We're releasing a documentary about the mental health of military medics: Here's what you helped us accomplish this week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your continued support.

Next week, we will debut the documentary "Can You Hear Me? The Invisible Battles of Ukrainian Military Medics" by Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko.

On Wednesday, we will have an exclusive online premiere for our community members, where we will show the version of the film we will be screening in Kyiv — one with less censorship — as we have to upload a heavily-censored version to YouTube due to its restrictions on graphic scenes. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Francis and Olena — you can register and submit your questions here.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to the 275 new members who joined our community this week — we set a goal to reach 1,000 members for the Kyiv Independent's third birthday, which we've already surpassed, thanks to your support! On behalf of the entire team, thank you so much for helping keeping our reporting funded. Your contributions give us a stable source of revenue and are crucial for our ability to prepare for 2025.

We're proud to be reader-funded!

Here's what you helped us accomplish at the Kyiv Independent this week:

We reported on the Russian forces amassing for assault on the Dnipro islands. Khrystyna Zhevlakova's article looks at the ongoing fight over a series of small islands in the Dnipro River — control of which would allow Russia to intensify attacks on Kherson — and how this part of the front line, which has been relatively quiet, might soon heat up again.

Our most widely-read story this week was Asami Terajima's piece about Ukraine's operation into Russia's Kursk Oblast. As Ukraine clings to its captured territories for leverage in possible peace talks, one soldier said Russia's forces are "destroying us little by little."

Another popular story was Oleg Sukhov's story about the ruble's devaluation. Economists are divided on how much of an impact Russia's economic problems will have, with some arguing that it is becoming increasingly difficult for Russia to finance its war.

We reported on a Belarusian who faces the death penalty in Belarus for fighting for Ukraine. Vasil Verameichyk enlisted in Ukraine's Armed Forces just four days after Russia launched its all-out war, and was extradited to Belarus in November. Now his Belarusian brothers-in-arms, still serving in Ukraine, are hoping to rally Kyiv to do whatever they can to secure his release.

This week, Belarus Weekly includes reports that Russian troops operated a torture chamber for Ukrainians in Belarus at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

We wrote about the children who lost parents in Russia’s war. Dasha Shulzhenko's story looks at the dreams and hopes of these children in their letters to St. Nicholas, the Ukrainian alternative to Santa Claus, with one child, Tymur, wishing for a flight in an airplane, having "a mountain of bananas," and for the war to finally be over.

We also launched our winter collection on the Kyiv Independent Store, which draws inspiration from Ukrainian Christmas traditions including Carol of the Bells — a classic Ukrainian Christmas song. Don't forget you're eligible for a 15% discount with the code WELOVEOURMEMBERS (because we love you).

We have two upcoming discussions with our research unit KI Insights. The first "Refugee Flows in Winter and Post-War Population" will be on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and you can register here. The second event will be a Q&A with Dr. Edward Howell about Koreas' growing role in Russia's war on Thursday, Dec. 12, and you can register here. These exclusive briefings are are free for our community members.

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