Vitalii Shabunin

Vitaliy Viktorovich Shabunin (; born 26 November 1984) is a Ukrainian human rights activist. In 2012, he co-founded the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a non-governmental organisation that reports on corruption in Ukraine. In 2025, Shabunin was charged with evading military service and fraud, in a move criticised by national and international human rights groups as being politically motivated and linked to his anti-corruption activism.

Personal life Shabunin was born and raised in Rivne, Rivne Oblast, in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. He is married with two children and lives in Kyiv.

Political career In 2006, Shabunin was elected as a deputy to Rivne City Council. During his time as a deputy, he worked as an assistant to Viktor Matchuk and later to Lesya Orobets.

Activism In 2008, Shabunin moved to Kyiv, where he joined the non-governmental organisation Opora, and also headed the youth organisation Foundation of Regional Initiatives. In addition to his work with AntAC, Shabunin frequently posted videos on YouTube, including collaborations with investigative journalists such as Yuriy Nikolov. Shabunin's activism has received notice in the Ukrainian media and has been both praised and criticised. AntAC's status as being wholly funded through international grants since 2014 has led to some describing Shabunin as being a "representative of foreign interests in Ukraine".

In 2017, Shabunin criticised members of then-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko's entourage, including lawmakers Igor Kononenko and Mykola Martynenko, accusing the former of colluding to siphon profits from the Ministry of Health. During a protest about this, a criminal case was opened against Shabunin for "beating a journalist" after he allegedly assaulted blogger Vsevolod Filimonenko after Filimonenko insulted one of Shabunin's colleagues; during the encounter, Shabunin suffered from chemical burns after antiseptic was thrown in his face. In 2023, Filimonenko admitted to having previously blackmailed Shabunin and other activists.

In July 2020, Shabunin's home in Hnidyn, Kyiv Oblast was burned down in a suspected arson attack. The following December, explosive devices were found at the entrances of the homes of Shabunin's mother in Rivne and his wife's parents in Kyiv. Investigations into all three crimes did not lead to any charges or any assailants being identified. The European Union delegation to Ukraine and the World Bank both expressed concerns about the attacks and called on Ukrainian authorities to investigate. Over a thousand people donated money to support Shabunin to rebuild his home.

Military service In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Shabunin enlisted in the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

In May 2026, Shabunin stated that he had been demobilised after developing glaucoma.

2025 arrest Human Rights Watch reported that Shabunin had been the subject of smears from pro-government media since at least 2024, particularly on Telegram, including threats to his life, doxxing, and reports that he was a draft evader and a fraudster.

On 15 July 2025 a hearing was held at the Pecherskyi District Court in Kyiv, where it was announced that Shabunin was under investigation for evading military service during war time and large-scale fraud, in breach of articles 409 and 190 respectively of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Shabunin was accused of not being present with his unit as required and "failing to appear at the place of duty for a long period [under] the guise of 'business trips'" and for continuing to claim a wage "despite his absence from a military unit". He was also reported to have used a military vehicle without permission. At a hearing on 19 August, Shabunin's travel restrictions were extended to 19 October.

In December 2025, Shabunin accused agents from the SBI and the Prosecutor General's Office of circulating personal photos of him on Telegram that they had obtained after seizing his phone following his arrest. The SBI stated it would investigate the allegations, but had not done as of February 2026.

Response AntAC reported that the searches of Shabunin's home and the seizure of electronic devices had happened illegally without a warrant, and stated that no legal justification had been offered to explain the urgency that would justify a search happening without a warrant. The searches were almost completed before Shabunin and his family were able to obtain legal representation.

A spokesperson for the SBI denied reports that the investigation was politically motivated, stating it was a "procedural action [in] no way related to [Shabunin's] professional activities". However, a lawmaker from Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party described the charges as being a "selective miscarriage of justice".