Vadym Novynskyi

Vadym Novynskyi
Vadym Novynskyi
Born	June 3, 1963 (age 63); Staraya Russa, Soviet Russia
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, clergyman, politician
Years active	1990s–present
Known for	Proprietor of Smart Holding Group; member of Ukrainian Parliament; protodeacon of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)

Vadym Novynskyi (; born 3 June 1963) is a Ukrainian billionaire entrepreneur, clergyman, and political figure of Armenian heritage, originally from Russia. He is the proprietor of the Smart Holding Group and ranks among Ukraine's top wealth holders. Novynskyi serves as a protodeacon within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, aligned with the ‘Moscow Patriarchate’. His political career includes election to the Ukrainian Parliament in 2013, with subsequent re-elections in 2014 and 2019, and he has also represented Ukraine at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Starting as a junior associate to billionaire Rinat Akhmetov in Ukraine's metallurgical industry, Novynskyi maintained active involvement in ecclesiastical matters before pursuing a political path. He is recognized as a prominent Ukrainian philanthropist, with his foundation contributing to healthcare and rehabilitation initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. Initially allied with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, their rapport later deteriorated, culminating in Novynskyi’s departure from Ukraine amid allegations of treason and purported support for Russia—charges he contests as politically motivated.

Early and personal life

Born on 3 June 1963 in Staraya Russa, Soviet Russia, Novynskyi hails from an ethnically Armenian family.

He completed his education in 1985 at the Leningrad Academy of Civil Aviation, specializing in engineering management systems.

Novynskyi commenced his professional journey working for various Soviet enterprises. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, he acquired Russian citizenship but relocated to Ukraine in 1996. In 2012, he was granted Ukrainian citizenship by presidential decree for his "distinguished services."

He is married and has four children.

Business career

Novynskyi’s business endeavors in Ukraine began in 1996 when he progressed within the North West division of Lukoil before purchasing smaller companies in the metallurgy sector.

In 1999, he amalgamated these entities into what became known as Smart Group, headquartered in Dnipropetrovsk. That same year, together with partners, he established Neva Holding and acquired a controlling 77% stake in Bulgaria's metallurgical plant Promet through privatization. These ventures proved highly lucrative over the following decade.

By 2006, Novynskyi joined forces with billionaire Andrei Klyamko to merge their Ukrainian metallurgy assets under Smart Holding Group. The following year, they exchanged these assets for a 23.75% shareholding in Metinvest, entering into partnership with Rinat Akhmetov.

Novynskyi’s estimated net worth was approximately US$950 million in 2010, which increased to US$2.7 billion by 2011.

By that time, Smart Holding had expanded its portfolio beyond metallurgy into sectors such as oil and gas, shipbuilding—including ownership stakes in the Black Sea Shipyard, Kherson Shipyard, and Port Ochakiv—agriculture through Veres, and finance by controlling Unex Bank along with minority interests in BM Bank. The group reported revenues totaling $14.2 billion that year. Unex Bank was sold to Dragon Capital in 2021, while BM Bank was liquidated by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in 2014.

As of 2013, Novynskyi held shares in oil and gas firm Regal Petroleum and retail chain Amstor. In that year, he was ranked as Ukraine’s fifth wealthiest individual with an estimated fortune of US$3.273 billion.

However, by 2015 his wealth had diminished significantly, causing him to fall out of Ukraine’s top ten richest list. That year he declared an income of UAH 107 million derived from various sources including intellectual property rights sales and dividend payments. His family possessed multiple land holdings and apartments both within Ukraine and abroad.

According to NV magazine, by 2021 Novynskyi had recovered financially, ascending to become Ukraine’s third wealthiest person with an estimated net worth of US$2.4 billion—a 50% increase compared to the previous year.

In 2022, all his business interests were transferred to a trust company registered in Cyprus.

His fortune peaked at US$3.5 billion early that year but decreased by US$2.1 billion before year-end; Forbes valued it at US$1.4 billion as of April 2023.

Political career

In the 2013 by-election for constituency 224 in Sevastopol, Novynskyi ran as an independent candidate, committing to join the ruling Party of Regions if victorious. He secured the seat with 53.41% of the votes amid a turnout of 23.91%, officially affiliating with the Party of Regions on 5 September 2013.

Novynskyi opposed Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, resulting in local and Russian authorities barring him from entering both his electoral district and Crimea itself. Since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict in 2014, he has actively supported Ukraine’s peace initiatives and engaged in negotiations with separatist representatives in Lugansk.

