The court increased the sentence of pro-Russian propagandist Mikhail Shpir: instead of 10 years, it was 15 years in prison

The court has increased the sentence of pro-Russian propagandist and former “political expert” of Viktor Medvedchuk’s TV channels, Mykhailo Shpir. Instead of the previously imposed 10 years of imprisonment, he was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine.

According to the SBU, even before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Shpir regularly appeared on TV channels associated with Viktor Medvedchuk, where he systematically spread Kremlin narratives. In 2020, he left for Moscow, and after the start of the great war, he openly supported the Russian president.

After the occupation of Kherson, the Russian invaders appointed Shpir as the so-called “Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Mass Communications” of the occupation administration.

As reported by the SBU, in this position he contributed to the establishment of the occupation regime, spread Russian propaganda and, during the retreat of Russian troops from the right-bank part of the Kherson region, authorized the blowing up of telecommunications towers. According to the investigation, this was supposed to leave local residents without Ukrainian communications and broadcasting.

In addition, in the summer of 2023, the Russian side awarded Shpir with the medal “Participant in a Special Military Operation”.

The court found him guilty under five articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

Part 2 of Art. 111 — high treason committed under martial law;
Part 5 of Art. 111-1 — collaborationist activity;
Part 1 of Art. 345 — threat to a law enforcement officer;
Art. 436 — propaganda for war;
Parts 2, 3 of Art. 436-2 — justification and denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as glorification of its participants.

The SBU recalled that in 2023 the propagandist had already been sentenced in absentia to 10 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property for encroaching on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. After investigators collected new evidence of his treason, the court revised the sentence and increased the sentence to 15 years in prison. Shpir will begin serving his sentence from the moment of his arrest.

According to the Myrotvorets database, Mykhailo Shpir was born in Ivano-Frankivsk in 1986. In February 2017, he was added to the database as an anti-Ukrainian propagandist and provocateur for distributing anti-Ukrainian materials and inciting interethnic hatred.

It is also known that he was the editor of the magazines “Snob” and “Golden Caste”, and during the 2019 parliamentary elections he acted as an authorized person of the “Opposition Platform — For Life” party in the 52nd district of Donetsk region.

In August 2020, Shpir was beaten in Lviv after his offensive statements against Ukrainians. After that, he left Ukraine and went to Russia.

In March 2021, SBU officers conducted searches at addresses associated with Shpir. During the investigative actions, law enforcement officers discovered documents issued by the Russian Federation, after which he was notified of the suspicion.

In 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine collected new evidence of the pro-Russian propagandist’s treason and announced additional suspicion against him, which became the basis for revising the sentence and increasing the punishment.