Ukraine's Supreme Court sides with Kyiv Independent in libel case

Ukraine's Supreme Court has rejected a libel lawsuit filed by the late Andriy Portnov, a former top official who served pro-Kremlin ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, against the Kyiv Independent, according to a ruling obtained by the Kyiv Independent on June 5.

The ruling was issued on May 13 but its contents had not been previously reported.

Portnov was widely seen as wielding immense influence over Ukraine's judiciary both under Yanukovych and his successors Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelensky. He was described as "the gray cardinal" of the judicial system. He was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2021, and the sanctions ruling described him as a "court fixer."

Portnov was shot dead in Madrid, where he resided, in May 2025. A suspect was arrested in early 2026, and the investigation is ongoing.

One of Ukraine's most litigious public figures, Portnov sued many journalists and other critics.

In 2023, he filed a lawsuit against the Kyiv Independent as represented by Olga Rudenko, the chief editor, over an article in which he was referenced as being "pro-Russian." The lawsuit also targeted Ukrainian media outlet LB.ua, anti-corruption watchdog StateWatch, and Ukrainian journalist Glib Kanievskyi, who reported or republished the story.

In September 2024, Kyiv's Shevchenkiskyi District Court upheld Portnov's lawsuit, ordered each defendant to pay Hr 20,000 ($451) in legal costs and publish a retraction. The ruling was upheld by the Kyiv Court of Appeal in April 2025. The Kyiv Independent has never published a retraction, and challenged the ruling.

The Supreme Court overturned the lower court rulings in May 2026, arguing that the statements on Portnov being pro-Russian were value judgments, not factual claims.  

"It’s an important ruling for journalists in Ukraine because it upholds press freedom," Rudenko said. "Journalists should be free to publish informed value judgments when doing so serves the public interest, including about people who wield as much power as Portnov did. Courts should never be weaponized to take that freedom away."

The Kyiv Independent was represented by media lawyers Oksana Maksymeniuk and Vira Krat.

"The Supreme Court’s ruling in this case is important for establishing consistent judicial practice," Maksymeniuk said. "The court once again reaffirmed that the term ‘pro-Russian politician’ constitutes a value judgment rather than a statement of fact and therefore is not subject to refutation. The Supreme Court reached the same conclusion in a separate case in which Portnov sued (Ukrainian media outlet) Hromadske."

The lawsuit concerned a story by Glib Kanievskyi pointing out that Ukrainian officials impose sanctions on petty pro-Russian politicians, but ignore the most high-profile ones. Portnov was listed as one of the examples since he is under sanctions in the U.S., but not in Ukraine.

Portnov challenged a reference to him as a “pro-Russian” politician and a person “infamous for his open support for Russia.”

The Supreme Court ruled that the information published by the Kyiv Independent "consists of value judgments and subjective opinions reflecting the author's personal interpretation."

"The information in question was not disseminated in the form of statements of fact," the Supreme Court said. "There is no indication that the defendants' value judgments were intended to demean the plaintiff's honor and dignity, damage his business reputation, or exceed the bounds of permissible criticism of a public figure."

The Supreme Court ruling came a year after Portnov was killed in Spain in May 2025. Apart from siding with the journalists, the court also ruled to close the case due to the death of Portnov and because the previous court rulings were unfounded.

The Spanish police reported in February 2026 that a suspect in Portnov's murder had been arrested in the German town of Heinsberg.

The suspect is Ukrainian citizen Oleksandr Azizov, who was born in 1981 in the town of Shakhtarsk in Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainska Pravda reported in February, citing Ukrainian law enforcement sources.

The Schemes investigative journalism project reported the same month that Azizov received a Russian passport in 2023, and it is still valid, according to leaks from Russian databases.

From 2010 to 2014, Portnov was the head of the judicial department of Yanukovych's administration and his deputy chief of staff.

After Yanukovych was ousted by the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2014, Portnov left Ukraine and moved to Vienna. However, he kept his influence over the judiciary.

When Zelensky was elected president in 2019, Portnov returned to Ukraine and reportedly increased his influence on the law enforcement and judicial system, but later left the country and resided abroad.