Ramina Abdullivna Eshakzai (; born 1 March 1992) is a Ukrainian journalist and YouTuber, known as the host of the YouTube channel RAMINA.
Early life and education Eshakzai was born on 1 March 1992 in Kyiv. Her father, Abdulla Eshakzai, is of Afghan origin; her mother, Oksana Eshakzai, is Ukrainian. She has a younger sister, Diana. She grew up in the Voskresenka residential district of Kyiv and attended Kyiv Specialised School No. 98.
She studied at the Institute of Journalism of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, graduating in advertising and public relations, and completed an internship in radio. She later received a master's degree from the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, in the Institute of Cinema and Television, specialising in television and radio news presenting.
Career
Early work While studying, Eshakzai worked as a model and appeared in music videos for Ukrainian performers including Antytila and Vitaliy Kozlovskyy. She took part in the television programmes Kholostyak (STB), Vid selianky do panianky and Bohynia shopinhu (TET), and Karaoke na Maidani (Inter).
YouTube In May 2018, Eshakzai sold her car and invested the proceeds in her YouTube channel Khodiat slukhi (, "Rumour has it"), which later exceeded 1.5 million subscribers.
On 23 February 2022, Eshakzai and her film crew recorded footage of the Antonov An-225 Mriya at the airfield in Hostomel, one day before the aircraft was destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In March 2023, she announced the closure of Khodiat slukhi and its rebranding as RAMINA.
After the rebranding, the channel began publishing interviews with cultural figures and material on social and political topics, including reports featuring soldiers and volunteers and reports from front-line and de-occupied areas such as Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Orikhiv, and Snake Island.
In October 2023, the analytical outlet Slovo i Dilo published a ranking of ten Ukrainian YouTube bloggers who regularly publish content on war-related topics; Eshakzai was placed seventh and was the only woman on the list. In comments on the ranking, she said she did not view her professional work in terms of gender.
In February 2024, Eshakzai worked as an interviewer for the YouTube studio at the 60th Munich Security Conference (16–18 February 2024), interviewing participants including government representatives and international diplomats.
In November 2024, she took part in the event "1000 Days On: A Creator Exchange" at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The event marked the 1,000th day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and brought together representatives of the alliance, Ukraine's Mission to NATO, international officials and content creators from NATO member states. She participated in discussions on support for Ukraine and the country's role as a NATO partner.
In July 2025, she published an interview with Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, marking his fifth year in the post; the interview dealt with the work of Ukrainian military intelligence.
As of October 2025, her YouTube channel had approximately 1.46 million subscribers.
In October 2025, Eshakzai travelled to Afghanistan under Taliban rule. According to her account, the trip was facilitated by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
Recognition In April 2024, Eshakzai received an award from the Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, a letter of thanks from the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders, and a medal from the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade "Edelweiss", in recognition of volunteer work and informational support for military units.
In May 2024, she attended the YUNA awards ceremony, where she appeared on the red carpet holding a sign reading "Don't be silent! Free Azov", referring to Ukrainian prisoners of war.
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