Anna Yakutenko

Team

Video Production Manager

Anna Yakutenko is the production manager at the Kyiv Independent. She started out as a print journalist at the Kyiv Post in 2015, and later switched to video format, launching a video department at the Kyiv Post in 2018. Later, she worked as a Head of Video at the Kyiv Independent in 2022-2023, before switching to production management in 2024. Anna has spent six months working with the newsrooms in the U.S. as a Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow in 2018. She holds a BA in journalism from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

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Articles

Video

Zelensky thanks America for four minutes straight

by Anna Yakutenko March 1, 2025

During his visit to Washington on Feb. 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky had a heated exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance over ways to end Russia's war against Ukraine. Trump and Vance have repeatedly claimed that Zelensky has not been sufficiently grateful for U.S. support throughout the war. The Kyiv Independent has compiled instances where Zelensky has publicly expressed gratitude to the U.S., its people, and its leadership for being Ukraine’s largest supporter.

Video

How Ukrainians fund their own fight against Russia

by Anna Yakutenko February 28, 2025

While Ukraine heavily relies on foreign aid, the country’s war effort is also funded by its own people. In 2024 alone, individual volunteers and fundraisers have raised nearly $1 billion to buy critical weapons and equipment for the Ukrainian military. But why do ordinary Ukrainians continue donating when international aid exists? And how has Ukraine’s unique culture of giving become a lifeline for the country’s survival?

Video

Three years of Russia's full-scale war: a conversation with Rob Lee

by Francis Farrell, Jason Blevins, Alexander Zabolotnyi, Anna Yakutenko February 24, 2025

The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell sits down with Rob Lee, former U.S. marine infantry officer and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program. They discuss the evolving battlefield realities as Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its 4th year and why peace negotiations are unlikely to bring results any time soon.

Video

Street culture unites displaced people in Lviv

by Masha Lavrova, Nick Allard, Anna Yakutenko August 2, 2024

As Russia's war in Ukraine rages on, millions have been forced to flee their towns, leaving behind their homes and communities. In Lviv, one center for internally displaced persons brings people together and rebuilds bonds through street culture.

Video

4 reasons why Russian elections are fake

by Anna Yakutenko March 17, 2024

Russia is holding a so-called presidential election on March 15-17. However, it is not entirely fair to call this an "election." The Kyiv Independent's Oleg Sukhov explains why.

Video

How Russia's war changed everyday life in Ukraine's capital

by Daria Shulzhenko, Olena Zashko, Anna Yakutenko December 6, 2023

What is it like living in Kyiv during the war? We at the Kyiv Independent often hear this question from our friends and readers abroad. In this video, our reporter, Daria Shulzhenko, will guide you through everyday life in the Ukrainian capital amidst the full-scale invasion.

Explainer

Understanding Russia's offensive on Avdiivka

by Francis Farrell, Olena Zashko, Anna Yakutenko October 26, 2023

The Russian offensive in Avdiivka has been an undisputed failure so far. Russian gains have amounted to little more than a handful of treelines on the flanks. The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell explains how it happened and what to expect in the future.

Explainer

Ukraine uses ATACMS. Will it change the war?

by Oleksiy Sorokin, Olena Zashko, Anna Yakutenko October 19, 2023

Oleksiy Sorokin, deputy chief editor of the Kyiv Independent, explains how the ATACMS provided to Ukraine work, how they differ from other long-range missiles, and what will now change on the battlefield.

Video

How Moscow replaces Ukrainians with Russians in occupied territories

by Natalia Chekotun, Liza Pyrozhkova, Anna Yakutenko September 12, 2023

After Russia’s relentless attacks in 2022, the port city of Mariupol in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast was left in ruins. Yet this has not stopped Russians from buying up houses and flats in Mariupol, or even trying to exchange them for their property in Russia.

Video

Vox populi: How does war affect mental health of Ukrainians?

by Daria Shulzhenko, Anna Yakutenko September 7, 2023

The Kyiv Independent asks people on the streets of Kyiv how Russia’s full-scale war affects their mental health and how they cope with it.

