Bio 

Vladimir Dmitrievich Kondratenko was born in 1967 in Kyiv, then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. He was described as a capable child before his school years became marked by strict control and physical abuse from his father. His father beat him for receiving school grades below the highest mark, which caused Kondratenko to become withdrawn and fearful.

After finishing school, Kondratenko was pushed toward architectural studies but left after one semester. At 18, he was drafted into the Soviet Army. His military service was later described as difficult, including injuries and abuse connected to the hazing culture known as dedovshchina. After completing service, he returned home and continued to have conflict with his father.

Kondratenko later suffered from jaundice, which reportedly left visible marks on his face. He became highly self-conscious and withdrew from public life for a period. His parents eventually had him placed in a psychiatric institution, but he was later declared sane and released. Unable to hold stable employment and wanting to leave his family home, he became increasingly focused on obtaining money.

He eventually met Vladislav Volkovich. The two men discussed money, violence, and the idea of becoming contract killers. According to later case accounts, they began killing partly to “practice” for future contract murders and later continued for robbery and personal gratification.

Murder Story

Between 1991 and 1996, Vladimir Kondratenko and Vladislav Volkovich committed a series of murders in Kyiv, Ukraine. The pair became known in the media as “The Nighttime Killers.” They were eventually charged with 16 murders, although they reportedly confessed to more than 20 killings. Some early victims, including homeless people, were never fully identified or recovered.

Most victims were men. The killers often used a .22 sporting rifle and then stabbed or bludgeoned victims with various weapons, including awls, bricks, and iron bars. Some victims were targeted for cars, money, or other property. Others appear to have been killed because the pair wanted to test their ability to commit murder.

One major break in the case came after the June 18, 1996 murder of 44-year-old factory worker Yevheniy Osechkin near the Karavaevi Dachi railway station in Kyiv. Investigators found that he had been shot with a .22 round and stabbed. Earlier similar killings in the same area led police to connect multiple murders to the same weapon and method.

The investigation expanded after additional victims were found, including Aleksandr Egorov, Aleksandr Shpack, Petr Gromov, and Aleksandr Bykov. In the Bykov case, Kondratenko appeared in crime scene photographs after volunteering to help police search for clues. Investigators later identified him from those images and began surveillance in the area where several murders had occurred.

Police eventually observed Kondratenko with Volkovich. Before they could be detained, the pair killed their final known victim, an unidentified woman who was struck and killed while they were driving drunk in a stolen car. They had reportedly stolen the vehicle while preparing for another planned burglary and murder.

After arrest, Kondratenko and Volkovich confessed to multiple murders, robberies, car thefts, and burglaries. Investigators later determined that two other men, Andrei Timoshin and Sergei Tretyachenko, had been involved in some crimes connected to the group.

Kondratenko died on May 31, 1997, shortly after the trial began. He overdosed on prescription medication while in custody, and his death was ruled a suicide. Because he died before the trial concluded, he was never formally sentenced. Volkovich and the other surviving defendants were later convicted in August 2000, and Volkovich received life imprisonment.