Kostenko Yuriy

Date of Birth: 12.06.1951

Place of Birth. Education. Born in the village of Novaya Obodivka, Obodivsky District (now Trostyanetsky District) of Vinnytsia region, in a family of an engineer of a sugar plant and a teacher.

In 1973, Kostenko graduated from the Polytechnic Institute in Zaporizhzhia. Candidate of technical sciences. He defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic of 'Plasma Treatment of Metals'.

Professional Activity. From 1973 to 1990, Kostenko worked as a research associate, doctoral student, and senior engineer in the laboratory for new technological processes at the Kyiv Institute of Electric Welding named after E. Paton. He is the author of more than 30 scientific articles and inventions.

Political Activities. In 1989, he was one of the founders of the People's Movement of Ukraine. He headed the Kyiv regional organization of the movement and was the deputy chairman of the People's Movement. He was a member of the Ukrainian Parliament five times (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2007).

In 1990, he was the deputy head of the temporary investigative commission of the parliament to investigate the causes of the Chernobyl disaster. By disclosing secret archives, it was established for the first time: the reactor exploded due to design flaws ('self-destruction capability') and not due to staff errors. From 1991 to 1993, he was a member of the temporary parliamentary investigation commission to investigate the actions of state officials during the coup in August. In 1991-1993, he headed the special deputy group to prepare the ratification of the START-I treaty. He was one of the authors of the first Ukrainian concept of national security. He voted against the nuclear disarmament of Ukraine.

In 1992, Kostenko led the Ukrainian delegation in negotiations with Russia regarding nuclear disarmament. He advocated a hard line, which resulted in nuclear weapons located on the territory of Ukraine being recognized as property of Ukraine, and he did not accept any terms disadvantageous to Ukraine for the withdrawal of the weapons to the Russian Federation. From 1992 to 1995, Kostenko served as the Minister of Environment of Ukraine. From 1995 to 1998, he was the Minister of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety. He carried out comprehensive environmental reform (it was during this time that a fee for the use of natural resources was introduced for the first time and penalties for environmental pollution were tightened).

He laid the groundwork for the system of man-made and nuclear safety of the state. He initiated negotiations with the 'G7', as a result of which Ukraine received over $1 billion to work inside the Chernobyl sarcophagus. In 1999, he ran for the presidency of Ukraine. In the same year, after the split of the People's Movement of Ukraine, he was elected chairman of the Ukrainian People's Movement party. In January 2003, he was elected chairman of the Ukrainian People's Group, which decided to rename the Ukrainian People's Movement into the Ukrainian People's Party. During the presidential elections in 2004, as a member of the Our Ukraine faction, he actively supported opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko.

In the early parliamentary elections of 2007, he was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament via the electoral list of the Our Ukraine - National Self-Defense Bloc. Member of the Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex Issues, Nuclear Policy, and Nuclear Safety of the Parliament.

In 2010, he again tried his luck in the presidential elections, finishing in 12th place (out of 18 candidates).

In 2012, Yuriy Kostenko resigned as chairman of the Ukrainian People's Party and suspended his membership.

Family. The politician is married. His wife Irina is a journalist. His son Rostislav (1980) is a specialist in international information.

Hobbies. Kostenko's main interest is mountains. He is a master of sports in mountaineering and participated in championships of Ukraine and the USSR. From 1982 to 1989, he served as the Republican Committee for Cave Tourism. In December 1988, he participated in rescue operations in Spitak (Armenia), which had been devastated by an earthquake, as part of an international rescue team.

He has climbed two seven-thousanders: Khan-Tengri (Pamir-Alay, 6995 m or according to other sources 7010 m) and Lenin Peak (Pamir, 7134 m). In 1988, a route (6th difficulty level) on Ak-Su (Pamir-Alai) was named after him. The last time he climbed the peak was in 2004. Most of his friends, who Kostenko considers the best and most reliable, are climbers.

In addition to mountaineering, climbing, and cave tourism, the head of the UVF is interested in paragliding.

10.06.2022