Illia Ponomarenko (Ukrainian: Ілля Пономаренко; born 25 February 1992) is a Ukrainian journalist, war reporter and defense analyst writing for The Kyiv Independent.
[2] Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ponomarenko saw his Twitter following soar to over one million, as many sought on-the-ground information in the early days of the invasion; Der Spiegel wrote that "for people worldwide, he became the most important chronicler of the war during this period.
"[3] Since then, he has been regularly cited in international media, as well as writing translated opinion pieces, such as for Norwegian Aftenposten.
[4] Ponomarenko grew up in Volnovakha, and studied at Mariupol State University.
[3] He has stated he was studying international relations in Mariupol when the city was occupied in 2014 by Russian-backed forces.