Fearless Journalist, Author, Filmmaker, Kherson, Ukraine

1. Name.

Zarina Zabrisky.

2. What did you study and what is your profession?

I studied literature and languages, and I am an author, journalist, and filmmaker.

3. Where were you when the full scale russian attack took place?

I was in San Francisco, finishing my second novel.

Did you believe in the possibility of the RF attacking key cities of Ukraine and starting a full-scale aggression? 

The war had been going on since 2014, and there were 100,000 Russian soldiers at the Ukrainian border. One just had to open their eyes and see what was happening, but the world chose denial. I have been warning about it for a long time.

What was your experience of the day the war started?

That evening, I was hosting a literary show on a bookstore channel, my job at the time. My guest, an American scholar and literary translator, just had a book of Pushkin’s translation out, dedicated to his father who had passed away that week. I knew him personally and did not have it in me to refuse to host the show, but it was painful—I was expecting the announcement from Moscow would happen during that show. I closed that channel, quit that job, and started to report on the developments in Ukraine the moment Putin made his “speech.” It was the longest Twitter thread, maybe a Guinness World Record, as I only stopped when I relocated to Ukraine to report from the ground. I translated Ukrainian and sometimes Russian Telegram channels and posted several times an hour with updates on all fronts, around the clock. I think I was manic as I have not left my house for weeks, and hardly slept. I anticipated the full-scale invasion but it didn’t make it easier.

Where did you go and what do you recall was your plan?

I first wanted to join the International Legion and fight, but realized that I would be more useful as a reporter. I applied for accreditation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense as a journalist for Byline Times, the newspaper I wrote for, and waited for it to get it. As soon as I got it, at the end of March 2022, I went to Odesa and started reporting. After a couple of months, I started to travel around Ukraine and report from the front.

4. What was your typical day like before the war and how has your role changed since the invasion of Ukraine?

Before the war, I was finishing my novel I had been working on for three years, so I was writing all day, with short breaks for walks and working out. I have dropped it, and now it is reporting all day, with field trips and interviews, and writing and editing the rest of the time, with breaks for working out.

5. Where were you born and where do you live now?

I don’t believe a person is defined by the place of birth but by the place they choose to live. I didn’t choose to be born in the USSR, but I chose to live most of my life in the USA and the last three years in Ukraine.

6. What would you say are your strengths and superpowers?

I don’t have any superpowers. I am enraged by Russians and love Ukraine, so this keeps me going. I am also very obstinate and persistent. And my ancestors were from Ukraine, so maybe that J I guess, I can say that I am a solid writer, and it helps.

7. What are some concrete actions (big or small) you’ve done and continue doing to help Ukraine and Ukrainian people?

Never enough but I am proud that I helped fight the invaders and was put on the personal sanctions “stop list” by the Russian Federation.

In July 2024, I uncovered and reported on a disturbing new form of warfare and war crimes unfolding in Ukraine, which I have termed the “human safari.” This tactic involves the systematic deployment of small, remote-controlled drones—specifically First Person View (FPV) drones—to deliberately hunt and target civilians in frontline regions, including Kherson, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Nikopol.

These drones carry out precision attacks on civilian targets by dropping anti-personnel mines, incendiary substances, explosives, and sharp objects on residential buildings, vehicles, hospitals, and emergency responders. Such attacks are often filmed and disseminated through Russian Telegram channels, thereby weaponizing terror as part of a broader psychological warfare strategy.

Based on reports from the United Nations and Human Rights Watch in 2025 (to which I have contributed contact lists and other materials), these actions have been classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity. It means that the military command, including Putin, can be brought to trial. I have presented these findings at the German Bundestag and U.S. Congressional offices in 2025.

I directed a full-length documentary Kherson: Human Safari, which is endorsed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian Navy, Kherson Military Administration, and the official media of the Office of the President of Ukraine. The film has received coverage by many publications around the world and is scheduled for screening on Capitol Hill in September 2025. It is now being screened around the world, including Paris, Dallas, New York, Bonn, Melbourne, Riga, and more, translated into many languages, and it helps raise awareness and, I hope, save Kherson.

I have been writing about hybrid warfare, Russian intelligence operations, and information warfare since 2015, and have taught seminars on Kremlin combat propaganda to international audiences. As a journalist embedded in southern Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, I’ve covered how Ukrainian forces—including the military, SBU, Special Forces, and local partisans—have used asymmetric tactics to resist and repel a larger occupying force. From sabotage operations and drone warfare to psychological campaigns and civilian resistance networks, I’ve reported firsthand on how innovation, intelligence sharing, and decentralization have reshaped the battlefield. I’ve interviewed Ukrainian Special Forces, civilians cooperating with intelligence services, and cyber defense volunteers, and would bring sharp, grounded insight to moderating or contributing to this panel—showing how Ukraine is redefining 21st-century warfare for smaller nations under existential threat.

