Novynskyi was born 3 June 1963 in Staraya Russa (then USSR, now Russia). In 1985, he graduated from the Leningrad Academy of Civil Aviation in engineering management systems.

From 1985 till 1986 he worked for various companies in Russia. Novynskyi worked in Ukraine since 1996 starting with Lukoil North West and then buying Ukrainian metallurgy companies.

With partner and fellow billionaire, Andrei Klyamko Novynskyi owns Ukraine’s Smart Holding Group. In 2006 they united their Ukrainian metallurgy companies into Smart Holding Group. In 2007 they exchanged them for a stake in Metinvest. Smart Holding Group has a 23.75% stake in iron ore producer Metinvest. Smart Holding also owns large assets in the oil and gas sector, shipbuilding, development, agriculture and its controlling Unex Bank and BM Bank. Its revenues in 2011 stood at $14.2 billion.

On 29 May 2012 Novynskyi obtained Ukrainian citizenship “for distinguished services to the country” under the order of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Novynskyi lives in Kyiv. He also has a residence in Saint Petersburg (Russia).

The general public better known him as a Russian oligarch, who made his major fortune in the “dashing 90-e” on privatization of many Ukrainian enterprises. He received Ukrainian passport in 2012 from the hands of the fugitive President Viktor Yanukovich for “the services rendered to Ukraine”.

As an independent Novynskyi won the 7 July 2013 by-election in constituency 224 in Sevastopol (located in the southwestern region of the Crimean Peninsula) with 53.41% with a turnout of 23.91%. Before the election Novynskyi had stated he would join the Party of Regions if he won. He did so on 5 September 2013. After the (controversial) March 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia Novynskyi was banned from entering the peninsula by the Russian-appointed Crimean authorities.

Since May 2014 Novynskyi is under criminal investigation for “unlawful imprisonment or kidnapping by a conspiracy” and “abuse of power or authority” for allegedly helping President Yanukovych in 2013 to take control of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) (by trying to get loyalists appointed). On 8 December 2016 parliament deprived Novynskyi of his parliamentary immunity.

In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Novynskyi was reelected in parliament as an Opposition Bloc candidate in single-seat constituency 57 (Donetsk Oblast).