Due to the annexation preventing his candidacy in his original constituency in 2014, Novynskyi obtained a parliamentary mandate through the Opposition Bloc’s party list, positioned at number 11. Between 2017 and 2019, he headed the public organization "Party of Peace," which advocated for dialogue between Ukraine and the DPR/LPR aligned with the Minsk agreements.

In May 2018, Novynskyi organized an international conference in Zagreb focused on peace-building experiences from the Balkans, attracting politicians and experts from various European nations and Kosovo.

During the 2019 parliamentary elections, he was elected as a representative for Donetsk Oblast’s 57th district, commencing his third term. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Novynskyi remained within the country, publicly condemned the aggression, and resigned from parliament in June 2022.

Religious life

Novynskyi is deeply involved as a member and benefactor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), commonly referred to as the 'Moscow Patriarchate' (UOC-MP), holding the clerical rank of protodeacon. On 23 April 2020, Metropolitan Onufriy (Berezovsky), head of the UOC-MP, ordained him as a deacon, with his inaugural liturgical service taking place at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra on 7 June during the Feast of Pentecost.

In public discourse, Novynskyi advocates for the UOC and critiques the schism that followed recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. He is noted for his resolute opposition to what he perceives as persecution against the UOC and has engaged directly with political leaders such as Presidents Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelensky regarding religious affairs in Ukraine. Novynskyi asserts that his faith has influenced certain legal and governmental measures taken against him.

On 23 April 2023, reports indicated that he led a service at a Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) parish located in Zürich, Switzerland, despite the UOC having severed administrative relations with the ROC following its condemnation of Russia's 2022 military invasion.

Charity

In 2017, the Vadym Novynskyi Foundation collaborated with the national initiative "Help the Heart Beating," supporting rehabilitation programs targeted at children suffering from cerebral palsy and neurological disorders.

Following Russia’s invasion, the Foundation redirected its efforts toward providing humanitarian support for medical personnel, civilians affected by conflict, and members of Ukraine's Armed Forces. Between February and October 2022 alone, it allocated over UAH 900 million to aid projects, including an ambulance delivery program. The Foundation distributed approximately 40,000 food parcels across Ukraine and supplied medical devices valued at UAH 15 million to hospitals in Zaporizhzhia.

From October through December 2022, it facilitated the importation of hundreds of generators aimed at restoring electricity to communities damaged by warfare and missile strikes.

Criticism

Novynskyi has been characterized as a oligarch of Russian origin who accumulated his fortune through dubious privatisation transactions during the turbulent period known as the "dashing 1990s".

Sanctions by Russia

On 25 December 2018, Novynskyi was subjected to sanctions imposed by Russia. In July 2019, he traveled to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in the Moscow Region as part of a delegation from the UOC-MP and held a meeting with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church. Despite having autonomous governance since 1991, the UOC-MP retained certain connections with the ROC at that time. On 20 April 2020, Russia lifted the sanctions against him.

Sanctions by Ukraine

Amidst the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, approximately ten months after its onset, Novynskyi faced allegations of aiding Russia, although no criminal charges were filed. He was placed on Ukraine’s sanctions list on 6 December 2022 and again on 25 January 2023. Advocates highlight his public denouncement of the invasion and his assistance to Ukraine. Subsequently, the President's Office confiscated assets belonging to him valued at over US$1 billion.

Shortly before these sanctions were enacted, Novynskyi transferred ownership stakes in his companies to a trust registered in Cyprus. Authorities considered this a deceptive maneuver, invalidated the transfer agreement, and reinstated him as the rightful shareholder.

In April 2023, Ukrainian intelligence agencies and prosecutors conducted searches at his Kyiv offices investigating suspected tax evasion and alleged support for Russian interests; assets worth nearly US$100 million were frozen.

Novynskyi maintains that these measures are retaliatory actions targeting him due to his defense of the UOC, which the government aims to prohibit. He is currently pursuing an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights.

Criminal proceedings

On 8 December 2016, following a recommendation from the Office of the Prosecutor General, Novynskyi was deprived of parliamentary immunity.<ref>At that time, he pointed out that the draft resolution concerning his criminal liability was not made publicly available on the official Verkhovna Rada website as legally required.<ref> Ultimately, no evidence was presented by the Prosecutor General's Office against him, and he remained classified as a witness until the case was eventually closed.<ref>

On 18 January 2025, Novynskyi was indicted in absentia on charges of high treason and incitement to religious hatred, primarily based on psycholinguistic evaluations of his public remarks. He argues these accusations are politically driven efforts intended to justify banning the UOC and consolidating authoritarian power—a position dismissed by authorities as Russian disinformation.<ref>

Awards

Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem: Golden Cross of the High Taxiarch of the Knights of the Most Holy Sepulcher (January 2019)<ref>

External links