Ukraine Internship
Anastasiia Babenko, a Ukrainian journalist from Kyiv, participated in a two-month fellowship with the Voice of America’s Ukrainian Service, with the support of the BBG Office of Strategy and Development. During her fellowship, Anastasiia was a tremendous asset to VOA, as her insight and reporting talents enriched VOA’s coverage of the massive pro-Europe protests in Ukraine. Her reporting included commentary and analysis by prominent American experts on Ukraine such as Steven Pifer (Brookings Institution) and Anders Aslund (Peterson Institute). She also produced engaging feature stories on Halloween, the Newseum and the problem of student debt. Ms. Babenko is a reporter with Channel 5, a respected all-news and information Ukrainian national TV network and long-time partner station of VOA.
The VOA Ukrainian Chas-Time and Window on America TV programs have been broadcast on Channel 5 for over eight years. The fellowship provided Anastasiia with a unique opportunity to see the inside workings of VOA, immerse herself in the political and cultural life of Washington and enhance her English-language skills. When she returns to Ukraine in mid-December, her continued work as a news reporter is sure to be informed by her extensive, in-depth and practical professional training experience at VOA’s headquarters. Anastasiia’s VOA experience serves as a highly successful and mutually beneficial training model for bringing more journalism fellows from Ukraine and other countries to VOA Washington in the future.