Speaker
Stanislav Aseyev
A native of Donetsk, Stanislav Aseyev stayed in the city when it fell under the control of Russian-backed militants in 2014. He continued undercover reporting on conditions under the Russian occupation for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty until 2017 when he was kidnapped by the militants and sentenced to 15 years for 'extremism' and 'spying'. Aseyev was held captive and subjected to torture for over two and a half years in Donetsk's most infamous prison. Released as part of a prisoner exchange in December 2019, he has since written searing accounts of his time in captivity, which have recently been translated into English.
In addition to his journalistic work, Aseyev is the author of five books, including his autobiographical novel, The Melchior Elephant, or The Man Who Thought, where he dives into the life of the occupied city and his take on the events that unfold. In Isolation, a collection of dispatches from occupied Donbas is soon to be published in English as part of Harvard’s Ukrainian literature series. The English translation of Aseyev’s memoir, The Torture Camp on Paradise Street, is also upcoming with Old Lion Publishing House.
Speaker
Nataliya Gumenyuk
Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist and author. In recent weeks, she has been reporting on the war from across Ukraine, including from Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv. She is a founder of the Public Interest Journalism Lab, which promotes constructive discussion around complex social topics. From 2015 to 2020 she headed the independent Ukrainian broadcaster Hromadske TV and the English-language Hromadske International project. Gumenyuk specialises in reporting foreign affairs and conflicts. Her acclaimed book, The Lost Island. Tales from Occupied Crimea (2020), features her six-year reporting from Russian-annexed Crimea.
Speaker
Isobel Koshiw
Isobel is The Guardian's Kyiv Correspondent and formerly wrote as a freelancer for Buzzfeed News and NV. She has worked on investigations into transnational crime and corruption at NGOs and for international publications. Her investigations have appeared in OCCRP, The Verge, The New York Times, The Financial Times, and The Times and Kyiv Post.
Moderator
Olesya Khromeychuk
Olesya Khromeychuk is the Director of the Ukrainian Institute London. She is a historian and writer.