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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
While rescuers in the Solomianskyi and Darnytskyi districts of Kyiv were retrieving the bodies of Kyiv residents from under the rubble, a few kilometers away in an upscale restaurant on Pavlo Skoropadskyi Street, expensive champagne was flowing. Members of the High Council of Justice — the body that daily punishes judges for “unethical conduct outside of service” — gathered during working hours to celebrate the resignation of their colleague Dmytro Lukyanov.
This is reported by Sudovo-Yurydychna hazeta.
The morning of 20 August began in horror for every Kyiv resident. The Russian massive attack on the capital lasted for nearly nine hours. When the first rays of sunlight broke through the thick smoke over destroyed buildings in the Solomianskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Darnytskyi districts, rescuers continued clearing rubble and searching for people. According to official KMVA data, the number of dead rose to 15 people, including children. The following day, 21 August, was declared a day of mourning in Kyiv.
But at the same time, while search-and-rescue operations and emergency work were underway at more than 10 locations, in the heart of the capital — in the upscale Italian restaurant “Mario Ristorante Italiano” — a completely different atmosphere prevailed. There, under the wail of sirens and the echo of alarms that continued to tear through the airspace, a banquet began. The occasion was weighty: a former member of the High Council of Justice threw a large-scale celebration of his resignation. Current colleagues readily joined him, arriving in their cars in the middle of the workday.
This event is not simply a sign of moral blindness. It is a verdict on a system of double standards that the main judicial governing body has built up for years. A body that punishes ordinary judges for the smallest ethical lapses has demonstrated a complete loss of its own moral compass.
Who attended the resignation celebration?
The banquet was organized in honor of the end of Dmytro Lukyanov’s term, who was elected a member of the High Council of Justice in 2022 by the quota of the congress of representatives of higher legal educational institutions and scientific institutions. His four-year term officially expired the day before, 19 August 2026.
Lukyanov decided to celebrate his resignation immediately, on 20 August. Despite the fact that it was a Thursday — an official working day when the HCJ should have been considering disciplinary complaints and deciding the fate of thousands of blocked court cases — the HCJ members moved together to the restaurant.
Among the guests who arrived in luxury cars, key actors of the judiciary were recorded:
Hryhorii Usyk — chair of the High Council of Justice and a person who, given his position, should be one of the main exemplars of professional ethics and integrity for the entire judicial system. He was elected to the HCJ by the XX Congress of Judges of Ukraine on 16 August 2022. He arrived at the event in an official car. The vehicle in question is captured in photo and video materials available to the editorial office.
Today Usyk heads the body responsible, among other things, for issues of judicial discipline and professional ethics. From the chair of the HCJ, society reasonably expects not only oversight of others’ compliance with ethical standards, but also personal adherence to those standards.
Mykola Moroz — HCJ member elected on 15 August 2022 by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine under the parliamentary quota. His powers were to end in August 2026.
Tetiana Spiridonova — judge of the Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal, elected a member of the HCJ on 11 March 2026 by the XX regular Congress of Judges of Ukraine. Only a few months ago she took the oath, committing to diligently, honestly and impartially exercise her powers and adhere to professional ethics.
Oksana Kvasha — HCJ member elected in November 2023 by the congress of representatives of higher legal educational institutions and scientific institutions. Vitalii Makhinchuk — HCJ member appointed in October 2025 by the President of Ukraine.
Also at the event were Yuliia Bokova, Tetiana Bondarenko, Olha Popikova and Olena Kovbiy — HCJ members elected by the respective congresses in 2023 and 2026.
Roman Maselko was also recorded at the event — literally a few days after the end of his powers in the HCJ. So while for the current members of the Council this meeting was a working day, for Maselko it was already a meeting with former colleagues. His presence adds another stroke to the event: formally he has left the Council, but apparently has not left its inner circle of socializing.
The presence of all the named persons is confirmed by photo and video documentation. All materials were recorded and provided to the editorial office by colleagues and concerned citizens.
Menu under the wail of sirens
While Kyiv residents were helping evacuate neighbors from partially destroyed entrances in Solomianska, tables for guests were already set at Mario.
The restaurant’s menu included oysters, which cost 200 – 230 UAH apiece, antipasti with truffle honey — 770 UAH, veal carpaccio — up to 665 UAH, and Scottish salmon tartare — up to 665 UAH. Argentine ribeye — up to 2190 UAH per portion, and a fruit plate — nearly 2 thousand.
Most striking is the wine list: Cristal Louis Roederer — 34 800 UAH per bottle, and Veuve Clicquot — 9000 UAH.
Whether those specific items were ordered is a separate question that requires confirmation. These are only menu prices, not confirmation of actual orders.
But the assortment and prices already give an idea of the level of the establishment and the format of the event. This list of dishes and alcohol during the shelling of the capital looks not simply like a resignation party, but like a moral detachment from the reality in which the country lives.
Where did HCJ members lose ethics and integrity?
The High Council of Justice, according to the law, is an independent constitutional body tasked with forming an honest and highly professional corps of judges, and ensuring compliance with professional ethics. Yet the behavior of the Council’s own members directly contradicts the standards they apply to others.
Members of the Council are obliged to adhere to the ethical standards established for judges both in their activities and outside them.
