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Asami Terajima photo

Asami Terajima

Reporter

Asami 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.

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Articles

Ukrainian rescuers operate at the site of a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 24, 2025
War analysis

Amid missile shortage, Ukraine's air defenses are struggling under Russian ballistic attacks

by Asami Terajima
As the air defense missile stocks run low and the future of U.S. military aid to Ukraine grows increasingly uncertain, Kyiv is under pressure to defend its sky. The concerns mount as Russia scales up its aerial attacks across Ukraine, combining ballistic missiles and drones to overwhelm air defenses. Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, are "definitely facing a shortage of (air defense) missiles," a source in the Air Force told the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynsky
Trump & Ukraine

Trump said Ukraine 'will be crushed very shortly' — this is why he's wrong

by Chris York, Asami Terajima, Francis Farrell
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he believes Ukraine will be "crushed very shortly," as it is up against Russia's "big war machine" that it cannot defeat. "I think I'm saving that nation. I think I'm doing a great service to Ukraine. I believe that," he said in an interview with The Atlantic published April 28. Trump's comments come as his administration's self-declared deadline of 100 days to end the war in Ukraine approaches this week, with the goal still a long way from completion. In
War analysis

What's next for North Korean troops fighting for Russia? A possible Ukraine deployment, experts, officials say

by Asami Terajima
North Korean troops fighting for Russia in Kursk Oblast could be redeployed to fight in Ukraine itself, experts and Ukrainian officials have told the Kyiv Independent, though there is still much uncertainty about the next steps Pyongyang's soldiers could take. Such a move would have huge ramifications for Russia's full-scale invasion, and far-reaching implications for the international community. "If the Kremlin sends North Korean troops to the territory of Ukraine it would mean that North Kor
War analysis

Ukraine to continue fighting with or without Trump, experts say

by Asami Terajima, Francis Farrell
Russia is waging small-scale assaults across the entire front, but the situation on the battlefield is nowhere near bad enough for Ukraine to be forced into an unfavorable peace deal, military analysts and soldiers told the Kyiv Independent. Since Ukraine announced the start of the Russian spring offensive in early April, Moscow has made "incremental gains" in multiple sectors of the front at a high cost, but achieving a breakthrough seems unlikely. Russia's bogged-down progress on the battlef
War analysis

Trump hopes to 'end war' this week. Here’s what you need to know

by Asami Terajima
U.S. President Donald Trump declared that Russia and Ukraine could reach a war-ending deal "this week," as his team threatens that Washington could ditch the peace talks efforts if no step is taken in the near future. "Both will then start to do big business with the United States of America, which is thriving, and make a fortune," Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend, referring to a potential deal. His call comes as the Wall Street Journal, citing Western officials, reported that the
Field report

‘Panic, screams, dead everywhere’ — Sumy in shock after double-tap missile attack kills 35

by Asami Terajima
Editor's note: This article contains graphic descriptions. SUMY — Valeriia Maksimova and her husband woke up to the first explosion in central Sumy at around 10 a.m. Their house was damaged by the blast wave. The 38-year-old rushed to the kitchen to start clearing the rubble when the second explosion struck, throwing her three meters, into the corridor. Their apartment was all but destroyed. “Everything happened so quickly,” Maksimova told the Kyiv Independent the day after the attack. Maksi
Kyiv

In Kyiv, skepticism about ceasefire reigns as Russia ramps up deadly attacks and US remains mute

by Yuliia Taradiuk, Asami Terajima
Following weeks of loud statements and attempts at diplomacy, the lack of clarity feels unsettling. Ukraine had agreed to a full ceasefire and got nothing in return. Russia had refused to comply. Over the past week, Russia further escalated its attacks on Ukrainian cities, killing dozens of civilians, among them children. The White House, which prioritized stopping the killings in Ukraine, remained notably mute. "I don't know what's happening there," U.S. President Donald Trump said on April
War analysis

