownership structure makes this a state problem, not just a corporate one. 60.86% of Donbasenergo shares belong to Private JSC "Energoinvest Holding", whose ultimate beneficiary in registries is listed as Greek citizen Andreas Tserni. Another 25% plus 1 share belongs to the state represented by the State Property Fund of Ukraine.
"The existing balancing market model, PSO, results in an economically unjustified surplus of atomic generation supply, which artificially lowers prices in organized market segments and destabilizes the system"
— Donbasenergo, official position on unprofitable operations
That is, the state as a minority shareholder observed the slow collapse of a company whose market rules it had set itself.
What happens to the city next
Before shutting down, Sloviansk TPP was the sole supplier of heat and hot water for Mykolaivka and the city's social infrastructure facilities. Bankruptcy proceedings could last for years — while residents are already without centralized heat supply.
Opening proceedings is a beginning, not a verdict. The court may appoint a property administrator, creditors will form a register of claims. But if during the proceedings no investor shows interest in the destroyed station near the front, liquidation will become the only option.
The question is not whether the legal entity "Donbasenergo" will survive. The question is whether the state will restore Mykolaivka's heat supply before next winter — and if so, at whose expense and under what conditions.
