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Team

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Jason Blevins

Creative Video Director

Jason Blevins is the Creative Video Director at the Kyiv Independent. He is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and his work has appeared on The New Yorker, Voice of America, National Geographic, Netflix. Originally from the United States.

Articles

US aid swings and mysterious deaths in Russia | Ukraine This Week

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur breaks down a recent string of mysterious deaths and arrests among Russia’s elite, as well as and explains the implications Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have for a future conflict between China and Taiwan. Also in this episode: The U.S. resumes some military aid to Ukraine after an abrupt halt by the Defense Department last week.

Putin’s Victory Day and White House chaos | Ukraine This Week

This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.

Chornobyl isn’t safe anymore... again

Chornobyl disaster occurred in the early hours of April 26, 1986, in Soviet Ukraine. Nearly 39 years after the worst nuclear disaster in history, Russia’s brazen attack on the $2 billion New Safe Confinement (the sarcophagus enclosing the destroyed reactor) in February 2025 poses a new potential radioactive danger as engineers race to repair the damage. The Kyiv Independent’s Kollen Post dives into why the restoration is not as simple as it may seem.

Chinese POWs captured by Ukraine: What we know so far

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has carried out the first interrogation of two Chinese nationals captured while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, it announced on April 9. Here’s everything we know so far about the two POWs, as well as more than 160 other Chinese nationals reportedly serving in Russia’s Armed Forces, according to the documents seen by the Kyiv Independent.

How Trump ends wars

U.S. President Donald Trump’s negotiation strategy in Afghanistan resulted in a capitulation to the Taliban and abandoning U.S. allies. As the world awaits a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, what could a deal brokered by Trump actually look like? The Kyiv Independent’s Masha Lavrova dives into the last time Trump sought to end a war and what it could mean for Ukraine.

Three years of Russia's full-scale war: a conversation with Rob Lee

The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell sits down with Rob Lee, former U.S. marine infantry officer and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program. They discuss the evolving battlefield realities as Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its 4th year and why peace negotiations are unlikely to bring results any time soon.