Video

How old is Ukraine?

by Olena Makarenko, Anna Yakutenko August 25, 2023

On Aug. 24, 2023, Ukraine marked its 32nd Independence Day. But is Ukraine really just 32 years old? The Kyiv Independent addressed this question to historians. Everything you didn’t know about Ukraine’s flagAt a small exhibit at the National History Museum in Kyiv on Ukraine’s flag, one

Video

What is Russia’s Wagner Group and why does Moscow use it?

by Natalia Chekotun, Anna Yakutenko June 26, 2023

The Wagner Group — a Russian private military company owned by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin — has been at the forefront of Russia’s efforts to capture the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast. What is it, and why does Moscow use it?

Video

How Russia has been trying to conquer Ukraine for centuries

by Anna Yakutenko, Igor Kossov April 25, 2023

When did Russia's war against Ukraine start? Spoiler: not in 2022. Moscow has been trying (often successfully) to subjugate the territories that make up modern Ukraine for nearly 400 years.

Video

What is happening in Bakhmut and what does it mean for Russian-Ukrainian war?

by Francis Farrell, Anna Yakutenko, Liza Pyrozhkova March 30, 2023

Kyiv Independent reporter Francis Farrell speaks to John Spencer, U.S. veteran and chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point.

Video

‘Killed for nothing’: Evidence of Russian war crimes emerges in liberated Chornobaivka

by Iryna Matviyishyn, Anna Yakutenko December 28, 2022

The liberation of Ukrainian settlements from Russian occupation inevitably comes with the revelation of new war crimes committed by Russian soldiers. In the liberated village of Chornobaivka, Kherson Oblast, at least 18 people were killed during its occupation.

Ukraine

Russia’s nuclear blackmail, explained (VIDEO)

by Alexander Query, Anna Yakutenko September 12, 2022

The world’s nuclear security is under threat as Russia occupies the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and uses it as a base to launch attacks on Ukraine. The Kyiv Independent explains why this is an unprecedented event and if the Zaporizhzhia plant will become the next Chornobyl.

Ukraine

Volunteers keep Donbas running through its darkest hours

by Igor Kossov, Anna Yakutenko June 22, 2022

As the four-van convoy rolls into the village of Stepanivka in Donetsk Oblast, volunteers hop out and raise a large tent to shield them from the summer sun. A small group of local onlookers quickly grows as people stream out of their homes towards the tent. The humanitarian aid is

Hot topic

What's inside the Russian and Ukrainian military food kit?

by Illia Ponomarenko, Igor Kossov, Anna Yakutenko May 23, 2022

Days after Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, reports of the invading troops lacking decent provisions have surfaced on the internet. The Kyiv Independent’s defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko and investigative reporter Igor Kossov compare Russian and Ukrainian MREs, debunking some of the earlier misconceptions about Russia’s readiness

Anna Yakutenko

Articles

Zelensky thanks America for four minutes straight

How Ukrainians fund their own fight against Russia

Three years of Russia's full-scale war: a conversation with Rob Lee

Street culture unites displaced people in Lviv

4 reasons why Russian elections are fake

How Russia's war changed everyday life in Ukraine's capital

Understanding Russia's offensive on Avdiivka

Ukraine uses ATACMS. Will it change the war?

How Moscow replaces Ukrainians with Russians in occupied territories

Vox populi: How does war affect mental health of Ukrainians?

How old is Ukraine?

What is Russia’s Wagner Group and why does Moscow use it?

How Russia has been trying to conquer Ukraine for centuries

What is happening in Bakhmut and what does it mean for Russian-Ukrainian war?

‘Killed for nothing’: Evidence of Russian war crimes emerges in liberated Chornobaivka

Russia’s nuclear blackmail, explained (VIDEO)

Volunteers keep Donbas running through its darkest hours

What's inside the Russian and Ukrainian military food kit?

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