Sergei Ilnitsky is a staff photographer for epa in Moscow since 2003. He was born in 1974 year in Mariupol on Azov Sea, Ukraine. His passion for photography started as a child. He attended the Academy of Arts and Culture at the Department of Cinema and Photo Skills in Siberia, while freelancing for newspapers and advertising agencies . Upon graduation he worked at the 'Kuznetsky kray' newspaper. In 1995 he began as a stringer for epa in Siberia. He has covered such stories as children's colonies in Siberia and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In 2001 he covered NATO operations in Afghanistan. In 2021, Sergei was appointed Bureau Chief Russia & Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Honors include the 2001 first prize in the 'Press Photo of Russia' award for 'Sport', and 2002 best project of the year 'The inverted childhood', the best photo project in the protection of the environment 'The Golden horns of Altai' in 'Press Photo of Russia', the Second Prize Stories in the Sports Action category of the World Press Photo 2013, and the Second Prize Stories in the Sports category as well as the First Prize Singles in the General News category of the World Press Photo 2015.