A Kyiv court has found Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Center, guilty of assaulting pro-Russian blogger Vsevolod Filimonenko. The ruling comes after a lengthy legal battle that began in 2017.
The Dnipro District Court convicted Shabunin under Article 345 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to violence against a journalist, resulting in moderate bodily harm. Alongside the conviction, the court ordered Shabunin to pay approximately 4,000 hryvnias for expert evaluations related to the case.
Shabunin’s attorney, Olena Shcherban, stated that the ruling could primarily affect Shabunin’s reputation, as the statute of limitations had expired, meaning no actual punishment would be enforced. The defense had previously declined an offer from the court to close the case due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, believing that a fair resolution was still possible.
Shcherban emphasized that the defense did not initiate the closure of the case, as they sought a just outcome that would clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident. She argued that the situation bore signs of provocation and claimed that law enforcement had inaccurately attributed injuries to Filimonenko.
Notably, the original CT scan from June 20, taken 12 days after the incident on June 8, was missing from the case materials. Shcherban pointed out that preliminary results from the CT scan did not indicate any injuries to Filimonenko, casting doubt on the claims of bodily harm.
The defense plans to appeal the verdict. Throughout the investigation, prosecutors maintained that Shabunin assaulted Filimonenko, while the defense contended that Filimonenko was not a journalist and that the altercation was a personal dispute.
In 2018, various media and human rights organizations criticized the prosecution’s decision to reclassify the case from intentional bodily harm to violence against a journalist. Shabunin’s legal team argued that the evidence presented did not substantiate Filimonenko’s claims of journalistic status, noting that the media outlet he allegedly worked for was not operational and that he had not published any articles there.
The Anti-Corruption Center asserted that claims of moderate bodily harm were unfounded, pointing out that Filimonenko appeared unharmed in video footage following the altercation, during which he reportedly sprayed an unknown substance at Shabunin.
Medical staff at the emergency hospital where Filimonenko was treated did not report any fractures. The first medical document mentioning a jaw fracture appeared more than two weeks post-incident.
Shabunin explained that he struck Filimonenko after the blogger insulted one of his colleagues, warning him beforehand about his intent.
In September 2025, the National Security and Defense Council imposed a ten-year sanction against Filimonenko for disseminating pro-Russian propaganda. Ukraine also blocked his YouTube channel and other media platforms.
Filimonenko had previously made conspiracy-laden claims in an August 2025 video, alleging that President Volodymyr Zelensky would flee to London, while Andriy Parubiy would lead the Verkhovna Rada to sign a peace agreement with Vladimir Putin. In 2024, he appeared in a propaganda film produced by Russia’s Channel One, which aimed to discredit Ukrainian soldiers. He has also made controversial statements regarding the Euromaidan protests, alleging that demonstrators were provided with drugs.
According to the Anti-Corruption Center, Filimonenko has been living abroad since 2019 and has not attended any court hearings related to the case against Shabunin. His last communication was recorded in January 2026.
Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Center, was convicted for assaulting pro-Russian blogger Vsevolod Filimonenko, with the court ruling primarily impacting Shabunin's reputation. The defense plans to appeal, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to substantiate claims of bodily harm.