Volodymyr Zolkin

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zolkin (Ukrainian: Володимир Олександрович Золкін, born 1981) is a Ukrainian YouTuber and activist, living in Kyiv.[2] He rose to prominence in 2022 after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, by interviewing prisoners of war for his YouTube channel, beginning 18 March 2022.[4]

Volodymyr Zolkin
Zolkin in 2022
Born1981 (age 41–42)[1]
Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)[2]
NationalityUkrainian
OccupationFreelance videographer[2][3]
Years active2022–present (YouTube)
Websitewww.youtube.com/c/volodymyrzolkin

"Russian prisoners are asked to confirm that they have agreed to the interview and its broadcast, before being asked to give an account of their military background and the events that led to their capture, along with their thoughts on the war." [. . .] "The prisoners are allowed to call family and friends at home.. The reasoning is that the mothers of captured soldiers would truly listen to what their sons were saying about the truth about the war, Zolkin said."[4]

Zolkin also independently telephones Russians with news about their relatives in the army deployed in Ukraine, and tries to counter disinformation about the war from the Russian state. He has access to a family's contact details from Look for Your Own, a service which allows Russians to leave their details and those of missing soldiers they are looking for. Zolkin matches requests with photographs and videos from the front line.[5]

Zolkin's videos have been widely referenced, and praised, across western media, although lawyers have suggested that he is violating the Third Geneva Convention by parading prisoners of war on the Internet. Zolkin denies this.[4][6]

References
  1. "Volodymyr Zolkin". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  2. "Vlogging the War". The New Yorker. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  3. "Another Ukrainian Journalist Reportedly Barred from Georgia". Civil Georgia. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  4. "'Often a Russian mother has a TV for a brain': Ukraine YouTuber films PoWs calling home". The Guardian. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  5. "How Ukraine tries to undercut Moscow's censorship over Russian war victims". Financial Times. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  6. "Ví, jak přemýšlejí ruští vojáci. "Mysleli, že Ukrajinu projedou s cígem." - Seznam Zprávy".
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