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

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

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.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

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.

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