Sternenko was driving an armored car. The suspect said she fell in love with the FSB officer
The suspect and her lawyer (Photo: Denys Bulavin / hromadske)

Volunteer Serhiy Sternenko, who was assassinated on May 1, was driving an armored car. It saved the driver's life,, said in his Telegram channel.

According to Sternenko, he took a set of security measures, including renting an armored car, after the murder of Odesa activist Demian Hanul on March 14. It was after that that he realized that the Russians might try to kill him as well.

"We rented an armored car for this purpose. By the way, it saved the driver's life – the bullet did not pierce his door. But it pierced two wheels. My income would allow me to buy such a car. But I give most of my earnings to the army and pay for my own security," said the volunteer .

According to him, on May 1, his security detail was mixed: his bodyguard was the first to leave, and the third was an "alpha". It was the latter who neutralized the woman who tried to commit the assassination attempt. Sternenko was taken to the hospital by a driver.

"I understand that many creatures would like to see me dead. That's why they don't like the guards and the bad car. But I'd rather be a living 'scoundrel' than to be liked by the FSB supporters. Dead," Sternenko summarized .

He thanked the head of the SBU Vasyl Malyuk and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for their attention to this case.

Meanwhile, on May 2, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv imposed a preventive measure on the suspect – detention without bail, , according to Hromadske. She pleaded guilty and is ready to cooperate with the investigation.

The woman's lawyer, Anatoliy Yurchenko, said that she allegedly did not know that she was working for Russia. Representatives of the special service posed as employees of the Security Service of Ukraine and convinced the woman that Sternenko allegedly worked for the FSB and that "the arrivals in Kyiv were his work." That is why he had to be eliminated .

The suspect herself stated in court that she had "fallen in love" with her Russian curator. She did not know the volunteer.

"At first I was intimidated, and then I fell in love with this man... We talked on Viber, I didn't see his photo. I fell in love with his words," she said .

  • on May 1, 2025, Sternenko reported that he had been attacked. Later, the SBU confirmed that officers of the special service prevented the murder of the activist and detained the attacker .
  • Later, he reported that he had undergone surgery: "The bullet went through and through. It didn't hit anything important. I'm trying to think about it". A video of the attempted murder of the volunteer.
  • also appeared. On May 2, the SBU served the woman with a notice of suspicion under two articles: high treason and attempted murder of a well-known volunteer. According to law enforcement, at the end of 2024, the suspect was remotely recruited by Russian special services when she was looking for "quick money" on the Internet.
FSBassassination attemptSerhiy Sternenko