Kyiv Court of Appeal overturns ban on publishing investigation into DBR head's brother real estate

Why it matters

The appeal ruling lifts a prior restraint on a journalistic investigation, an outcome with direct implications for press freedom in Ukraine. The Anti-Corruption Action Centre argued the original ban was an attempt to refine a tool for blocking future investigations, making the appellate court's decision a precedent in how publication bans can be used against anti-corruption reporting. Underlying the case is a conflict-of-interest question: the head of a top law-enforcement agency whose brother acquired 143 Kharkiv apartments at prices reportedly far below market value. The coordinated response by eight outlets under "Initiative 143" demonstrated how Ukrainian media can organise collectively against attempts to suppress investigative reporting.

What happened

On 23 September 2026, the Kyiv Court of Appeal overturned the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv's ban on publishing the Slidstvo.Info and Anti-Corruption Action Centre (TsPK) joint investigation into 143 real-estate objects in Kharkiv belonging to Oleksandr Sukhachov, the brother of State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) head Oleksiy Sukhachov. The original ban had been issued by Pechersk judge Serhiy Vovk in early July and prohibited publication and online dissemination of personal data about the property.

The investigation, based on analysis of open state registries, documented that in 2018–2020 Oleksandr Sukhachov acquired 143 apartments and office premises in the Kharkiv residential complexes "IT-Park Manufaktura" and "Urban City," built by the developer "Stroy City." According to documents cited by the journalists, some of the apartments were priced at only 24,600–48,900 hryvnias — figures the reporters compared to the cost of a smartphone and which were orders of magnitude below market value. Before publication, journalists sent requests for comment to DBR head Oleksiy Sukhachov and to the company "Parkovyi-2," linked to his brother.

Despite the ban, on 16 July eight Ukrainian media outlets simultaneously published the investigation under the solidarity action "Initiative 143," with 19 more outlets and NGOs, including Detector Media, later joining. The joint publication reportedly drew close to four million views within three days. Media lawyer Oksana Maksymeniuk, who represented Slidstvo.Info in the case, called the appeal ruling important because the original order had restricted freedom of speech. TsPK characterised the original ban as an arbitrary decision intended to test a tool for blocking future investigations.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

All sources covering the story are Ukrainian-language media outlets reporting on a domestic judicial and anti-corruption matter. Coverage frames the appeal ruling as a victory for press freedom, foregrounding media lawyer Oksana Maksymeniuk's argument that the original ban restricted free speech and the Anti-Corruption Action Centre's characterisation of judge Serhiy Vovk's order as arbitrary and aimed at refining a tool for blocking future investigations. Ukrainian outlets emphasised the solidarity shown by eight media organisations that coordinated to publish the material under "Initiative 143," quoting Slidstvo.Info founder and editor Anna Babinets, who called the collective action an unprecedented display of professional solidarity. Reporting foregrounds the institutional detail of which courts and judges were involved and the procedural posture of the case. Anti-Corruption Action Centre executive director Dariya Kalenyuk framed the episode as further evidence that Ukraine needs DBR reform with independent selection of the bureau's head, as required by the EU.

Where reporting differs

Sources differ on the exact date the original ban became known: some cite 7 July, when Slidstvo.Info reported receiving the ruling, while others give a 6–7 July window. The simultaneous publication under "Initiative 143" is described in some accounts as the coordinated action of eight outlets, while other sources refer more generally to "several Ukrainian media outlets, including Babel," publishing the material despite the ban.

Background

Oleksandr Sukhachov, originally from Kharkiv, was a sole proprietor renting out real estate from 2007 to 2015 and in 2018–2020 became the owner of 143 apartments and office premises in the Kharkiv complexes "IT-Park Manufaktura" and "Urban City," built by "Stroy City." The apartments were purchased at balance-sheet values of 20,000–50,000 hryvnias, orders of magnitude below market price. During 2021 searches at "Stroy City," police found seals and financial documents belonging to a company of Oleksandr Sukhachov, suggesting links to the developer. In December 2022, with Oleksiy Sukhachov heading the DBR, a deputy prosecutor general assigned the "Stroy City" case to the DBR's main investigative department; no suspects were named, and in August 2025 the case was transferred to the National Police and ultimately closed. Oleksiy Sukhachov graduated from the Kharkiv Law Academy, began his law-enforcement career in the SBU, and during the years his brother was acquiring the apartments worked in the Prosecutor General's Office and served in the Foreign Intelligence Service.