Court recognised Butusov as victim in case of Mindich’s gang - Zelenskyy’s friend and owner of "Kvartal-95"
The Solomianskyi District Court ordered NABU detectives to consider a motion to recognise Yurii Butusov, commander of the unmanned systems platoon of the "Khartiia" brigade, as a victim.
This was reported by the Sense law firm, according to Censor.NET.
Details
This concerns the case of illegal collection and storage of confidential information about him by the individuals involved in the "Mindichgate" scandal.
Context
During the investigation as part of Operation "Midas", evidence was found of systematic collection of dossiers on Ukrainian investigators. The investigation established that the individuals involved in the case, whose activities are linked to the Russian intelligence network, collected confidential data on Yurii Butusov's movements, contacts and activities.
"Given that Yurii Butusov is a military serviceman, the unauthorised collection of information about him in the interests of persons affiliated with the aggressor state poses a threat not only to his privacy but also to his safety," the company said.
Previously, lawyers had succeeded in having information entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations regarding the commission of criminal offences under:
- Part 3 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Obstruction of the lawful professional activities of journalists);
- Part 1 of Article 182 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Violation of privacy).
"The information was entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations by NABU only after the relevant court decision of 9 January 2026. However, after the investigation began, the Bureau's detectives effectively blocked Yurii Butusov's participation in the proceedings, ignoring the defence's request to involve him as a victim. This deprived the applicant of his procedural rights and the opportunity to monitor the progress of the investigation," they explained.
Court's decision
The lawyers challenged the detectives' inaction in court. After reviewing the complaint materials (cases No. 760/1347/26 and No. 760/1349/26), the investigating judge ruled that the inaction of the NABU officials was unlawful. The court ordered the Bureau to consider the defence's motion on its merits within three days of receiving the ruling.
Sense managing partner Dmytro Kruhovyi called the situation paradoxical.
"The crime was documented by NABU itself, the files on the journalist and military officer were seized, proceedings were opened, but the investigation stubbornly "does not see" the victim in the case. Such a procedural vacuum is usually created in order to quietly bury the case without unnecessary publicity.
The court's decision is clear: ignoring Yurii Butusov's rights, especially in the context of possible surveillance of the military officer by Russian agents, is unacceptable. We expect the court's ruling to be enforced and Mr Butusov to be granted victim status as soon as possible," he concluded.
What preceded it?
- We would like to remind you that it was previously reported that Timur Mindich, co-owner of the "Kvartal-95" studio, had compiled over 500 "dossiers" on NABU detectives, MPs, ministers and journalists.
- Among the 10 journalists on whom Timur Mindich, co-owner of the "Kvartal-95" studio, illegally compiled dossiers was Yurii Butusov, commander of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine "Khartiia".
