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Olena Zashko photo

Olena Zashko

Videographer

Olena Zashko is a videographer at the Kyiv Independent. She has previously worked as a videographer at the Suspilne Kultura documentary unit. The Kyiv Independent received a grant from the Charles Douglas-Home Memorial Trust to support Olena's front-line videography reporting for the year 2025-2026. She also has experience working as a journalist at Hromadske news outlet and has worked as a freelance journalist with different Ukrainian media. Olena has a master’s in journalism from the Ukrainian Catholic University.

o.zashko@kyivindependent.com

Articles

Video

The ground drone revolution in Ukraine

by Olena Zashko, Francis Farrell
The Kyiv Independent spent a day with the 20th Separate UAV Regiment, also known as K-2, which specializes in ground robots, in northern Donetsk Oblast. We also spoke with the regiment's commander, Kyrylo Veres, about how these machines could shape the next phase of warfare in Ukraine, helping to reduce the risk to soldiers amid a growing manpower shortage.
Opinion

Pokrovsk is the city of my childhood. Now I watch it die

by Olena Zashko
A few weeks ago, my colleague Francis Farrell and I were in Pokrovsk. As a war reporter, I’m used to seeing war-torn towns. Last year, we saw glide bombs raining down on Vovchansk, filmed interviews with soldiers in the ruins of Lyman, and joined a volunteer evacuation mission taking civilians out of Selydove, which was on the verge of occupation. But this time was different: Pokrovsk isn't just another city for me. My native city is just a half-hour drive away from Pokrovsk, and it’s a much
Video

How Ukrainian teens are training for war

by Masha Lavrova, Olena Zashko, Nick Allard
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, war has become a daily reality for thousands of Ukrainian children. Some Ukrainian military units, such as the Azov Brigade, offer boot camps for teenagers to teach them the basics of self-defense, first aid, dry firing, and other survival skills — helping them prepare for both the realities of today and the uncertainties of the future.
Video

Inside Ukraine’s 1,000 for 1,000 POW swap with Russia

by Olena Zashko, Daria Shulzhenko
On May 23, Ukraine and Russia began the largest prisoner exchange since 2014. Over three days, 1,000 prisoners of war (POWs) from both sides will return home in a deal agreed upon during direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul earlier this month — the first such talks between Moscow and Kyiv since 2022. The Kyiv Independent went to the site of exchange.
Video

Ultimate guide on how drones changed warfare in Ukraine

by Francis Farrell, Vladyslav Samusenko, Olena Zashko
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrel provides an ultimate guide on how drones have changed the warfare in Ukraine — starting with an embed with a drone unit of the National Guard’s 14th Chervona Kalyna Brigade and providing even more insights with a step-by-step simulation on how fighting for an average village in Ukraine looks like now, three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Video

One night with 3rd Assault Brigade medics in a new age of war

by Francis Farrell, Olena Zashko
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko spent a night at the stabilization point of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, one of Ukraine’s most battle-hardened units now fighting in Kharkiv Oblast. As drones reshape modern warfare, medics face mounting challenges: evacuations get harder and slower, turning survivable wounds into potentially fatal ones.
Video

Crunch time for Republicans on Ukraine, says ex-US State Senator

by Francis Farrell, Olena Zashko, Alexander Zabolotnyi, Vladyslav Samusenko
The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell sits down with retired U.S. Army officer and former Nebraska State Senator Tom Brewer in the front-line city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, to discuss U.S.-Ukraine relations under the Trump administration, why Nebraska is interested in Ukraine's post-war recovery and why it's important for U.S. politicians to visit Ukraine to counter myths by Russian propaganda.

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