In the 2007–08 season Yakimenko earned two World Cup medals in Moscow and Warsaw. At the 2008 European Championships in Kiev he disposed of Olympic champion Mihai Covaliu in the semi-final and met in the final Belarus' Buikevich, who had stopped him in the first round of the 2006 Worlds. Yakimenko was defeated again and came away with the silver medal. In the team event Russia met France in the final. The match was much less close than previous encounters and Russia won 45–29 to give Yakimenko his 6th team European title in a row.