May 06, 2025

Lured to Kill


Lured to Kill
Serhii Sternenko's shooter kneeling on the street with her face covered by her sweater and the weapon she used. Sluzhba Bezpeki Ukraini, Telegram.

On May 1, a 45-year-old woman was arrested in Kyiv after shooting at pro-Ukrainian activist, YouTuber, and army volunteer Serhii Sternenko. The suspect confessed that a man online seduced her into carrying out the attempted murder.

Sternenko has been active in Ukrainian politics since 2014. The Odessa native gained notoriety after becoming a board member of his city's chapter of the Ukrainian ultranationalist organization Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) from 2014 to 2017. And, despite holding a law degree, Sternenko has had run-ins with authorities. He was convicted of kidnapping pro-Russian activist Sergey Shcherbich, but in May 2021, was subsequently acquitted. Currently, he is a volunteer in the Ukrainian army and a YouTuber with over 2 million subscribers.

On May 1, Sternenko posted on his Telegram channel: "[I] was attacked. [I am] wounded." Two minutes later, he said, "Everything ok, there is no threat to life. Russians are idiots." The YouTuber confirmed shortly after that the attacker, a woman, was quickly detained. The Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU) posted a picture of a woman dressed in pink kneeling with her face covered by her sweater and a firearm on the ground nearby. Sternenko said a bullet went "right through" his leg. No vital organs were damaged. Ukrainskaya Pravda obtained security camera footage of the shooting.

The Ukrainian publication Grati identified the shooter as Odessa-born Lyudmila Chumerskaya. She does not have a job. She has a disability and requires hemodialysis. According to the SBU, she was recruited by Russian special services at the end of 2024 while looking for "quick money." At first, she surveilled and photographed cars. Then she was told to assemble an explosive device. On April 15, she moved to Sternenko's building and monitored him. On May 1, Chumerskaya was told where the gun was and was ordered to kill the activist near his home. The shooter did not know the victim.

Chumerskaya's lawyer, Anatoly Yurchenko, said she pleaded guilty and will cooperate with authorities.  During her trial, Yurchenko said "a person she completely trusted" told his client to kill Sternenko. The defense said a man introduced himself as an SBU employee. Then, he motivated Chumerskaya to attack Sternenko for alledgedly cooperating with the FSB and coordinating missile strikes on Kyiv. Even though the woman never met "the SBU employee" personally, she said, "First they intimidated me, and then I fell in love with the person (...) We communicated on Viber, I fell in love with words." She never saw a picture of the man.

The court ordered Chumerskaya arrested for at least two months. Sternenko is convinced Russian special forces are behind his attempted murder. According to him, the assassination could have been sparked by the clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian groups in Odesa on May 2, 2014.

You Might Also Like

With Prayers and Drones
  • April 28, 2025

With Prayers and Drones

Dozens of Orthodox military-patriotic clubs across Russia prepare children for war.
A Posthumous Conviction
  • April 30, 2025

A Posthumous Conviction

Mikhail Khachaturian, murdered by his daughters, was posthumously convicted of sexual violence.
Finn-ancial Crisis?
  • April 14, 2025

Finn-ancial Crisis?

The Finnish parliament has passed a law forbidding Russians from owning real estate in the country.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955