Byline Times, an exclusive interview with Ukrainian Special Forces officers, “An Urgent Warning to the West From the Ukrainian ‘Elves’ Fighting Russian Infiltration”

Byline Times, Unmasking the Coordinated Reach of Russian Doppelgänger Bots. My investigation into the Doppelgänger disinformation campaign was included in 24 internal Kremlin documents delivered to the Russian Presidential Administration, and later was cited in an FBI affidavit supporting the seizure of Russian-linked domains, demonstrating the impact of my reporting on countering information warfare.

I have covered Russia’s system of abduction, filtration, and torture since 2022, and interviewed former POWs, hostages, and investigators. My fieldwork includes documenting war crimes and psychological trauma among survivors, especially in occupied and later liberated areas such as Kherson, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia. I interviewed both returning Ukrainian POWs and Russian POWs in Ukrainian prisons. Based on some of my research, I co-produced an award-winning  documentary, Under Deadly Skies.

Byline Times, Russian War Crimes in Ukraine: Torture as a Propaganda Tool

Voice of America, Interviews with former and survivors of Russian torture

8. Can you talk about Kherson, the city that was prior to the full-scale and the city now?

I have never visited Kherson before it was liberated. I published some interviews with people who fled Kherson then, but I have never experienced peaceful Kherson. When I first came, it was pretty intact, with just a few buildings destroyed here and there. During the two years of my life here, I have seen downtown Kherson crumbling and becoming empty like Pripyat or a ghost town on Route 66 in America. I see more and more buildings destroyed daily, despite Khersonians trying to clean the streets after every explosion, plant flowers, and even decorate. Each time Russians hit, Ukrainians restore but it is an uneven fight at this moment. Reconstruction under artillery fire, aerial bombs, and drones is impossible. The façade of the White House, ruined by the Russians became a symbol of their barbarism. It is just sitting there, in the Freedom Square, as an eyewitness to the crimes.

What are some aspects of the city and the people that leave you inspired to keep returning there and bring more stories to light about the atrocities that russians are carrying out there?

The love of life. Blooming rose gardens in front of the ruins. Watermelons and pumpkins by the carcasses of the buildings. Tomatoes and sunflowers growing on top of the temporary bomb shelters. Water trays and bread crumbs set up for pigeons in the streets. Recycling—under fire. Old and young people exercising in the parks to the sounds of explosions. Boxing, dance and yoga studios thriving—even if not everyone can make it to the class due to the drone hovering above. Theater premieres, poetry readings, music concerts, and art exhibits in the basements. Libraries and book clubs open and throwing master classes—during aerial bomb attacks. Alleys and boulevards lined up by shrapnel-scratched sycamores, streets covered by orange leaves in the fall—even if anti-infantry mines are hiding underneath the leaves. Sunlight playing on crumbling walls and balconies. The river glistening so close—and so impossible to reach. The sounds of cicadas in summer, at night, interrupted by Shahid drones. My little corner store bodega, where the sales lady is more savvy about politics than most analysts I interview. The big fancy grocery store with dragon fruits, smoked tofu, kombucha, its own bakery with the best in the world hot black bread, the walls decorated with the paintings by the local primitivist artist. Everything, really.

9. What are things you do just for you?

Yoga, going to the bath (banya) with my girlfriends, going for a walk, sometimes dancing. Not much time to do everything I want.

Is it possible to stay sane in a war situation?

I don’t think so.

What are some things that help you to not lose yourself?

Who said I didn’t? :D Lifting weights, yoga. Makeup—it is a bit of a meditation that calms my nerves, a ritual when you are focused on yourself.

10. Do you feel the war changed you? How?

Yes.

I like to spend more time by myself. I never liked loud sounds but now I am really sensitive to them. It is hard to tell otherwise…

Since the start of the war, has anything surprised you about:

yourself (how you have handled yourself, remained strong, found inspiration in unlikely sources, etc.),

I am not that focused on myself, so it is hard to tell. It feels right to be doing what I am doing, I guess, so it might be surprising—this is not what I have planned.

about your country, -- yes, my country went insane and became fascist, and it really broke my heart. I really believed in America… and loved it. Still do, but it is becoming much harder. I am not even sure if I have a country. Ukraine is the land of my ancestors and is becoming my home… but I cannot call it my country, still.

about your ideas about humanity? I had no illusions about humanity before but the war really makes it black-and-white and harsh. I have seen horrendous things, and I have also seen a lot of noble and amazing things.

