diff --git a/platform/lang-impl/src/com/intellij/refactoring/copy/CopyFilesOrDirectoriesHandler.java b/platform/lang-impl/src/com/intellij/refactoring/copy/CopyFilesOrDirectoriesHandler.java
index 0a14b12f5f60..98434665aae2 100644
--- a/platform/lang-impl/src/com/intellij/refactoring/copy/CopyFilesOrDirectoriesHandler.java
+++ b/platform/lang-impl/src/com/intellij/refactoring/copy/CopyFilesOrDirectoriesHandler.java
@@ -325,6 +325,7 @@ public class CopyFilesOrDirectoriesHandler extends CopyHandlerDelegateBase {
         .toArray(SmartPsiElementPointer[]::new);
       for (SmartPsiElementPointer child : children) {
         PsiFileSystemItem item = (PsiFileSystemItem)child.getElement();
+        LOG.assertTrue(item != null, child.getVirtualFile());
         PsiFile f = copyToDirectory(item, item.getName(), subdirectory, choice, title);
         if (firstFile == null) {
           firstFile = f;