Sergey Sternenko

Biography

Sergey Sternenko (born March 20, 1995, Sadovoe village, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky district, Odessa region, Ukraine) - Ukrainian public figure, blogger, volunteer. Chairman of the public organization "Caring", founder and active participant of "People's Lustration", former member of the wire and head of the Odessa regional organization "Right Sector" (2014-2017). Sternenko runs the popular YouTube channel STERNENKO, where he comments on news and streams for viewers. As of May 2024, the channel has 1.92 million subscribers and more than 901 million views, which makes it one of the most popular in the Ukrainian-language segment. Born into the family of a border guard and a teacher, he has two younger brothers. Until 2014, he was promoting groups on social networks and trying to start a career as a hip-hop performer. At the end of 2013, he joined the Euromaidan in Odessa, participated in the revolutionary events in Kyiv, in particular, in the confrontations on Grushevsky Street on February 20, 2014. Graduated from Odessa College of Economics, Law and Hotel and Restaurant Business (2016) and Odessa University. Mechnikova (2019) with a degree in Law. In 2022, he received a master's degree from the Institute of International Relations of the Kyiv National University. Taras Shevchenko, majoring in International Law. Works as a legal consultant at Oscar T. Sternenko was actively involved in social activities, including being a participant in the confrontation on May 2, 2014 in Odessa, organizing actions against pro-Russian politicians and concerts of Russian artists. He was among the organizers of the blockade of occupied Crimea in the fall of 2015 and other measures against corruption and pro-Russian figures.

He was among the organizers of the blockade of occupied Crimea in the fall of 2015 and other measures against corruption and pro-Russian figures. Sergei experienced several attacks in 2018, which are included in the so-called “Gandzyuk List”. After participating in protests against the destruction of the Summer Theater in Odessa and actions against Russian cultural expansion, he was attacked three times, but the police did not provide him with security. During Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sternenko joined the Gonor unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces. He also actively criticizes Russian aggression and calls for the protection of Ukraine.

Second attack

Second attack On May 1, 2018, in Odessa, an armed attack was committed against Sternenko. Sergei Sternenko and his girlfriend Natalya Usatenko intended to attend a communist rally, which was supposed to take place near the opera house, in order to photograph it. When Sternenko was leaving the courtyard of the house, two shots were heard. The attacker shot him in the back of the neck with a traumatic pistol, and then, during the arrest, shot at eyewitnesses to the incident. The attacker was caught red-handed; he turned out to be Abzal Baikumashev, previously convicted of robbery. At the scene of the attack, there was a car belonging to the family of Ruslan Forostyak, an adviser to the ex-head of the Odessa police, Dmitry Golovin. The car was driven by Konstantin Karbenyuk, then he was a combat sports coach in one of the clubs in Odessa, and later an activist of the Right Sector, expelled from the PS after a conflict with Sergei Sternenko. Dmitry Golovin was the first to publicly voice this version in an interview with Left Bank.

Third attack

On May 24, 2018, a third attack was committed on Sternenko and his girlfriend Natalya Usatenko in Odessa. One of the two attackers, Ivan Kuznetsov, a resident of the city of Chernomorsk, was wounded with a knife in the heart and stomach, from which he died. Another attacker, Alexander Isaikul, was able to escape, but was detained by police within 24 hours. He was subsequently released and is a witness in the case, but later he fled from Ukraine to Moldova, then moved to Germany, and is now in Russia. During the attack, Sergei Sternenko received a stab wound to his arm (arterial bleeding in his left arm) and a concussion. He was undergoing outpatient treatment at Odessa Hospital No. 1, where he was hospitalized after the attack. However, on the morning of May 26, the day after the attack, medical care was stopped without warning, citing a discharge from the hospital made at 10:30 on May 25. They discharged him secretly, also retroactively. Those who ordered the attack on Sternenko have not been identified. According to Sternenko himself, the attempt on his life could have been organized by Alexander Podobedov and Vitaly Posuvaylo. Subsequently, a witness appeared in the case of the attack on Sergei Sternenko, who spoke about the customer, the motives of the attackers and the price that they offered to pay to the perpetrator of the assassination attempt. On May 20, 2018, Kuznetsov met with a witness and said that Podobedov received an order from Trukhanov to “break the Nazi Sternenko,” who was interfering with him. Kuznetsov was looking for an assistant for this task and offered to pay $1,000 for it. Journalists of "Investigation. Info" found evidence, a map with the routes of movement of the attackers on the evening of the assassination attempt, where one of the documents indicated that shortly before the attack, four people - the attackers Isaikul and Kuznetsov, as well as Podobedov and Posuvaylo - met not far from the scene of the assassination attempt,

