Activist Shabunin served with suspicion for evading military service and fraud
Kyiv • UNN
Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the "Anti-Corruption Action Center," has been served with a notice of suspicion for systematic evasion of military service and the use of a humanitarian SUV. According to the investigation, he had not reported to his place of service for a long time, remaining in civilian institutions, and receiving monetary compensation.
Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the "Anti-Corruption Action Center," has been notified of suspicion in a case concerning fictitious military service. UNN reports this with reference to the SBI.
... one of the Kyiv activists was notified of suspicion regarding the commission of an offense under Part 2 of Article 190 (as amended by the Law at the time of the criminal offense) and Part 4 of Article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine
As UNN learned from its own sources, it is about Vitaliy Shabunin.
Details
According to the investigation, the suspect systematically evaded military service and used a vehicle intended for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Mobilized in 2022, he did not appear at his duty station for a long time and, under the guise of "business trips," stayed in civilian institutions that are not part of the defense forces. Facts of him receiving monthly monetary allowance were also documented, despite his actual absence from the military unit.
In addition, the investigation established that the defendant used an SUV imported into Ukraine as humanitarian aid for the needs of the army — without proper registration and in the absence of legal grounds. The car was used for personal purposes, including for moving around Kyiv.
The investigation is ongoing. The issue of choosing a preventive measure for the suspect is being decided - the statement says.
Addendum
Earlier, sources of UNN reported that Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, may soon be notified of suspicion in a case concerning fictitious military service. A step towards this is the ruling of the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv dated April 24, 2025. The ruling, in particular, describes in detail how Shabunin for a long time evaded his official duties, avoided being in combat zones, and instead of serving in the army, stayed in Kyiv restaurants. In particular, how from September 2022 to February 2023, Shabunin monthly provided the commander of the military unit with letters from the NACP leadership requesting his secondment to Kyiv. With this ruling, the court granted the State Bureau of Investigation permission to obtain information about Shabunin's whereabouts, starting from February 25, 2022, via mobile communication terminals.
In June, UNN reported that the Donetsk District Administrative Court found no evidence that Shabunin participated in military operations and satisfied the claim of the State Tax Service regarding the collection of tax debt from Shabunin in the amount of UAH 126.4 thousand.
Earlier, blogger and veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war Volodymyr Boyko published details of Shabunin's case. He noted that during an inspection, the command of the Territorial Defense Forces found that in 2022-2023, soldier Shabunin, a serviceman mobilized to the 207th separate Territorial Defense battalion (military unit A7376), did not appear at his military unit, as he was considered "seconded to the NACP" based on letters from Novikov and Sytnyk.
At the same time, according to journalist Volodymyr Boyko, the NACP, in response to an official request, generally denied the fact that Shabunin had been seconded to them.
In addition, the journalist stated that Shabunin falsified data about his alleged service in the 93rd Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar," where he did not serve a single day.
At the same time, Shabunin received not only monetary allowance but also an additional reward for performing combat missions amounting to UAH 30,000 per month, Boyko noted.
He also published materials about Shabunin's appropriation of a Nissan Pathfinder car, which was imported into Ukraine without customs duties for the needs of military unit A7376. To this day, Shabunin has not returned this car to military unit A7376 and uses it as his property, the veteran reported.
It should be noted that the SBI is also investigating a number of criminal cases against Shabunin: in particular, regarding evasion of mobilization, forgery of NACP documents, illegal use of humanitarian aid, and appropriation of a Nissan Pathfinder jeep.