Yurii Volodymyrovych Hudymenko ( uk, Юрій Володимирович Гудименко; born 14 December 1987) is a Ukrainian politician. He is leader of the " Demokratychna Sokyra" movement. He participated in the Russo-Ukrainian War as commander of a military engineer detachment with the rank of junior sergeant (corporal).
He had been a political prisoner, journalist and blogger. He holds a master’s degree from the
Zaporizhzhia National University
Zaporizhzhya National University (ZNU) is a State-sponsored university in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Its full name is "Zaporizhzhya National University of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Ukraine."
On August 11, 1930, Sovnarkom Ukr ...
in history with teaching qualification.
On September 6, 2022, Yuriy was awarded the Order for Courage 3rd class for personal courage in defending state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's decree №627/2022.
On September 28, 2022, Yuriy was awarded the Commander-in-Chief's Honor «Steel Cross».
He appeared in videos of anti-war pro-Ukrainian position.
Activism
* In 2008 he became involved in activism and the political process.
* In 2010 he served as deputy head of a political party in Zaporizhzhia.
* In 2011 he was sentenced to two years in prison (sentence suspended) for defacing the monument to Dzerzhynsky with a bucket of paint (Dzerzhynski was one of the founders of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (Cheka) and organizer of the "Red Terror").
* Gudymenko was an aide to the leader of the Zaporizhzhia Euromaidan.
* As a participant in Euromaidan rallies in Zaporizhzhia, he was beaten up during January 26, 2014, violent dispersal of the protest by the police.
* In 2014, after the Revolution of Dignity, the Zhovtnevy district court of Zaporizhzhia amnestied Gudymenko among with other pro-Ukrainian activists wrongfully judged during the Yanukovych regime per request of Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
* In 2014 he initiated the "Operation Butterfly" website – one of the first databases containing information on separatists.
* In 2016–2017 he headed the campaign department for a Ukrainian political party.
Political activity
In Spring 2018 he co-founded the Demokratychna Sokyra party, along with other major Ukrainian bloggers and influencers sharing his ideas. The party’s ideology is based on the ideas of classical liberalism, aimed at supporting economic deregulation, strengthening the military and defending human rights (being the only party consistently supporting LGBTQ+ rights, sex workers rights, and the right to self-defence), combined with a strong pro-European, pro-American, pro-NATO, anti-Russian and anti-communist position.
Ran in the 2020 Kyiv local election as the 1st candidate in the Demokratychna Sokyra list, with Yulia Payevska (Taira) as 2nd.
As a political council member, Gudymenko is responsible for PR and public rallies. Thus, he organised and took part in numerous protest campaigns, bringing public attention to the problems in Ukraine and helped achieve key decisions for the state and the society, such as:
* Demokratychna Sokyra was one of the initiators and organisers for the "No to capitulation!" campaign against implementing the political part of the Minsk agreements and concessions for Russia. Afterwards, the party organised multiple protests against the soft-on-Russia policies of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy throughout 2020;
* Human rights campaigns for legalisation of medical cannabis, gun rights, medical and education reform.
* Consistent campaigns protesting attempts made by
Ihor Kolomoyskiy
Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magn ...
and other Ukrainian oligarchs, like Dmytro Firtash and Rinat Akhmetov, to use their influence on the state and courts to obtain decisions, more preferable for their businesses;
* protests against pro-Russian media influence;
* campaign calling for impeachment of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and firing the Office of the President Head
Andrii Yermak
Andrii Borysovych Yermak ( uk, Андрій Борисович Єрмак; born 21 November 1971)OPZZh party parliament fraction.
In January 2023, Gudymenko's petition №22/174786-еп, demanding to introduce clear markings for brands selling products in the Russian Federation reached 30000 signatures.
Journalist
* In 2011 he worked as a journalist for ''Subota Plus'' local Zaporizhzhia newspaper.
* In 2012 he served as head for the news department of the regional "TV-Gold" TV channel.
* In 2013 he worked as editor in chief for ''Mriya'' newspaper
* He authored a number of investigative pieces.
* In 2016 he became the co-founder of the ''Forpost'' news website
* In 2015 he moved to Kyiv, where he worked briefly with ''TSN'', '' Focus'', ''Petro and Mazepa'' and other news outlets. He volunteered for a weekly historical radio program on military "Armiya. FM" radio.
* In 2018–2019 he worked as anchor for ''Blogpost'' and ''Blogpost: Hate Night Show'' TV program.
* As of March, 2023, his total follower count across all platforms reaches 300 thousand people.
* According to ICTV, he is in the TOP-10 of Ukrainian bloggers (8th in 2018).
Russo-Ukrainian War involvement
After the 2022 Russian invasion, Hudymenko enlisted. He served as a military engineer ( sapper) unit commander with the 130th Territorial Defense Battalion of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine
, imports =
, exports =
, history =
, ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine
, country=Ukraine
The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...
. Gudymenko met the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Mariupol, on base of the 503rd Separate Marine Battalion. After joining up with his Territorial Defence unit, Yuriy fought in the Battle of Kyiv, particularly in the liberation of Irpin and Bucha, as well as battles in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.
On June 27, 2022, he was heavily wounded in action in Dementiyivka near Kharkiv. Receiving multiple mine fragments to his left leg, right arm, and lungs, Yuriy was evac'd to hospital barely staying alive.
After spending 4 months in the hospital, Gudymenko is still currently recovering, with him regaining his ability to walk (although slowly), and his right arm being still disabled.
On September 6, 2022, Yuriy was awarded the Order for Courage 3rd class for personal courage in defending state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's decree №627/2022.
On September 28, 2022, Yuriy was awarded the Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi's Honor «Steel Cross».
Media presence
According to
Forbes Ukraine
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
, Gudymenko is one of the TOP-10 Ukrainian blogger-servicemen by overall followers.
As of March, 2023, Gudymenko's follower count amounts to 340,000 followers across such platforms as Facebook,
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube. Yuriy's posts on history and politics have reached great heights in the past years. His videos from the early stages of the war, especially from February 25, are still remembered in social media.