Vadym Novynskyi

Vadym Novynskyi (Ukrainian: Вадим Новинський; born 3 June 1963) is a Russian-born Ukrainian billionaire businessman, priest and politician of Armenian descent. He is the owner of the Smart Holding Group, which has made him one of the wealthiest people in Ukraine. Novynskyi is also a protodeacon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, often referred to as the ‘Moscow Patriarchate’. He was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament in 2013, later being re-elected in 2014 and 2019. He has also represented Ukraine in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Rising in the Ukrainian metallurgical industry as a junior business partner of billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, he remained actively involved in church affairs before entering politics. He is one of the largest Ukrainian donors to his country, with his foundation having provided substantial assistance to Ukrainian medical and rehabilitation centres during the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Despite initially maintaining good relations with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the two have since fallen out, with Novynskyi leaving the country, being charged with treason and accused of aiding Russia. Novynskyi has described the charges as politically motivated.