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Zelenskyy Regime Targets Ukraine's Leading Anti-Corruption Activist

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by blueapples
Thursday, Jul 17, 2025 - 12:00

Since the onset of the war between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, the western NATO-backed axis has framed the conflict against Vladimir Putin as an existential fight for democracy. That narrative is often woven by western powers to veil the true reasons behind their actions by eliciting a pathological response from their supporters that shields against any deeper logical examination. The cliche has become so trite that it has become tantamount to a tacit admission that ulterior motives are the impetus behind continuing to arm Ukraine in their perilous effort against Russia. That crumbling facade is particularly evident as even a cursory examination of Ukraine's domestic politics reveals that the nation hiding behind the virtues imbued into democracy is as antithetic to that moral beacon as it claims Russia is. Ukraine's persecution of the founder of one of its country's leading anti-corruption watchdogs is the latest instance of Zelenskyy's regime subverting the very ideals it uses to justify its war effort against Russia.

As morale over the Ukrainian war effort has reached new lows, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has begun to experience a fall from grace from the pedestal that world leaders whose proxy war he has fought once placed him upon. Initially framed as the leader of the vanguard fighting for the future of the free world, the dismal trajectory of the war against Russia has raised serious questions about not only Zelenskyy's leadership but also his ethics, with accusations of corruption against the president and his inner circle shifting from what was once thought as heretical to becoming accepted as part of the national discourse. Ukrainian authorities have responded to the increased scrutiny against the Zelenskyy regime by escalating their persecution against one of the country's leading anti-corruption activists, Vitaliy Shabunin.

Shabunin is the co-founder of Ukraine's leading anti-corruption watchdog, the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC). On July 11th, Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) charged Shabunin with fraud and evasion of his compulsory military service. Shabunin, who is currently serving on the front lines of the war, has vehemently denied the accusations brought against him. The AntAC co-founder alleges that the charges are part of a concerted effort by the Ukrainian government to persecute him for political reasons in an effort to undermine investigations into its corruption. "Taking advantage of the war, Volodymyr Zelensky is taking the first but confident steps towards corrupt authoritarianism," Shabunin said in response to the latest charges brought against him on his official Telegram channel.

The latest charges brought against Shabunin are part of a longstanding investigation against him that began in December 2023. The SBI dismissed the assertion that the investigation was related to Shabunin's work with the AntAC. "I would like to immediately note that the charges are in no way related to [Shabunin's] public activity," said SBI communications advisor Tetiana Sapian. Instead, the SBI attests that the newest charges brought against Shabunin were made in connection to a case against former commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's 207th battalion, Viktor Yushko. The criminal case against Yushko centers around abuses of power he is accused of committing during his time at the helm of the 207th battalion. Ukrainian prosecutors have alleged that Yushko used his high-ranking position in the Armed Forces of Ukraine to issue orders for fictitious business trips. Shabunin is accused to have been sent on one of those trips while still earning his monthly military allowance and combat payments, that allegation serves as the basis of the fraud and evasion of military service charges the SBI has brought against him. The SBI also alleges that Shabunin illegally used an SUV imported into Ukraine as part of a humanitarian aid package for unauthorized personal reasons. If convicted, Shabunin faces up to 10 years in prison.

Following the charges, law enforcement agents raided Shabunin's military post in the Kharkiv Oblast and his home in Kyiv. Shabunin noted that he was reassigned from his post in Kharkiv to a front-line brigade a day before the raid took place. The raid on Shabunin's home in Kyiv was conducted while his wife, 2 children, and one of their grandfathers were present. Law enforcement agents took Shabunin's wife's phone along with the phones and tablets of their children.

Despite the raids, Shabunin has not been detained. Shabunin was released on bond following a hearing in the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv on July 15th. As part of the conditions of his release, Shabunin has been ordered not to contact other suspects involved in the case against him and not to attend any events organized by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, the state agency created after the Maidan Uprising to implement anti-corruption policy in Ukraine. Shabunin was also required to hand over his passport during the court proceeding.

