Ukrainian activist Sternenko survives shooting attack, suspect detained

Ukrainian Pravda media reported this with reference to sources.

According to the source, the attacker, born in 1979, was originally from Odesa region, but was registered and lived in Kyiv. She rented an apartment in the same building where Sternenko lives and also monitored him visually.

The suspect was preparing to carry out a terrorist attack in the capital, probably on the order of the Russian Federation. The sources of the Ukrainian Pravda noted that after receiving money from Russian special services, the suspect cashed it out through various ATMs and bank cash desks. It is known that on April 15, she rented an apartment in a residential complex in Kyiv, and on May 1, she attempted to kill Sternenko.

Zelenskyy's reaction

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that all the facts of the attack on the activist would be presented to the public.

“The head of the Security Service of Ukraine reported on the investigation into the circumstances of the attack on volunteer Serhiy Sternenko. The Security Service of Ukraine detained the attacker quickly, thank you for that. All the facts about the attack will be presented to the public,” he said in an evening video address.

Attack on Serhiy Sternenko

The activist wrote about this on Telegram.

"I was attacked. I'm injured," Sternenko reported.

He stated that his life is not in danger: “Everything is fine, there is no threat to my life.”

Later, the activist added that law enforcement had detained the attacker. He also thanked the SBU officers for their swift response.

"Thanks to the SBU for their quick reaction. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be able to write anything now," he emphasized.

What does the Security Service say?

According to Ukraine's Security Service, agency officers prevented the murder of Serhiy Sternenko and detained the attacker.

"Security Service officers prevented the murder of well-known civic activist and volunteer Serhiy Sternenko. Today, an attempt was made on his life with a firearm. Thanks to the professional and immediate actions of SBU officers, the attacker was detained at the scene. Serhiy Sternenko’s life is not in danger," the Security Service stated. 

Operational and investigative actions are currently ongoing.

Previous attacks on Serhiy Sternenko

Since 2014, Serhiy Sternenko has been attacked three times. During the most recent attack in 2018, two men attacked him. The former leader of the Odesa branch of the Right Sector was accused of inflicting fatal injuries on one of the attackers, Ivan Kuznetsov. At the time, the second attacker fled the scene.

The prosecution claimed that Sternenko intentionally killed Kuznetsov. After the failed attack, according to the prosecution, Ivan began to flee, but Sternenko allegedly chased him down and inflicted fatal knife wounds.

However, Sternenko denied the prosecution's version, claiming it was self-defense and that he did not chase Kuznetsov. The defendant stated that his attacker began fleeing only after he, in self-defense, injured him.

In 2020, Sternenko was formally charged with intentional murder.

As a result of a Kyiv expert examination conducted in March 2023, it was determined that the attacker, Ivan Kuznetsov, could have run a certain distance after receiving the heart injury. This statement contradicted a previous expert examination, which suggested that Kuznetsov would have lost consciousness within 20 seconds of receiving the injury, making it impossible for him to have run that distance where he was found.

On June 9, 2023, Baymukashev Abzal, one of Sternenko's attackers, was found guilty of attempted murder and illegal possession and handling of weapons. He was sentenced to 10 years.

In December of the same year, the Primorsky District Court of Odesa closed the case against Serhiy Sternenko.