Serhii Sternenko

Serhii Sternenko (Сергій Стерненко, born 20 March 1995) is a Ukrainian far-right social activist, lawyer, and YouTuber.

As of 2023, his YouTube channel has over 1.5 million subscribers.

He is the head of the non-government organization Nebayduzhi (Небайдужі), one of the founders of the People's Lustration, and a former board member and head of the Odesa regional branch of Right Sector, a coalition of Right-wing groups that includes ultranationalist and neo-nazi elements.

He was an active participant in the Revolution of Dignity, including the 2014 Odesa clashes.

Sternenko was the target of three assassination attempts.

Prior to 2014, he was a social media pr manager and tried to start a career as a hip hop artist.

Sternenko was an active participant in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and is one of the founders of the Lustration in Ukraine.

He is also a civil activist and lawyer, and served as the head of the non-government organization Nebayduzhi and as a former board member and head of the Odesa regional branch of the Right Sector.

His participation in the Euromaidan movement began in January 2014 in Odesa.

Later, he traveled to Kyiv, where he was present on Hrushevsky Street during the riots and police shootings on February 20, 2014.

After the establishment of "Right Sector" in Odesa on February 5, 2014, on March 22 of the same year, he was appointed to head the regional branch of the organization.

During the 2014 Odesa clashes, he was said to have personally saved two people from the burning House of Trade Unions building.

He was also one of the organizers of the so-called "trash lustration".

On September 30, 2014, he participated, along with other activists of the Right Sector, Automaidan, Euromaidan, and Self-Defense, in the "trash lustration" of Nestor Shufrych, who came to Odesa for a meeting of the "Opposition Bloc" party.

Nestor Shufrych tried to run away, which caused a scuffle, as a result of which the deputy received injuries.

Sternenko took part in many other activities in Odesa during this time, including: shutting off spice drug trafficking circles in Odesa by Right Sector, the disruption of the concerts of Ani Lorak and Svitlana Loboda in Odesa in 2014, the picketing of the Russian consulate, the blockade of the occupied Crimea in the fall of 2015, the criminal prosecution of Igor Bychkov (caught for bribing the head doctor of the Rozdilnya Central District Hospital, who was sentenced to five years), assisting in the conviction of Valentin Dubovenko (involved in corruption schemes and abuse of official position), and other measures.

On September 13, 2015, in Odesa, Sternenko was one of the organizers of the "March in Support of Political Prisoners" for Andrey Medvedko and Denis Polischuk, who were accused of murdering pro-Russian commentator Oles Buzina.

In 2015, Sternenko's house in Odesa was searched.

The activist voluntarily handed to law enforcement officials his air gun, a collectible knife, and a noise pistol.

Serhii Shcherbych had accused Sternenko of his alleged abduction, alleging that Sternenko wanted to steal ₴300 (about US$11).

Sternenko denied ever having met Shcherbych; according to court proceedings other members of Right Sector did.

Shcherbych was a deputy of the Lyman Raion Council for the pro-Russian Rodina party who was accused of organising so-called titushky (criminal gangs hired to beat up anti-government protesters).

In 2015, Sternenko sharply criticized Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, saying in particular: "Poroshenko's regime put even more people behind bars than Viktor Yanukovych's bandit regime did at the time".

In June 2016, he graduated from the Odesa College of economics, law, hotel and restaurant business majoring in "Jurisprudence", as a junior specialist in law.

He then started working as a legal consultant at the company "Оскар Т".

On November 15, 2016, he appealed to the court with a lawsuit against a professor of the Faculty of History of Odesa National University, Olena Radzikhovska.

In 2018, he became visible in the media after the third attempt.

It is believed that the "manhunt" was organized by supporters of pro-Russian groups and their sympathizers.

During the incident, one of the two attackers died and the second fled abroad.

As a result, Sternenko has been accused of exceeding the limits of self-defence.

The police formally charged him with premeditated murder and possession of weapons without permit.

However, Andrii Radionov, the senior prosecutor in the case, refused to sign the charges, claiming that the case and the evidence in the case are biased and do not comply with the legislation of Ukraine.

The case against Sternenko received considerable media attention and prompted hundreds of activists to gather near the court building in support of Sternenko.

Hundreds of security officers were called upon to restrain the people.

Sternenko is a native of the village of Sadove, located on the banks of Dniester Estuary near Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.

Serhii's father is a former border guard, his mother is a teacher.

In 2019, he graduated from the Odesa Mechnykov National University, majoring in "Jurisprudence".

In 2022, he graduated from the master's degree at the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, majoring in International Law.

He also practices judo.

He lived in Odesa, but after a series of attempts on his life, he moved to Kyiv.