in regional council park. It was Podobedov who brought Kuznetsov there. The investigation has information about the movements of these four people on the evening of the attack on Sternenko, but none of them has yet been declared a suspect, and the Podobedovs from Posuvaylo are not even witnesses in the case. In October 2019, the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine withdrew the case of Sergei Sternenko from the police and transferred it to the Main Investigation Department of the SBU due to the possible involvement of Odessa police officers in organizing the attack on the activist. The third attack on Sternenko came out loud, against pro-Russian politicians and Ukrainophobes, such as Andriy Portnov, Vadym Rabinovich, Maxim Buzhansky, Olena Bondarenko, Anatoly Shariy, Olena Lukash, Illya Kiva, Oleksandr Dubin this and that other. People's deputies from the OPZH faction are constantly urging Sternenko to be charged with criminal charges for the article "intelligent killing" in the beginning of 2018 by submitting appeals to the Shevchenko court of Kiev to Mikhail Dobkin, TOV "Lasmak" and the ICTV channel, asking the court to find Dobkin's claims unreliable: “Do you know why Sternenko will not receive anything for killing a military officer? The one who is guilty of the SBU peak. With his help, the service staged concerts in Odessa, attacked “wrong” rallies and carried out other illegal actions. In shortcomings." On November 30, 2018, the Shevchenko court recognized the satisfied call for renewed commitment, and did not discredit the decision. On June 6, 2020, Sternenko filed a summons to the Shevchenko court in Kiev before the pro-Russian propagandist Anatoly Shariy, TV channel 112, asking the court to find Shariy’s accusations untruthful: “waving a powerful knife, and then starting to harass him”; “having caught up with the man and stabbed her in the heart with a knife.”

“He lives in a rift, then catches up with a person who lives in a rift, and stabs him in the heart with a knife.” On June 15, 2022, the Shevchenko court found a satisfied call in full agreement, but did not discredit the decision. In the spring of 2015, the criminal case against Sternenko was destroyed for suspicion of stolen spring 20 15th anniversary of the Kominternivsky district deputy of the Odessa region Sergey Shcherbych. Over the years, Shcherbich became an ally of the mayor of Odessa, Gennady Trukhanov, and a member of his party “Trust the Right.” In 2015, Sternenko filed an appeal to the regional prosecutor's office, the SBU and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the possible attraction of Serhiy Shcherbich to criminal status through his anti-Ukrainian activity. Shcherbych then actively acted against the Ukrainian army, calling for the destruction of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and serving until the importation of aunties from Kiev at the hour of the Revolution of Honest. There were no active actions from the side of law enforcement agencies for one hundred Shcherbich, and from before Serhiy Sternenko, the special police department “Sokil” was lost, having placed him in a pre-trial detention center. This happened a few days after Sternenko’s post on Facebook, in which he wrote: “Let’s die, Petro Poroshenko.” Sternenko was accused of stealing and giving bodily treatments to Shcherbich with the aim of getting him money in the amount of 300 UAH. After the appeal, Sergey Sternenko vyshov under the outpost of 60 thousand. UAH View of the justice in court for a difficult hour “standing on the spot”, the fragments of the victims (Sergiy Shcherbich) were able to bear witness. In the end, on February 23, 2021, Sternenko was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in prison with the confiscation of half of his property. After the appointment of Iryna Venediktova as the Prosecutor General, according to her former deputy Viktor Trepak

she "showed great interest in this case (the third attack on Serhiy Sternenko) and during the first conversation about it, she told me that it was necessary to immediately inform Sternenko of the suspicion that he had committed a crime ". A few days later, Venediktova confirmed that "Sternenko will be suspected in any case." Andrii Radionov, the senior prosecutor in the Sternenko case, refused to sign a charge against Serhiy due to lack of evidence, after which he withdrew from the case altogether. At the same time, Radionov appealed to the KDKP with a complaint against the Prosecutor General. Later, the case was transferred to another prosecutor and other investigators, and in September 2020, Sternenko was charged with the crime of "intentional murder" (due to the third attack). The case is still pending.

2021

On January 29, the judge of the Primorsky District Court of Odesa Serhiy Kichmarenko granted the request of the defense, releasing Sternenko on bail to People's Deputy Roman Lozynsky ("The Voice"). On February 23, Sternenko was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in prison with confiscation of half of his property in the kidnapping case. The verdict concerns the case of the kidnapping of local deputy Serhiy Shcherbich. Sternenko was found guilty under the following articles: Part 2 of Art. 146, Part 2 of Art. 187 and Part 1 of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code, but Serhiy was released from liability under the article on kidnapping due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. After the verdict was handed down, clashes with the police took place at the court, activists blocked the exit from the court, parked their cars and blocked the exit. The verdict provoked protests in various cities of Ukraine, which highlighted the persecution, lack of evidence, the closedness and involvement of the court, as well as the communist views of Judge Viktor Popryvych. Commenting on the verdict, Sternenko indicated that it was handed down under pressure from the Office of the President and that the verdict was initially acquitted, but the judge rewrote it under pressure from the Deputy Chairman of the OP Oleg Tatarov, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and Odesa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov, who "covers" the president Zelensky On February 27 and March 20, mass protests in support of Sternenko took place near the President's Office in Kyiv. On April 9, the Odesa Court of Appeal changed Serhiy Sternenko's preventive measure to 24-hour house arrest. On May 31, the last session of the Court of Appeal of Odesa took place regarding the case of Serhiy Sternenko about the kidnapping of a person - the local pro-Russian deputy Serhiy Shcherbich. The activist was found guilty under Articles 146 and 263 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 3 years in prison with a 1-year suspended sentenc

