Zubkov was born on 1 November 1973 in Derazhnia, the son of Antonina and Ivan Zubkov. Between 1987 and 1991 he studied at the city's Secondary School No. 3. He went on to attend the Kyiv Military Naval School, graduating in 1995 and choosing to serve with Ukraine instead of Russia. Zubkov served with the 19th Rocket Division of the 43rd Rocket Army in Khmelnytskyi until he left the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1998 and became a manager at a meat factory. He later founded his own transport business. Zubkov married Irina and had two daughters: Valentina (born 2002) and Sofia (born 2013). During the winter of 2013 to 2014, he participated in the Euromaidan protests against the government of Viktor Yanukovych.