Inside Ukraine's desperate race to train more soldiers

by Asami Terajima
New recruit Vitalii Yalovyi knew one thing after completing the Ukrainian military's boot camp: He was not prepared for war. The 37-year-old felt physically unfit, forcing him to miss some courses during the month-long training. His leg was still hurting from long daily walks at a training center in western Ukraine. But instead of getting an MRI scan after the training course as planned, he was taken on a bus, not knowing where he was heading. The "Welcome to Russia" road sign gave him a clue.
Kursk incursion

Zelensky confirms presence in Belgorod region, marking second Ukrainian incursion into Russia

by Asami Terajima
Editor's note: this article was updated on April 8 after President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on April 7 that the Ukrainian military was present in Belgorod Oblast. In late March, Ukrainian troops launched a raid into Russia's Belgorod Oblast. The small-scale incursion into yet another Russian region may be Ukraine's attempt to alleviate the pressure from the country's troops still fighting in the adjacent Kursk Oblast, military experts say. Following Russia's recapture of the logistics hub
A destroyed border checkpoint with signs reading "Ukraine" and "Russia" in Kursk Oblast, Russia, on Aug. 16, 2024.
War analysis

The rise and fall of Ukraine's Kursk gambit

by Asami Terajima
As Ukraine's seven-month-long incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast came to what appears to be its end, Ukrainian soldiers and military experts are questioning the operation's goal and the long-term effect it will have on the war. Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast in August 2024, using the initial momentum to occupy Russian border territories in an attempt to divert Russian attention from Ukraine's east. That proved ineffective, with Russian troops co
War

‘I can’t sit and watch it’ – US volunteers join Ukrainian army after Trump’s sharp policy turn

by Asami Terajima
Editor’s note: Soldiers interviewed for this article are identified only by their first name, callsign, or nickname due to security reasons. William, a 25-year-old U.S. Army veteran, has come to Ukraine to join the Ukrainian military in its fight against Russian aggression just days after his contract with the U.S. military ended in March. The artilleryman’s original plan was to come here in summer, but as the new U.S. President Donald Trump made a dramatic U-turn in Ukraine policy, the need t
Borova, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Feb. 12, 2025.
Ceasefire

'There will still be war' — Ukraine's soldiers on ceasefire proposal, Russia, and Putin

by Chris York, Yuliia Taradiuk, Natalia Yermak, Asami Terajima, Daria Shulzhenko
The "ball is in (Russia's) court," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 11 after Kyiv and Washington emerged from talks in Saudi Arabia in agreement over a ceasefire proposal. After the negotiations with Washington, Ukraine announced that it was ready to accept a 30-day-long ceasefire if Russia also complied with it. Now, all eyes are on Moscow as it mulls a response to the proposal, but expectations are not high — even if a ceasefire comes into force, Moscow has a long history of
town of Sudzha, Kursk Oblast, Russia, on Aug. 16, 2024.
War analysis

Losing foothold in Kursk Oblast would be 'politically significant,' experts say

by Asami Terajima
As Russian troops are set to push Ukrainian soldiers out of Kursk Oblast, experts say Kyiv's withdrawal from the region could be "politically significant." Ukraine's seven-month-long hold of a small portion of Russia's Kursk Oblast might be ending. On March 12, Russian troops entered the town of Sudzha, which served as Ukraine's main stronghold in the region. Fearing encirclement, Ukrainian troops have begun to pull back closer to the border. The news comes a day after Ukraine had agreed to t
American, British, Danish, and Ukrainian flags at a memorial for fallen soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 5, 2025.
Trump & Ukraine

‘He betrayed every one of us’ – US soldiers in Ukraine speak out after Trump’s military aid halt

by Asami Terajima
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. American volunteer soldiers fighting in Ukraine say that they feel “betrayed” by their own country after the U.S. halted military aid and stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv in early March. “(U.S. President Donald Trump) betrayed every one of us,” a U.S. Army veteran, who goes by the callsign Goldfish, told the Kyiv Independent

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