2022

On February 10, a meeting of the Criminal Court of Cassation took place in the case of Sternenko and Ruslan Demchuk. The decision of the Primorsky District and Appeal Courts of the city of Odessa in relation to Part 1 of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code (for Sternenko’s “storage” of one cartridge), however, the sentence under Art. 146 (“Abduction”) was left. Thus, the activist’s criminal record was cleared. In addition, he promises to file a claim with the European Court of Human Rights under Article 146 of the Criminal Code. On February 24, the day the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war began, Sternenko entered the territorial defense of Kyiv, where he was involved for some time in patrolling and providing cover for the work of the 72nd brigade. He also volunteered and raised funds for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On October 11, together with the Sergei Pritula Foundation, Sternenko managed to collect 352 million hryvnia in donations for revenge on the Russians.

Support promotions

After the third attack on Sternenko, Internet users began posting photographs on social networks in which they were holding knives. Thus, the Ukrainians demonstrated that everyone has the right to self-defense. A flash mob #I_also_have_a knife was launched on Twitter.

May 2020

On May 5, 2020, ultras "Dynamo" Kyiv "WBC Ultras Dynamo" announced that if suspicion is announced against activist Sergei Sternenko, they will immediately announce a general mobilization and gathering for a protest. The initiative of the ultras "Dynamo" (Kyiv) was supported by other ultras, including "Rodichi" (Dynamo), Lviv "Carpathians", Donetsk "Shakhtar", Lutsk "Volyn", Kherson "Krystal", Zaporozhye "Metallurg", Odessa "Chernomorets" "(Sector 8+8), Ivano-Frankivsk "Prykarpattya", Nikolaev "Nikolaev", Simferopol "Tavriya", Kharkov "Metalist" and "Nord Side Fir", Chernigov "Desna", Kiev "Obolon-Brovar", Kovel Ultras , Luhansk “Zarya”, Poltava “Vorskla”, Khmelnytsky “Podolia” and others. The ultras of the most titled club in Georgia, Dynamo Tbilisi, also expressed support for Sergei Sternenko. On May 5, 2020, Sternenko supported the NGO “Captulation Resistance Movement.” On May 6, rallies in support of activist Sergei Sternenko were held in nine cities of Ukraine (Kyiv, Odessa, Lvov, Dnieper, Kherson, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lutsk, Kharkov and Ternopil). In Kyiv, the action took place near the President’s Office; during the action, images of Sergei Sternenko were broadcast onto the building with the slogans “Hands off Sternenko” and “I have the right to protection.” In Lviv, the action took place near the Regional Prosecutor's Office, where the participants of the action included on a projector a photograph of Sternenko with the inscription “Hands off Sternenko” and “I have the right to self-defense.” Former and Minister of Health of Ukraine Ulyana Suprun said:

> Protecting your life is a natural human right, also enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one and nothing can disturb it, take it away or destroy it. To persecute a person because he does not allow himself to be silently killed is absurd. Trying to punish a person for defending his life is absurd. Covering up real criminals, corrupt officials and those who have been robbing Ukrainians for years is absurd. Living in a country where all this is possible is absurd. On May 18, 2020, a rally in support of Sternenko was held in Kyiv near the SBU building. According to Sternenko, on that day he was supposed to be charged with premeditated murder, but this did not happen due to public outcry. In June 2020, Ukrainian tennis player Sergei Stakhovsky assessed the trial of Sternenko this way: > Instead of a trial of the attackers, we have a trial of the victim.

February 2021

On February 24, 2021, the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ruslan Martsinkov, convened an extraordinary session of the city council due to the imprisonment of Sergei Sternenko. At the same time, deputies of the Kalush City Council appealed to the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky with a demand to immediately take personal control of the case of Sergei Sternenko and ensure an objective and impartial consideration of it by the appellate authority.

Personality

is not afraid to go against the system and the authorities, actively speaking out against corruption and injustice. He was the leader of the Right Sector in Odessa. He participated in numerous protests and clashes with pro-Russian forces. He is devoted to his ideals. Sergey actively maintains his blog and social networks, where he covers important public issues and draws attention to the problems of corruption and human rights violations. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has been actively involved in volunteer activities, raising funds and helping the Ukrainian military.