Severe blackouts have returned to Ukraine – but we're still reporting. Here's what you helped us achieve this week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your continued support.

Starting in mid-May, rolling power blackouts returned to Ukraine after Russia’s severely increased attacks on energy infrastructure, and have since worsened drastically. Although Kyiv is struggling with the energy shortages and officials warn of bleak months ahead, we’re able to keep our office powered thanks to the generator we bought last year with your support.

With this wave of blackouts being rather severe, we will be buying more equipment, such as portable batteries for our operations. This is what your contributions go to – thank you for standing with us.

We'd like to give a warm welcome to our 111 new members this week. Your support makes a critical difference.

Here are some highlights from the Kyiv Independent this week:

We released another documentary from our War Crimes Investigations Unit. "He Came Back" follows the stories of two survivors of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers during the occupation of the Kherson and Kyiv oblasts – and identifies the perpetrators. The film was made possible thanks to the support of our community. Thank you. Pictured above is our War Crimes Investigations Unit at the premiere of "He Came Back" in Kyiv today.

Our most popular story this week was Francis Farrell's report from Kharkiv Oblast, explaining how Ukraine stabilized the Kharkiv front after Russia's brutal new offensive, with one Ukrainian soldier saying the situation is "very tough, the level of destruction is crazy, I didn't see this intensity of shelling and fighting in Bakhmut.”

Another popular story this week was Asami Terajima's field report from Donetsk Oblast, which looks at how Russian troops have taken one Donbas village after another, as public attention shifted to Moscow's renewed offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, overrunning a dozen small villages and coming close to the town of Chasiv Yar.

We covered the one-year anniversary of Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. We published a photo story looking back at the humanitarian catastrophe and wrote about what the Kakhovka reservoir, now empty, might look like in five years.

We analyzed why the U.S. hesitated to allow Ukraine to hit Russia with American weapons. Joseph O'Sullivan's article breaks down the Biden administration's fear of Russian escalation, when Putin has already escalated the war by massively increasing attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and the impacts of these restrictions Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons.

We interviewed Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Rafeyenko about Russia's war, and he said "Everyone says culture has nothing to do with it. It does." Additionally, one of your membership benefits (for those at the Champion tier and above) is exclusive recommendations from our staff – read culture reporter Kate Tsurkan's review of Rafeyenko's novel “Mondegreen: Songs about Death and Love" here.

We also interviewed photographer Sasha Maslov about his work documenting self-sacrifice in Ukraine during war. His recent project "Saints" showcases over 100 photographs and the individual stories of Ukrainian soldiers, dedicated volunteers, and ordinary citizens contributing to their nation’s defense – and their sacrifices.

This week's Belarus Weekly features the visit of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to Belarus, in spite of EU sanctions, to sign a nuclear agreement.

Thank you for standing by our side as we bring independent, locally sourced news about Ukraine to the world.