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Olena Zashko

Video Creator

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
For media & speaking inquiries:
press@kyivindependent.com

Articles

Video

Oleshky residents recount horrors of Russian occupation as they reach Ukraine

by Olena Zashko, Yuliia Taradiuk
On Oct. 31, residents of the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky finally arrived in Ukrainian-controlled territory as part of an evacuation mission that involved a short pause in fighting mediated with the involvement of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump. Seventeen buses carrying evacuees reached Ukrainian-controlled territory, where families were reunited with loved ones they had not seen for years. The Kyiv Independent’s Yuliia Taradiuk and Olena Zashko witnessed the arrival of the residents from Ol
Video

Can Ukraine fix its mobilization problems?

by Kateryna Hodunova, Olena Zashko
In this interview, the Kyiv Independent’s Kateryna Hodunova speaks with Pavlo Kazarin, a Ukrainian journalist, publicist and serviceman, about Ukraine’s mobilization crisis, draft evasion, soldiers going absent without leave (AWOL), and the growing divide between those serving and those remaining in civilian life.
Video

Laura Loomer on her U-turn on Ukraine

by Jimmy Rushton, Olena Zashko, Jason Blevins
The Kyiv Independent’s Jimmy Rushton speaks with MAGA influencer Laura Loomer during her visit to Kyiv about the dramatic shift in her stance on Ukraine after years of opposing U.S. military aid to the country, spreading Russian propaganda narratives, and cooperating with Russian state media outlets such as Russia Today (RT).

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