Serhiy Vyacheslavovych Sternenko—a civic activist, blogger, volunteer, advisor to the Minister of Defense on improving the effectiveness of unmanned aerial vehicles on the front lines, and founder of the “Sternenko Community” charitable foundation.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on March 20, 1995, in the village of Sadove, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi District, Odesa Oblast.
In June 2016, Sternenko graduated from the Odessa College of Economics, Law, and Hospitality and Restaurant Management, where he studied “law” and earned a junior specialist degree in law.
In 2019, he graduated from Mechnikov University in Odesa with a degree in law.
He then enrolled in the master’s program at the Institute of International Relations at Kyiv Shevchenko University, where he studied international law.
Career
Since 2014, Sternenko has been involved in creating and managing online communities. He also worked as a legal counsel at the company “Oscar T.”
In January, he joined the Euromaidan in Odesa and later became its leader. He also took part in the events of the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv, including the clashes on Hrushevsky Street on February 20, 2014.
After the “Right Sector” chapter was established in Odesa on March 22, 2014, Sternenko became the head of the regional organization. During that period, he took part in protests against shops selling “spice” in Odesa.
On September 30, 2014, together with activists from the “Right Sector,” Automaidan, Euromaidan, and Self-Defense, I took part in the “trash lustration” of Nestor Shufrich, who had come to Odesa for an event organized by the “Opposition Bloc.”
In particular, on Sternenko’s initiative, dozens of concerts by Russian and Ukrainian artists who supported the occupation of Crimea or performed in Crimea and the occupied Donbas were canceled in Odesa. Among them were Ani Lorak, Svitlana Loboda, Iryna Bilyk, and Kostyantyn Raikin.
On February 5, 2017, Sternenko resigned and left the “Right Sector. “
On November 18, he was among the participants in a protest against the development of part of the City Garden in Odesa—the Summer Theater. When he learned that he was suspected of organizing mass disturbances, he turned himself in to the police.
On November 24, the Primorsky District Court of Odesa remanded Sternenko in custody for 60 days, but with the option of being released on bail of 600,000 hryvnias. This money was posted by Maksym Stepanov, then-head of the Odesa Regional State Administration (RSA). However, the appellate court revoked the bail and replaced the pretrial measure with a personal commitment.
In April 2018, Sternenko and like-minded individuals founded the nonprofit organization “Nebayduzhi” in Odesa.
Today, the public figure runs the YouTube channel STERNENKO, where he comments on the news almost every day and occasionally hosts live streams.
In January 2026, Sternenko was appointed as an advisor to Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov on improving the effectiveness of drone use on the front lines.
Attacks on Sternenko
On February 7, 2018 , Sternenko was attacked near the building in Odesa where he was living at the time. Two unknown men were waiting for him by the entrance. When the activist went inside, they pounced on him and beat him. He subsequently spent a week in the hospital. The attackers were never found.
On May 1, he was attacked again—this time with a weapon. The assailant shot him in the neck from behind with a non-lethal pistol, and when people tried to detain him, he began firing at bystanders as well. However, he was eventually apprehended. The attacker turned out to be Abzal Baimukashev, a native of Kazakhstan who had obtained a Ukrainian passport in 2003.
On May 24, 2018, in Odesa, Sternenko and his girlfriend, Natalia Usatenko, were attacked for the third time . Afterward, the activist was taken to the hospital with a concussion and a cut on his arm.
During the altercation, one of the attackers—Ivan Kuznetsov, a resident of Chornomorsk—suffered stab wounds to the heart and abdomen and died. The second attacker, Oleksandr Isaykul, fled but was apprehended by police within the next 24 hours.
On May 1, 2025, Sternenko was again the victim of an armed attack. He was wounded, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained the woman who fired the shots.
Criminal Proceedings
On June 11, 2020, Sternenko was charged with intentional homicide and illegal possession of bladed weapons.
On June 15, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv placed him under house arrest for two months. He was charged under Part 1 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—intentional murder—as well as Part 2 of Article 263—carrying a bladed weapon without a permit. That same day, clashes broke out between his supporters and the police near the courthouse.
On June 26, the appeals court postponed consideration of the appeal regarding the pretrial measure until July 3. Ultimately, on July 3, the decision to place the defendant under house arrest was upheld.
On January 29, 2021, the Primorsky District Court of Odesa lifted Sternenko’s house arrest and placed him under the personal guarantee of Roman Lozinsky, a member of parliament from the “Voice” party.
On February 23, the activist was sentenced to 7 years in prison and had half of his property confiscated. He was found guilty in the 2015 case involving the abduction of Serhiy Shcherbych, a member of the Kominternivsk District Council from the “Batkivshchyna” party.
On April 9, Sternenko was released from pretrial detention. After that, he remained under round-the-clock house arrest until June 9, 2021.
On May 31, 2021, the Odessa Court of Appeals overturned an activist’s conviction under the robbery statute. As a result, he received a suspended sentence.
On December 26, 2023, Sternenko announced that the Primorsky District Court of Odessa had dismissed the case regarding his act of self-defense during an attack in 2018, in which one of the attackers was killed.
