Volodymyr Zolkin
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zolkin (born 1981 in Kyiv) is a Ukrainian journalist, freelance videographer, YouTuber and activist who lives in Kyiv. He became well known in 2022 during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for interviewing Russian prisoners of war on his YouTube channel, starting March 18, 2022.
Before the interviews, prisoners are asked to confirm they agree to be interviewed and to have it broadcast. He then asks about their military background, how they were captured, and their thoughts on the war. Sometimes prisoners are allowed to call their families at home, a practice Zolkin says helps families hear what the soldiers are saying about the war.
Zolkin also phones Russians with news about relatives serving in Ukraine and works to counter disinformation from the Russian state. He has access to contact details from Look for Your Own, a service that lets Russians share information about missing soldiers, and he matches those requests with photographs and videos from the front line.
His videos have been widely discussed in Western media, though some lawyers say he may be violating the Third Geneva Convention by sharing prisoners of war online. Zolkin denies this.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:47 (CET).