Former Irpin Mayor Karplyuk Lost His Lawsuit Against Iryna Fedoriv
Former Irpin Mayor Volodymyr Karplyuk lost a court case against Iryna Fedoriv, head of the “Holka” civic initiative. He must reimburse her for more than 3,000 hryvnias in court costs. The lawsuit concerned Fedoriv’s column on “Glavkom” about the Bilychansky Forest.
The legal battle between Volodymyr Karplyuk and Iryna Fedoriv lasted more than two years. The former mayor of Irpin filed a lawsuit over the activist’s column on “Glavkom” titled “How Dubinsky’s Canned Goods Dragged Out the Case Regarding the Bilychansky Forest.” The article discussed the situation surrounding the Bilychansky Forest. In particular, the author wrote about the role of Volodymyr Karplyuk and his team from the “New Faces” party in this story. Karplyuk himself claimed that the information presented in the article was inaccurate and damaged his honor, dignity, and professional reputation.
The case was initially heard by the Irpin City Court. At that stage, the ruling went against Iryna Fedoriv. The activist appealed the decision. The Kyiv Court of Appeals ruled in Fedoriv’s favor. The court concluded that the statements in her column constituted value judgments and permissible criticism of a public figure. In other words, the court found no grounds in the article to recognize these statements as a violation of Karplyuk’s rights.
Karplyuk disagreed with this decision and attempted to challenge it in the Supreme Court. However, in September 2026, the Supreme Court refused to open cassation proceedings. Thus, the appellate court’s decision remained in effect. In addition, Volodymyr Karplyuk was ordered to reimburse Iryna Fedoriv for her legal costs, amounting to over 3,000 hryvnias. According to Fedoriv’s attorney, Yuriy Melnyk, these funds have already been paid.
Iryna Fedoriv herself stated that, as is her custom, she will donate the money received from Karplyuk to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For her, this case has become yet another example of how journalists and civic activists can spend years defending themselves in court over reports on topics of public importance.
Fedoriv also drew attention to a phenomenon known as SLAPP lawsuits. These are legal cases that can be used as a means of exerting pressure on journalists, activists, and others who raise issues of public importance. In such cases, defendants are forced to spend time, money, and energy on legal defense instead of their main work. “These lawsuits even have their own name—SLAPP lawsuits. They are filed so that the media or activists spend years devoting their resources not to anti-corruption investigations, but to fighting in court,” Fedoriv noted in a comment to Glavkom.
According to her, such cases can drag on for years. At the same time, civil society organizations and media outlets that provide legal defense to activists do not have unlimited resources. Fedoriv specifically mentioned Bihus.Info and Zmina, which support journalists and civil society activists in such situations. She also highlighted Bill No. 16117, which aims to strengthen the protection of journalists and activists against SLAPP lawsuits. The bill was registered in the Verkhovna Rada at the initiative of Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, chair of the Committee on Freedom of Speech.
The bill’s aim, in particular, is to enable courts to more quickly halt proceedings if it becomes apparent that a lawsuit is being used specifically as a tool of pressure. The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech had previously established a working group to develop mechanisms to counter such lawsuits. This is not Iryna Fedoriv’s first legal case against politicians over publications about the Bilychansky Forest. Previously, People’s Deputy Oleksandr Horobets filed a lawsuit with similar claims. In that case, Fedoriv also won her appeal, and the Supreme Court refused to open cassation proceedings.
Now, the case involving Volodymyr Karplyuk has yielded a similar outcome. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, not only did he fail to have the appellate ruling overturned, but he must also reimburse Iryna Fedoriv for the expenses she incurred during the legal proceedings. This was reported by Iryna Fedoriv’s attorney, Yuriy Melnyk.
