12.06.2025 Investigations

Schemes for obtaining the status of a combatant by former prosecutors without combat experience

Vadym Stolar, a Kyiv developer, a businessman with a mandate and influence, seems to be being turned into a financial instrument. Not an ally, not a client. He is being turned into a resource and a source of income. And this is being done by none other than his own “lawyer” Vitaliy Opanasenko from the group of former Chief Military Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios. And we only have time to record how this scheme is working. And how Stolar is being dragged deeper and deeper into it.

It all started in a trivial way. We publish an investigation where Stolar is mentioned in the context of construction fraud in Kyiv, land allocation, permits that smell, to put it mildly, of doubt. Not from Stolar, not from the press service, not through a lawyer’s request. It came from Vitaliy Opanasenko, who complained about reputational risks and violations of his honor and dignity, all because of our publications.

At first, Opanasenko himself, on behalf of third parties, asked us to investigate specific figures, and after we refused to continue cooperation and our independent research into Stolar’s business assets, he began to put pressure. Through the media, the courts, the Ministry of Justice, and the bar.

Moreover, in the cooperation between Stolar and Opanasenko, the latter acts not as a human rights activist and lawyer, but as an arsonist. He set the fire himself and came to put it out. But he bills Mr. Stolar personally.

Thus, for more than a year of investigations by the NGO Non-Stop Ukraine into the shadow side of the businessman’s business activities, Opanasenko and Matios’s group have managed to initiate:

  1. Sending deceptive letters on our behalf to various law enforcement and regulatory agencies, especially the BES and the SBI, stating that Non-Stop Ukraine was not involved in the materials sent to them, exposing Kyiv land schemes, and requesting that they be left without consideration and that only materials provided in person with a power of attorney be accepted.
  2. Dissemination of paid-for articles on well-known resources such as Insider, Black Box, Absolution, Monaco Battalion and others, where we are the main “enemies of the people.” By the way, Opanasenko did not hesitate to spend tens of thousands of dollars on our PR. This did not harm us in any way, but only added to our views. Free PR? Thank you, Vitaliy.
  3. The procedure of depriving the head of the NGO “Non-Stop Ukraine” of his lawyer’s certificate. However, by the decision of the Poltava District Administrative Court, the right of K.I. Yakovets was restored, and attempts to stop our activities were again failed.
  4. Raiding of the NGO “Non-Stop”. Through corrupt cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Olga Stefanishyna, our NGO “Non-Stop” was re-registered to unknown people. Thus, the organization, along with three court proceedings, went to the pounds of respected raiders. So, we can only thank you for saving our time and wish you good luck in preparing for court hearings and reimbursement of property claims.

And here’s the final chord: a lawsuit filed by Opanasenko’s representative, lawyer Shevchenko. The text is banal, the arguments are weak, and the main point is to put pressure on us to spend our resources. And again, to bill the client for obstructing the work of the NGO “Non-Stop” in good faith. The former prosecutor is trying to create the illusion of “fighting for the interests of the client”. But the problem is artificial.

And Mr. Stolar, this is a permanent goal. And a constant source of funding.

By the way, an interesting fact surfaced in the materials of the lawsuit: a copy of Opanasenko’s own combatant certificate issued on January 24, 2025. Interestingly, neither the media nor other open resources and personal pages on Opanasenko’s social networks have ever mentioned the lawyer’s combat experience and participation in the defense of Ukraine. So, what was the basis for obtaining the status, and with it the whole range of benefits, reimbursements and financial support? Perhaps his former boss, Prosecutor Matios, helped him, just as he did with obtaining the bar certificate?

For those who do not know, let us tell you. On May 15, 2020, after the liquidation of the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office, where both Matios and Opanasenko held top positions, the Bar Council of Volyn Region suddenly issued bar certificates to 15 former employees of the body and, in part, Matios’s subordinates.

All of them – from ex-deputies to prosecutors – received their bar licenses on the same day, and they provided the same postal addresses for communication in Lutsk (4 Hrushevskoho Ave., lit. A) and Kyiv (35 O. Honchara St., apartment 35).

Therefore, we have a theory that most of the prosecutors or lawyers now have the status of the SBU. This is what we are checking now. We have already sent requests for information from the competent authorities, including information about Opanasenko’s personal combat experience. We have requested documents confirming this, as well as the reasons why the lawyer is not currently defending the country, despite his patriotic position.

And now, dear Vadym Stolar, ask yourself: what do you get out of this game? Scandals, lawsuits, and a deteriorating reputation. And what does Opanasenko get? Money, influence, the opportunity to be “needed”. We are doing our job – exposing corruption, checking facts, protecting the interests of society. It’s not personal for us. But for Opanasenko, it seems to be a way to make money by creating problems for you and then offering to “solve” them.

Don’t you think that you are being deliberately dragged into a meaningless conflict? Opanasenko and Matios, hiding behind the status of the SBU and lawyer’s certificates, are creating enemies for you in order to remain “needed”. But this is not protection – it’s a scheme. And you are paying for it.

We will not stop. Lawsuits, threats, fakes are just fuel for our investigations. Soon we will publish new facts about the activities of Opanasenko, Matios and their “team” – with documents, evidence and specific names. Because the truth is something that cannot be stopped by lawsuits, the status of the SBU, or money.

Follow our investigations. We will tell you everything

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