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Asami Terajima
ReporterAsami 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.
Articles
The Ukrainian voices left out of Trump-Putin meeting
The Kyiv Independent visited the front-line city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast to hear from its residents what they think about the prospects of land swaps between Ukraine and Russia ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska.
As Putin, Trump debate Ukraine's future borders, Donetsk Oblast residents are split on what they would accept to end the war
KRAMATORSK, Donetsk Oblast — U.S. President Donald Trump began to actively push Ukraine to accept losing its land and people to Russia, following years of brutal, all-out war.
People in Kramatorsk, the largest Ukrainian-held city in Donetsk Oblast — a region that Russia wants and Trump is thinking of handing over in full — have met the recent news with unease.
Those who spoke with the Kyiv Independent, however, still maintain a fragile hope for a lasting peace — something this region hasn't se
Breakthrough unlikely at Putin-Trump meeting as US, Russia, Ukraine differ on key issues
As U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, prepare for a bilateral meeting on Aug. 15 in Alaska, the aims of the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine appear to contradict each other.
"At the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made," Trump told reporters on Aug. 11.
Experts say the hastily organized summit will most likely fail to bring Trump, Putin, and President Volodymyr Zelensky to an agreement on a fu
Ukrainian drones hit oil refinery 2,000 km from border in Russia's Komi Republic, military intelligence confirms
The attack marks Kyiv's first confirmed drone strike in Russia's northwestern Komi Republic. The strike hit the Lukoil-Ukhta refinery, which supplies the Russian army with fuel.
Mobilization gridlock: How politics, policy, and public opinion are shaping Ukraine’s war effort
As Ukraine struggles to replenish front-line units after 42 months of all-out war, those in power prefer to avoid publicly commenting on mobilization efforts and the way it is conducted.
Political experts say mobilization became a "toxic" and politicized issue, with high-ranking officials — from the president to ministers and lawmakers — trying to avoid being associated with the cause.
"In my opinion, most politicians are afraid to raise this topic because it is controversial," political analy
Slovakia's Fico claims Ukraine will 'have to pay dearly' ahead of Putin-Trump meeting
"No matter how the elephants' negotiations on Aug. 15 turn out, the grass will suffer - in this case, Ukraine,” the Slovak Prime Minister said.
3 killed by sea mine explosions at beaches in Odesa Oblast
A man was killed at a beach about 60 kilometers south of the port city of Odesa, while another man and a woman were killed at a beach in Zatoka, further south, according to local authorities.
White House not ruling out Zelensky's participation in Alaska meetings, CNN says
One White House official told CNN that anything with Zelensky's involvement would likely be scheduled after Trump's meeting with Putin.
Ukraine liberates village in Sumy Oblast, General Staff says
The General Staff's statement comes as Russia continues to try advancing deeper into Sumy Oblast more than two months after opening a new front in the northeast.
'It was the end of the world' — Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv kills at least 31, injures over 150
Editor's note: The article was updated after Kateryna Naralnyk's sister, Tamara, informed the Kyiv Independent after midnight that the son, daughter, and two grandsons were confirmed dead.
All Kateryna Naralnyk saw was black smoke after a Russia ballistic missile hit her apartment building in Kyiv early on July 31.
"I woke up, and I couldn't hear anything," the 66-year-old grandmother told the Kyiv Independent hours later outside her destroyed home, as rescuers cleared the rubble looking for m
Ukraine’s EU accession at risk ahead of critical anti-corruption vote
President Volodymyr Zelensky's sudden move to strip the country's anti-corruption infrastructure of its independence stunned the European Union.
Even as the Ukrainian authorities now attempt to reverse the controversial move that faced a harsh backlash from the EU and the wider public, the damage to Kyiv's potential accession to the union has already been done, experts say.
Two days after hastily signing a controversial bill that subordinates the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the
Russia may have received up to 30,000 fresh North Korean troops, boosting its negotiating position
North Korean troops had fought alongside Russia since late 2024. They saw combat in Russia's Kursk Oblast but didn't cross into Ukraine.
That might soon change. Ukrainian officials assess that North Korea has additionally deployed 20,000 to 30,000 troops to Russia, though the number could be lower, a senior Western diplomat told the Kyiv Independent, citing Ukrainian intelligence.
As Washington attempts to push Kyiv and Moscow into peace talks, Russia likely seeks to "project strength" by invo
‘A fatal mistake’ — Ukrainian soldiers slam Zelensky’s anti-corruption crackdown
Editor’s Note: Some Ukrainian soldiers in this article asked to be identified only by their first name or callsign, citing fears of possible repercussions for speaking to the press about a sensitive topic.
Even for Ukrainian soldiers locked in brutal warfare hundreds of kilometers from the capital, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s move to dismantle the country’s anti-corruption infrastructure built over the past decade felt like a blow.
Zelensky signed a controversial bill destroying the indepen
Explainer: What Russia could achieve in Ukraine by Trump's 50-day deadline
U.S. President Donald Trump gave a 50-day ultimatum to Russia to end the war in Ukraine, promising to impose harsh sanctions otherwise.
Experts who spoke with the Kyiv Independent, however, say that Russia can take advantage of the once again extended deadline and scale up its summer offensive, ongoing since May.
Russia could realistically advance closer to Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the eastern Donetsk Oblast by trying to encircle them as much as possible in the next few months, but the c
Trump's big Russia announcement fails to lift spirits in a fatigued Ukraine
The teasing on July 11 of U.S. President Donald Trump's "big announcement" on Russia had raised hopes in Ukraine over the weekend that the White House was finally going to take concrete action to pressure Moscow to end its full-scale invasion.
Those hopes would not be met.
On July 14, Trump instead said the U.S. will impose "severe tariffs" on Russia unless it agrees to a deal on ending the war in Ukraine within 50 days. It comes after previous deadlines to end the war of 24 hours, two weeks,
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Our readers' questions about the war, answered. Vol. 9