What have been some of your epiphanies?

I guess I am not in a place where I can make conclusions or have the mental capacity for summing it up—I am in the midst of “action” with Russian drones dropping explosives by my window a few times a day. Just a few hours ago, four aerial guided bombs were dropped on a Kherson suburb—but until they dropped, we didn’t know where they’d hit—could be anywhere. So you are just walking down the street, wondering if it will kill you now. Or you go to bed and you don’t know if you will wake up because of all the explosions outside. Every night. I guess this is the epiphany—any safety is an illusion, and life is monstrously fragile and can end at any moment, so I have to live it as much as possible in the moment. Not leaving it for tomorrow. Tomorrow should not be taken for granted. In fact, tomorrow is a gift. Not to sound like a fortune cookie.

11. What do you want the world to know about Ukrainians at this moment in time? About Ukrainian women?

Ukrainians are not victims. Ukraine values agency and will above all. It deeply resonated with me: just as I refuse to be defined of being born in the USSR, Ukraine fights for its identity outside of the mental framework of the post-Soviet space.[might be the place to put the question about my place of birth.]

Ukrainian women are powerful and beautiful. I am at a loss for words for their strength of spirit—and bodies. They are also very athletic and grounded in their bodies. I also appreciate the dignity and elegance, and attention to detail in appearance. In Kherson, no one walks around disheveled, no matter what. Beauty against barbarism.

12. Who are your WOW Women who inspire you?

I am reading a book about American women correspondents in World War I now, and I find inspiration in their experiences and writing. Nellie Bly, for instance. The same goes for women war journalists in WWII, like Lee Miller—one of my major inspirations--and later on.

My girlfriends from the yoga and dance studio in Kherson inspire me every day. They are soulful, strong, kind, and always fun—and they have lived and are still living through hell. The dancer in my film, for instance, Alyona—so multi-dimensional, talented, hard-working, and also modest.

13. In your opinion, how do Russians differ from Ukrainians?

Different history, different national character. Russians lived under serfdom of various kind forever. Freedom and free will are the empty sounds to them.

Ukrainians not just believe in agency, they impersonate it and live it. Ukraine is defined by free choice. The “No Fate” slogan at the last Burning Man is a good illustration of this. Ukrainians are also very hard-working—unlike Russians, who tend to appropriate.

And Ukrainians are insanely clean. I mean, streets, houses, and trenches, even. A different standard of living.

Of course, these are generalizations, and I am aware of lazy and fatalistic Ukrainians, and I have met in my life a few Russians who died for freedom.

Like I said, one is not defined by the birth circumstances. There is a freedom of choice.

Do you want justice for Russians? Do you think it is possible, and what would you like to see happen?

Yes. I believe in collective responsibility. I want tribunals and trials. I hope my reports will be used as evidence. I believe that anything is possible. We just need to work hard and make it happen.

14. How do you see dynamics changing inside the country, with attitudes toward those who left vs those who stayed? Do you think that Ukrainians who left the country have a specific responsibility toward their homeland?

I do see all kinds of attitudes; it really depends on a person. And on the region. In Kherson, I do feel that people are becoming more and more exhausted with the horrors befalling them, and, as a result, they lose tolerance or patience towards those who have left and are not helping out.

I can’t talk for other people, though. I can tell you that I was very upset with the attitude of some Ukrainians in the US and Europe during my last visits, ranging from indifference to open hostility and refusal to help Ukraine. It is not my place to judge, though. I am here to report.

15. What is a place or activity that makes you feel happiest?

Right now? Yoga studio here, and walking down the streets of old Kherson.

16. What will be the first thing you’ll do when Ukraine wins?

I will drink the Bakhmut-made champagne with my closest friends in Odesa. We have been waiting for a while. I will also go dancing—both in Odesa and Kherson.

What are your dreams for yourself and your family after the war is finished?

I want to go to Australia and explore the folklore of the Aboriginal people. I also want to go to Madagascar and see all the animals there. I want to hang out on the Langeron beach in Odesa, eat cherries, drink cocktails, and read novels. I want to walk to the Dnipro River in Kherson and touch the water—I have never been able to do it in my three years here. I want to see the left bank with all its beauty. I want to go to the Ukrainian Crimea! God, there is so much I want to do!

17. Where can others find you/your work? (links to website, blog, etc).

You can watch my documentary at www.khersonhumansafari.com. I am a war correspondent for Byline Times, Euromaidan Press, Fresno Alliance, and I write and report for other publications, including BBC Radio. I post links to my work and reports daily on my social media X @ZarinaZabrisky; Instagram, FB, BlueSky, YouTube. A lot of my pre-full-scale invasion articles can be found at Medium.