Let us turn to the HCJ’s own official decisions where they assessed “unethical behavior” of judges:
On duties outside of service (Decision in the case of Judge Shymchyk R.V.):
In its decision the HCJ emphasized: “behavior — both during the administration of justice and outside of service — must meet standards that do not give rise to reasonable doubts about the honesty, independence and impartiality of the judiciary.” It also stated that “unethical behavior toward participants in the process, etc., leads to a decline in authority, making such behavior incomprehensible to society.” A restaurant celebration during the death of fellow citizens is precisely the behavior that is absolutely “incomprehensible to society.”
On observance of working hours (Decision in the case of Judge Kiktenko S.O.)
The Third Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ (a body to which, incidentally, Dmytro Lukyanov himself previously signed) held a judge accountable for being absent from the workplace, noting: “systematic and unjustified absence from the workplace during working hours... has the signs of intentional evasion of the administration of justice and is a ground for disciplinary sanction.” The HCJ emphasized that absence without valid reasons is “one of the most serious disciplinary offenses.” The question arises whether the HCJ members’ presence in the restaurant during working hours was related to the exercise of official duties and whether it was properly coordinated.
On public trust (Decision in the case of Judge Usatov D.D.)
The HCJ repeatedly stated that a judge, and therefore an HCJ member, is obliged to “demonstrate and maintain high standards of conduct in any activity in order to strengthen public trust in the court” and to be a “model of decency outside professional activity.”
How does celebrating on the day of a tragedy strengthen public trust?
These decisions expose both legal and moral contradictions: judges are held accountable for ethical violations, while members of the HCJ, called to be exemplars of integrity, demonstrate contempt for basic standards of conduct.
Who paid for the banquet?
According to information received by the editorial office, the bill for the event may have been paid by Dmytro Lukyanov. If this information is confirmed, this raises not only an ethical question, but also a concrete question regarding compliance with anti-corruption legislation.
For current HCJ members, having their treat paid for by another person could potentially be regarded as receiving a gift. Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine “On Preventing Corruption” establishes restrictions on the receipt of gifts by officials. Of course, the mere fact that someone else paid the restaurant bill does not automatically constitute a corruption offense — for legal assessment the specific circumstances, the cost of the treat and the status of the person who paid it matter.
So there is a simple question that deserves a simple answer: who exactly paid the bill, for what amount and for whom?
If the treat was indeed paid by a former HCJ member for his current colleagues, this is at least a reason to check whether such a situation complies with the legal restrictions on gifts.
Then the question is no longer just what was on the table, but who paid for that table and which HCJ member will be the first to dare to enter this upscale meal in their declaration of integrity?
European standards: how similar scandals are dealt with in the West?
In countries with developed democracies, even much smaller ethical missteps lead to the immediate end of political careers and public condemnation. European officials know well that reputation is their main capital.
In the United Kingdom in 1998 two close friends of Prime Minister Tony Blair — Trade and Industry Minister Peter Mandelson and millionaire Jeffrey Robinson — were forced to resign immediately. Because Mandelson took a private loan from Robinson of 627 000 dollars to buy a house at a low interest rate. Although the fact of breaking the law was not proven, Blair immediately signed the resignations so as not to allow even a shadow of doubt about the integrity of his government.
In Sweden Deputy Prime Minister Mona Sahlin was at the center of the so-called “Toblerone scandal.” It turned out she had used a government credit card for personal purchases, including a Toblerone chocolate bar. Although the funds were returned, Sahlin withdrew her candidacy for prime minister and resigned. Later, in 2016, she ultimately left public life after a scandal involving a forged certificate for a bodyguard.
In France in 2019 the Minister of Ecology and the second person in François de Rugy’s government resigned after an investigation by Mediapart. Journalists published photos of his lavish dinners with lobsters and expensive wine paid for from the state budget under the guise of “working meetings.” De Rugy tried to defend himself, but public condemnation forced him to leave the government.
Rotten fish starts at the head
Today Ukraine’s judicial system is working on the edge of physical survival. More than 2100 judicial vacancies have been recorded in the country’s courts, causing millions of Ukrainians to wait years for simple and lawful decisions because there is physically no one to hear the cases. Current judges are working at 200–300% of the standard workload.
And at the same time the High Council of Justice, which is supposed to rescue the system, fill it with people of integrity and serve as a moral compass, holds parties during working hours in restaurants.
The behavior of HCJ members is no longer simply a matter of professional ethics. Against the backdrop of a massive attack on Kyiv and the loss of life, such demonstrative behavior looks like contempt for society, the military and Kyiv residents who that day lost loved ones and were clearing rubble.
How will these people look their fellow judges in the eye, whom they punish for unethical behavior? How will they demand integrity from candidates if they themselves cannot resist free Cristal during working hours?
This event proves that judicial reform will not yield results until a real cleansing of the cleansing body itself takes place. After all, the folk proverb does not lie: fish always rots from the head. And perhaps before demanding “ethics” from ordinary judges in the regions, Ukraine should cleanse the High Council of Justice itself of such representatives.
Editorial note: The material was prepared based on materials and photos provided by colleagues and concerned citizens, HCJ decisions on disciplinary responsibility of judges (No. 1226/3dp/15-24 dated 24.04.2024, No. 486/0/15-25 dated 11.03.2025, No. 1623/1dp/15-21 dated 21.07.2021), the Law of Ukraine “On Preventing Corruption,” the NACP report on gift limits, KMVA official data on the consequences of the Kyiv shelling 20.08.2026 and European practice of political responsibility.
Author: Volodymyr Pravo
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "15 загиблих у Києві — і шампанське для ВРП: суддя Усик та його колеги святкували відставку Лук’янова у розпал робочого дня". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: HAB Media.
