SBU: Suspect in Sternenko attack recruited by enemy intelligence services

The suspect in the attack on the well-known volunteer and activist Serhiy Sternenko is a 45-year-old native of Odesa region, recruited by Russian special services.

"The detainee is a 45-year-old native of Odesa region who lived in the capital. At the end of last year, she was remotely recruited by Russian special services when she was looking for ‘quick money’ on the Internet," the SBU reported on its Telegram channel on Friday.

According to the case materials, at first, at the request of her curators, she conducted surveillance of certain cars, photographed them and transmitted the information to her “contact.”

Subsequently, the agent began to receive new tasks. In particular, according to the instructions of her handler, she had to make a homemade explosive device, and also changed her place of residence - she moved to an apartment in the central part of Kyiv.

"Since mid-April, the suspect began to watch public activist and volunteer Serhiy Sternenko, settling in the same residential complex with him. Later, she received the coordinates of a ‘cache’ in which firearms were hidden - a PM pistol and ammunition for it," the message says.

The Ukrainian special service reports that on the morning of May 1, 2025, her supervisor gave her the order to kill the activist near his home. Thanks to preliminary observations, the offender already knew the make of the car and the approximate time when the volunteer would leave his home.

"At the moment Sternenko left the house, the Russian agent fired several shots: one of the bullets hit him in the leg. The criminal immediately detained on the spot by the Security Service of Ukraine," the message says.

As a result of the search, a telephone with evidence of work for the Russian Federation was found with her, as well as components for a homemade explosive device, which she kept in another apartment.

The SBU pretrial investigation continues. Comprehensive measures are being taken to establish all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Investigators from the Security Service of Ukraine have reported suspicion to the perpetrator, who on May 1 attempted to murder Sternenko under Part 2 of Article 111 (high treason committed under martial law), Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 27, and Part 2 of Article 115 (completed attempted murder for mercenary motives, committed to order, by prior conspiracy by a group of persons).