Kyiv Independent COO Zakhar Protsiuk named in INMA’s 30 Under 30 Awards

The Kyiv Independent is proud to announce that Chief Operating Officer Zakhar Protsiuk has been named in the International News Media Association’s (INMA) 2026 30 Under 30 Awards, recognizing young media professionals making an impact on the news industry.

Protsiuk oversees reader revenue, product, marketing, and communications at the Kyiv Independent, where he has helped build and grow the newsroom’s reader-funded business model.

INMA recognized Protsiuk for his achievements in growing the Kyiv Independent’s paying membership from 6,000 to more than 35,000 members, with reader revenue now covering over 70% of the organization’s budget.

“Zakhar was the first person to join me on the business side of the Kyiv Independent, and more than four years later, he remains one of our greatest assets,” said Daryna Shevchenko, CEO of the Kyiv Independent. “During the many months of building this through a full-scale war, he built a unique team around our reader revenue model, reinvented that model more times than I can count, and rallied the whole Kyiv Independent team around community and innovation. We could hardly be what we are now without him.”

Before joining the Kyiv Independent, Protsiuk co-founded The Fix Media, a publication covering the news industry, and worked as a partner at Jnomics, where he advised more than 20 publishers on audience and business strategy.

At the Kyiv Independent, his work has focused on building a sustainable model for independent journalism that relies on readers. To join the community of readers supporting our journalism, consider becoming a member today.