He was still an improving competitor at 400 metre hurdles when he was killed by electric shock while fixing wiring at his parental home in September 1995.

His biggest triumph was undoubtedly his victory at the 1994 European Championships in Athletics held in Helsinki, Finland.

On 10 August 1994 he ran a personal best and Ukrainian record of 48.06 seconds to claim gold and win the European title.

This enabled him to represent Team Europe at the 1994 IAAF World Cup in this discipline.

He again excelled at this meeting with a superb second place behind Samuel Matete of Zambia and Team Africa.