Finalists of the 2025 National Investigative Journalism Competition

The award ceremony of the 2025 National Investigative Journalism Competition took place in Kyiv. This competition was established in 2014 at the initiative of YanukovychLeaks and the Media Development Foundation.

This year, the competition’s final included 10 of the best investigative reports selected from 60 submitted entries. A panel of professional judges made the selection. The list of finalists features investigations that expose war crimes, corruption, sanction evasion schemes, illegal export of Ukrainian resources, as well as other topics related to justice and security.

The following works were named as finalists:

• “When Water Screams”, The Kyiv Independent
  Author: Olesya Bida
  Co-authors: Roman Sydorenko, Maksym Yakobchuk, Kostiantyn Nechyporenko, Anastasiia Mozhova, Yevheniia Motorevska
• “Shadows on the Left Bank”, The Kyiv Independent
  Author: Danylo Mokryk
  Co-author: Kostiantyn Nechyporenko
• “Official Robbery”, The Kyiv Independent
  Author: Yevheniia Motorevska
  Co-authors: Kostiantyn Nechyporenko, Roman Sydorenko, Maksym Yakobchuk, Anastasiia Mozhova
• “A Dangerous Trend: FSB Recruits Ukrainian Children to Set Fire to Armed Forces Vehicles”, Schemes (Radio Svoboda)
  Authors: Iryna Sysak, Valeriia Yehoshyna, Yuliia Khimeryk
• “Your Grace”, NGL.media
  Author: Maksym Pikho
• “Pirates of the Azov Sea”, KibOrg
  Author: Maksym Dudchenko
  Team: Oleh Onyshko (editor), Nazar Tuziak (layout and graphics), Maksym Savchuk (mentor), Lina Ivanova (project manager), Maksym Slasnyi (motion design)
• “Russia’s Shadow Fleet”, Ukrainska Pravda
  Author: Mykhailo Tkach
• “How Russia Is Preparing Its Strategic Missile Factory for ‘Eternal War'”, The Kyiv Independent
  Author: Alisa Yurchenko
• “Vika’s Final Assignment”, Slidstvo.Info
  Author: Yanina Kornienko
  Co-authors: Anastasiia Stanko, Anna Perepelytsia, Anna Babinets
• “Portnov’s Legacy”, Schemes (Radio Svoboda)
  Author: Serhii Andrushko
  Co-authors: Kira Tolstiakova (editor), Anna Peterimova (relationship infographics)

Registration for the next National Investigative Journalism Competition awards ceremony will open soon.

About the Author

Leonid Kovalenko

Author

“The time for action has come - only through action are final changes possible.” Political scientist, marketing expert, legal scholar, tour guide I’m deeply curious about life and all its manifestations. It was this desire to understand the world that once led me to journalism a field that gave me the chance to meet fascinating people and explore diverse areas of life. Through it, I began discovering the world via information. I’m interested in everything, which is why I write on a wide range of topics from culture to economics, from politics to science, from sports to history. What captivates me most is researching the glorious past of our nation, exploring the unique identity of the Ukrainian people, and reflecting on all that lies beyond the borders of human comprehension. Because when you seek to understand the world, you encounter the truth. And truth can save, change, and transform. But that’s only possible through action and the time for it is now. When you change yourself, the world around you changes too and with it, life itself. It was this commitment to action, knowledge, and transformation that allowed me to become a record-holder in the National Register of Records of Ukraine: Record for “The longest sun gazing without eye protection” October 17, 2019.

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