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Asami Terajima photo

Asami Terajima

Reporter

Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.

a.terajima@kyivindependent.com
For media & speaking inquiries:
press@kyivindependent.com

Articles

Workers inspect Flamingo cruise missiles at Fire Point’s secret factory in Ukraine, on Aug. 18, 2025.
War

Ukraine might have a new Flamingo missile deep strike strategy for inside Russia, experts say

by Asami Terajima
Ukraine has increasingly reported using domestically produced Flamingo cruise missiles since November 2025, with the General Staff most recently saying it hit a key missile factory in Russia. While the FP-5 Flamingo's actual capability has been a subject of debate, the reported strikes on Russian-occupied territories and deep inside Russia may signal that Ukraine could expand its use of the missiles for attacks on high-value Russian targets. The General Staff on Feb. 21 confirmed using Flaming
A Ukrainian serviceman at his position near the front line outside Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on Jan. 11, 2023.
War

'Our sacrifices are worth freedom' — Ukrainian troops who have fought since 2014 look back

by Asami Terajima, Francis Farrell, Polina Moroziuk
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago today — Feb. 24, 2022. For many Ukrainians, particularly those from Donbas and Crimea, the war began in 2014. To mark the anniversary, the Kyiv Independent spoke with three soldiers in the Ukrainian Armed Forces who have fought not just since the start of the full-scale invasion, but since 2014 — when Russia seized Crimea and began its war in eastern Ukraine. They described what keeps them going, the toll of years of sacrifice, a
Forensic medical expert Inga Gerbst in Kharkiv, Ukraine on Jan. 22, 2026.
War

As Ukraine war deaths mount, Kharkiv morgue strains to identify the truth

by Asami Terajima
KHARKIV, KHARKIV OBLAST — A blonde-haired woman walks through a slim pathway between corpses lying against walls and autopsy tables inside Ukraine's oldest morgue. The main autopsy room, connected with two additional rooms and equipped with an elevator to lift the corpses from the basement, is busy with forensic experts like her going through three bodies on the table. One belongs to a Ukrainian soldier, while the other two are civilians — an elderly lady and a middle-aged man. "It's most lik
Valentyn, a 26-year-old platoon commander in the 25th Air Assault Brigade, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on Jan. 23, 2026.
War

Ukrainian infantry fight to survive on the Pokrovsk front as Russia closes in

by Asami Terajima
DONETSK OBLAST — Walking through the mine-infested field under intense Russian drone surveillance was the scariest part of the mission for 22-year-old infantryman Mykola. "If you stop, you die," said Mykola, a small-framed soldier with dark circles under his eyes and a tired stare. "When we were walking to get to the positions, it wasn't hard to walk — it was hard to realize that you may not walk out alive because there were a lot of our dead around." The walk to his positions near the easter
War

'She loved fighting on the zero line' — The stories of 4 women killed defending Ukraine

by Asami Terajima
Ukraine is still mourning Lana Chornohorska, a 26-year-old drone pilot beloved by many as a "catalyst" in art and cultural activism who never seemed to run out of energy. Chornohorska, who went by her callsign "Satie," was fatally injured by a Russian drone in southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Jan. 1. Her unit, Ukrainian Volunteer Army, praised her as a devoted and courageous person who was not only a soldier, but "a prominent cultural figure." The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in March 20

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