“I have a dream” – City St George’s student set to become a war correspondent after graduating

Zhenia Doluda, a journalism student specialising in politics and history, graduated from City St George’s this month. She is set to fly back to Ukraine to work at the English-language online newspaper, The Kyiv Independent.

Born in Ukraine, Zhenia has lived in half a dozen countries but now dreams of being a ground reporter from the war-torn land of her home country.

“From an early age, I wanted to do journalism. Having politically active parents helped me stay connected to my roots and culture. Getting to do this job now almost feels like a sense of duty,” she said.

In January 2026, Zhenia had the opportunity to intern at The Kyiv Independent by getting in touch with a guest speaker at the University, Francis Farrell, a fellow reporter at the outlet. During his visit in October 2024, he talked about his experience as a war reporter, the role of the Kyiv Independent, and safety in an age of drone warfare.

“The event truly inspired me and become a catalyst moment for me since it showed a real person whose job & passion revolved around not just war, but Ukraine. War journalism became something attainable and not just a title dominated by renowned journalists, which pushed me towards contacting and pursuing an internship and work with the Kyiv Independent," she said.

“It was probably one of the harshest winters,” she added, “with temperatures reaching minus 20 degrees and a lot of energy infrastructure being targeted. It gave me a real insight of what it's like living in a country that's affected by war.

There were many things that surprised me when I first moved there, like how my editor wanted me to show up to a press conference the day after there had been strikes in the city. That's just how it is; people continue getting on with their lives.

Stationed on the political desk, she would often go out and speak to residents about their experiences. She reported on how people struggled without heating and water and explained how they learned to adapt to the new way of life.

“Salons had an influx of customers getting their hair washed since there was no water at home. People brought their laptops and had meetings in the bunkers while they waited for the attacks to stop. Schools conducted activities there. It wasn’t uncommon to see people going around with sleeping bags just because they knew it was going to be a rough night.”

Her favourite part of reporting there was seeing the resilience in people. Ukrainians in developed cities like Kyiv found a way to overcome any obstacle that came their way.

During the energy crisis, people found the most innovative ways of staying warm. They would heat up building bricks in the oven when they had electricity and once that went out, would place these hot bricks in the middle of the room to keep it warm. It's inspiring to see people of a technologically advanced country go back to these stone age habits, but they do it so resiliently.

The public became immensely knowledgeable about the kind of weapons that were used in wars. Often when a safety alert was issued, they could calculate the travel time of any incoming weapon. Even though people held meetings, attended weddings, and visited museums, there were always reminders of what the country was going through.

There was a big patch of grass where they would put a Ukrainian flag for every fallen soldier. Within weeks, there were millions of those flags. You would see these advertisements in metro compartments which encouraged people to join or help the army. There were little details that you wouldn't really notice because they were integrated into part of the regular life.

Zhenia is excited for this new chapter of her life, even though it is anything but smooth sailing. “Despite all the hardships and the discomfort of living in that situation, it is just home for me. That is my identity. This is a place that's going to make me happy," she said.

“I want to bring the knowledge of what I've learned in all these countries back to Ukraine. I also want to learn so much more from Ukrainians because I think there's so humanity and resilience in them. I don’t know where I’ll be five years’ from now, but thinking of the present without obsessing about the future is what I’ve learnt from them.”

Click to find out more about studying BA Journalism, History and Politics at City St George's, University of London