Adding to Shabunin's accusations that the investigation against him is politically motivated, the latest charges brought against him were filed shortly after Ruslan Kravchenko was appointed to the office of Prosecutor General on June 21st. Kravchenko gained the political capital needed to be named Prosecutor General by working within the Main Military Prosecutor's Office of the General Prosecutor before working as Deputy Military Prosecutor of the Central Region of Ukraine. From 2017-2019, he served as the prosecutor in the trial of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, convicting him in absentia on treason charges. Kravchenko served other various prosecutorial positions before being named the Head of the Bucha District Prosecutor's Office in 2021. In that role, Kravchenko served as the prosecutor who investigated charges against Russian soldiers for alleged war crimes in Bucha.

After leading that war crimes investigation in 2022, Kravchenko received a series of promotions. He was appointed as the Governor of the Kyiv Oblast by a presidential decree issued by Zelesnkyy on April 10th, 2023 where he led the region's military administration. Kravchenko was dismissed from that position before being named the head of the country's State Tax Service by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on December 30th, 2024. He held that position until last month, becoming deeply ingrained in the Ukrainian government as a favorite in the inner circle of President Zelenskyy, which led to Zelenskyy selecting him as Prosecutor General.

Many Ukrainians see the political ascent of Ruslan Kravchenko as the product of his obsequiousness to Zelenskyy, raising serious doubts over his integrity and the impartiality of his leadership as the country's top prosecutor. These doubts are shared by anti-corruption activists in Ukraine like Shabunin, who note that Kravchenko failed to meet ethics and integrity standards in the previous positions he held. Concerns about Kravchenko's integrity led to the rejection of his candidacy for a position as an anti-corruption prosecutor in 2020. The panel who rejected his candidacy on ethical grounds explained that Kravchenko by-passed the waiting list for a free state-provided apartment during his time as a prosecutor, which he sold after being awarded. Kravhchenko lived in an apartment owned by his wife in Kyiv when he applied for the state-provided housing that he sold for personal gain.

The great irony of Kravchenko being found too unethical to be hired as an anti-corruption prosecutor is that the Zelenskyy regime has now put that entire division under his control by virtue of appointing him as Ukraine's Prosecutor General. Given Kravchenko's checkered past, it comes as no surprise that he will be in charge of an apparent crusade against one of Ukraine's leading anti-corruption activists. 

Ukraine's escalation of its investigation against Vitaliy Shabunin also coincides with a new bill being pushed by the Ukrainian government that epitomizes the system corruption instilled by Zelenskyy regime. The pending legislation would exempt defense contractors from criminal liability in the wake of the increasing scrutiny they have faced from the international community for mishandling foreign aid. That immunity is being sought at a time where mounting evidence has shown that arms sent to Ukraine by its allies are being sold illegally for private profit on black markets.

With hundreds of billions of dollars of military aid flooding into Ukraine from the United States and other NATO member states, the country has turned into a massive black market for the sale of weapons. In 2024, a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GIATOC) highlighted the extent of illegal weapons sales in Ukraine. The GIATOC quoted Vadym Dzyubynskyi, the Head of Criminal Investigations for the Ukrainian National Police, who stated that over 593,000 weapons have been reported as lost or stolen since the war began. Weapons sent to Ukraine as part of military aid packages have been discovered on black markets, with listings across the Dark Web advertising weapons as advanced as US-supplied Javelin ATGM anti-tank missile systems on sale for as little as $30,000.

In spite of this malfeasance, NATO has escalated its efforts to arm Ukraine. US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary Mark Rutte announced their newly forged plan to send weapons to Ukraine from the US via sales to European member states in the alliance during Rutte's trip to Washington earlier this week. Reports have also indicated that President Trump is considering providing Ukraine with a new military aid package, a prospect diametrically opposed to the promises he made on the campaign trail last year. This dynamic highlights how the corruption replete within the Zelenskyy regime is enabled by a larger global racket fueled by the Military Industrial Complex and the politicians advancing their cause, leaving little hope that the black markets arising from military aid to Ukraine will come to an end.

Anti-corruption activists have highlighted how the proposed legislation nurtures the pipeline of foreign military aid fueling black markets as evidence of one of the many examples of rampant corruption throughout the Ukrainian government. However, their resounding criticism has been met with amplified efforts to silence political dissidents like Shabunin, making efforts to hold the Zelenskyy regime accountable as futile as the Ukrainian war effort has become.

Contributor posts published on Zero Hedge do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Zero Hedge, and are not selected, edited or screened by Zero Hedge editors.
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