Ukrainian politician and public figure, founder of the Serhiy Prytula Charitable Foundation, volunteer, actor, and television host.
Born on June 22, 1981, in Zbarazh (Ternopil Oblast).
Education
In 1998, Serhiy Prytula enrolled at the Ternopil Academy of National Economy, Institute of Finance, majoring in “Finance and Credit.”
From 2000 to 2001, he was in London, studying at one of the city’s colleges, though open sources do not specify which one.
In 2002, he served as director of the Center for Youth Initiatives while pursuing a master’s degree.
Career
While studying at the institute, Prytula was an active member of a number of youth organizations; together with like-minded people, he founded the informal union "Artists" and the samizdat publication "Slyna." Alongside his studies, he performed in "KVN."
In 1998, Serhiy passed an audition for the position of radio host at "Radio Ternopil 106.1 FM," where he worked on the air under the pseudonym "Siriy."
In 2004, Prytula passed an audition for the role of host of the program "It Was Yours, It Became Ours" and soon made his debut on the "Inter" TV channel.
Just a year later, he moved to Kyiv after receiving an invitation from the radio station "Music-Radio."
From 2006 to 2009, Prytula was a resident of "Comedy Club UA." As part of the project, he created the satirical stage persona “Ternopil Grey,” known for his sharp irony regarding the Ukrainian show business. At the same time, he worked on the radio projects “Vyshneva 20-ka” on Lux FM and “Faina Ukraina” on “Nashe Radio.”
From 2008 until May 27, 2011, together with Oleksandr Pedan and Olga Freimut, he hosted the morning show “Pidym” on Novy Channel. At the same time, he was an actor, writer, and co-producer of the sketch show "Faina Ukraina" on Novy Channel. His partner on the project was comedian Andriy Molochny.
In 2009, he launched the comedy project "Varyaty."
In 2012, he became the creative producer and regular host of the television show "Who's on Top?" (Starting November 2, 2016, the television version of the Ukrainian-language entertainment show "Varyaty" aired on Novy Channel).
In February 2013, the "Pedan-Prytula Show" premiered on Ukrainian television, which Prytula co-hosted with Oleksandr Pedan.
From February 2017 to February 2020, he was the regular host of Ukraine’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.
In the fall of 2018, he became the host of the TV project "New Leaders" on the ICTV channel.
Since 2020, he has worked at Radio NV, where he hosted the live program "Midweek with Serhiy Prytula" every Thursday.
On August 19, 2020, he announced the end of his participation in the "Varyaty Show" project and the termination of his acting career. In December 2025, Serhiy Prytula stated that he did not plan to return to his career as a TV host, noting that he had planned to leave television as early as 2022.
Political career
In 2019, Prytula joined the "Holos" political party and ran for the 9th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada that same year as a candidate for the party (No. 30 on the list), but was not elected to parliament.
In August 2020, at the "Holos" convention, Prytula was selected as the candidate for the position of Kyiv mayor. However, Prytula lost the mayoral election as well: according to official election results, he received 7.87% of the vote and finished in third place. It is interesting to note that during the election campaign, Prytula used mediums, psychics, and astrologers.
Example of a post. Screenshot: "Chesno" Movement
The very next year, Prytula announced his departure from the "Holos" party.
“I want to emphasize that I am not leaving politics. I am leaving a party that, not least due to the actions of the new leadership, has strayed so far from our original principles that we have reached a point of no return,” he said at the time. At the same time, the party refuted the showman’s claims, emphasizing that Prytula left due to his own ambitions and the political force’s refusal to appoint him as project leader. Prytula himself also publicly stated that he saw himself as the new leader of “Holos.”
That same year, Prytula stated that he was negotiating with parties regarding partnerships and joint actions and was ready to involve people with political experience in the party’s work. At the same time, Prytula was accused of working for the Office of the President of Ukraine in exchange for loyalty to his future political force.
Scandals
Most of the scandals surrounding Serhiy Prytula are related to his volunteer activities. For instance, Prytula was accused of purchasing British FV103 Spartan armored personnel carriers (APCs) at prices three times higher than market value, of a lack of transparent reporting by his foundation, and of prohibiting Ukrainian military personnel from accepting aid from other well-known foundations or public figures under threat of losing support from his own foundation.
Prytula was also accused of leaking information about the assembly sites of drones in Kyiv, which Russia subsequently struck with missiles. The TV personality published photos of Ukrainian drones, which may have prompted the aggressor state of Russia to attack the National Aviation University.
Family
Father – Dmytro Hryhorovych Prytula, born September 4, 1953. He died in 2004 from cancer. He spent a third of his life working at the Zbarazh District Road Administration.
Mother – Valentina Vasylivna Prytula, born May 6, 1955. She worked as a physics, mathematics, and English teacher in the Cherkasy region, as an economist and deputy director of the company “Zbarazh Agropromtechnika,” and as a leading economist at the “Zbarazh District Road Administration” branch.
Brother – Vasyl Dmytrovych Prytula, born on September 25, 1977. Attorney at the law firm “Vasyl Kisil & Partners,” specializing in criminal law. Together with his wife Oksana, Vasyl Prytula is also a co-founder of the law firm “Arbitrium Group.”
His brother’s wife is Oksana Bohdanivna Prytula, born on February 18, 1979. She is a lawyer and, since 2019, a deputy in the village of Velyki Birky in the Ternopil region. She represents the “Batkivshchyna” party.
His first wife is Yulia Andreichuk. Prytula met her in 2007 in Ternopil. Currently, Yulia’s social media profile states that she works as a guest editor at the STB television channel. In 2008, the couple had a son, Dmytro. In 2013, the couple divorced.
His second wife is Kateryna Viktorivna Prytula (Sopelnik). She was born on January 13, 1985, in Donetsk. For a long time, she worked as a television producer, but later decided to devote herself to her family. They are raising their daughter Solomiya, who was born in July 2017, and their son Marko (born in 2025).
Serhiy Prytula and Kateryna Sopelnik Photo: instagram/siriy_ua
Father-in-law – Viktor Ivanovych Sopelnik, born on March 5, 1956. In 2012, he ran for the Verkhovna Rada as a candidate for Vitali Klitschko’s UDAR party. In the 4th (2002–2006) and 8th (2014–2019) convocations of the Verkhovna Rada, he served as an assistant to his son-in-law, Vitaliy Khomutynnyk. In the 5th convocation of parliament (2006–2007), he was listed as an assistant to “Party of Regions” member Andriy Pinchuk.
His mother-in-law is Lilia Yurievna Sopelnik, born on February 23, 1960. On August 22, 2019, she was involved in a high-profile traffic accident in Kyiv—she backed into pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. The victims were a child—9-year-old Rostislav—and his mother, Anzhela Pechenizka. The boy suffered closed abdominal and chest injuries, while his mother sustained a concussion and a fractured pelvis from the impact of the car. The trial lasted over five years; ultimately, Prytula’s mother-in-law was sentenced to three years of probation for the traffic accident, with the maximum penalty for such an offense being eight years in prison.
Children:
- Dmytro – born in 2008
- Stefania – born in 2021
- Marko – born in 2025