Vitaliy Shabunin - News

Vitaliy Shabunin is the head of the NGO "Anti-Corruption Action Center".

After the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Vitaliy Shabunin was mobilized into the territorial defense.

On July 11, 2025, the SBI announced that Vitaliy Shabunin had been served a notice of suspicion of evading military service and fraud. 

Investigators claim that Shabunin:

• for a long time did not show up at his place of service and, under the guise of "business trips", stayed at civilian institutions that are not part of the defense forces;
• received a monthly allowance of more than UAH 50,000 despite actually being absent from the military unit;
• illegally used an SUV imported into Ukraine as humanitarian aid for the needs of the army.

The ACAC's deputy executive director Olena Shcherban said that the question of Shabunin's secondment to the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) can indeed be called legally debatable, but he was not the only one seconded. In addition, the NACP had made requests stating that Vitaliy Shabunin could be useful to the organization in developing anti-corruption legislation and measures in the defense sector.

On July 15, 2025, the court chose a preventive measure for Shabunin in the form of a personal obligation. The activist is convinced that the case against him is an attempt to intimidate corruption whistleblowers.