By Flor Blanco and James Bradley, Photo by Photo by Tara Winstead
May 6, 2025 KIEV–In a ruling issued by the Ukrainian Supreme Court held on Tuesday exiled Ukrainian Oleksandr Tupitsky was re-instated as the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The decision acknowledged that the 2021 decree issued by Zelenskyy to repeal Tupitsky’s appointment as Chief Justice was illegal. Tupitsky’s appointment was granted to him under President Viktor Yanukovych in 2013, six years prior to Zelenskyy taking office.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Having looked at the open court session in order to forgive the administrative right for the call of Oleksandr Mykolayovich Tupytsky to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Oleksandrovich Zelensky, the third person, who does not declare independent influence on the subject of the dispute, on reports – Office of the Prosecutor General, regarding the declaration of illegal and inappropriate Decree of the President of Ukraine dated February 26, 2021 No. 79/2021.
DECISION:
The administrative position of Oleksandr Mykolayovich Tupitsky is satisfied.
It is found illegal and ignore the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 26 February 2021 79/2021
The decision represented a break in a seemingly one-sided Ukrainian justice system that was said to have been riddled by corruption seeded by shady players such as US sanctioned Andriy Portnov. Such influence transformed the legal and judicial system of Ukraine into a pyramid scheme, where pay to play transactions were deeply aligned with compliance to Pro-Zelenskyy policies and interests of players like Portnov.
In a recent interview Tupitsky, the exiled judge, recounts the origins of his persecution by the Zelenskyy administration, which worsened after the Constitutional Court’s decision to rule against Zelenskyy’s Land Laws of 2020. During an interview with Uncensored Beat in February of this year, Tupitsky describes the deepening persecution which eventually lead to his exile into Austria and an attempt on his life.
Yet, Tupitsky continued his battle to clear his reputation in the courtroom by winning in the Austrian courthouse, which denied Ukraine’s request to extradite Tupitsky back to Ukraine. Now, this victory is another score for Tupitsky. He has another pending case that is a suit against Zelenskyy for ruining Tupitsky’s reputation.
Despite the win, Tupitsky remains in exile because of the continuing heavy-handed oppression rampant in Ukraine under Zelenskyy’s rule that has lead many fleeing or jailed because of political or religious persecution. The judge’s reluctance to return speaks volumes about the condition of justice in Ukraine today.
It is clear that the perseverance and resolve of Justice Tupitsky is a burden on Zelenskyy. In an interview with Uncensored Beat, Tupitsky shared his legal view that Zelenskyy’s presidency is illegitimate under the Ukrainian Constitution, which does not allow the delay of presidential elections due to martial law, but allows delays for elections of Parliamentary offices under those conditions.
If Tupitsky’s legal opinion was considered accurate, then with whom exactly are world leaders establishing agreements and deals for Ukraine? Will Tupitsky ever have the opportunity to argue his opinion in the halls of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court? Will anyone fight for the return of law and order for the Ukrainian people?