We reported from the front line near Kupiansk on Ukraine's ace drone unit: Here's what you helped us accomplish this week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

We hope you're hanging in there. Despite a somewhat bleak news cycle to start the year, we wanted to bring you some positivity. Pictured above is our audience development manager Elsa Court and reporter Francis Farrell pose with their new handcrafted knitwear for winter. Francis said of his scarf that "it will be great to wear out on positions" when he reports from the front line. These accessories were knitted by our social media manager and video host Anna Belokur, who is making sure the Kyiv Independent team stays warm.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to the 106 new members who joined our community this week. Thank you for your support — about 70% of our total revenue in 2024 came from members and donors like you! This shows the power of collective action: It's our 14,000 community members — members including you — that make up the backbone of our funding. Thank you for being with us.

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

We reported from Kharkiv Oblast, near Kupiansk. Francis Farrell's story looks at how Ukraine's ace drone unit hunts Russian soldiers, giving a glimpse into the future of warfare: "where everything that moves can be the target of a cheap, high-precision manhunt."

We also reported from Bilozerske, Donetsk Oblast. About 30 kilometers north of Pokrovsk, Emmanuelle Chaze reports on the civilians remaining as Russians inch closer and closer to the embattled town, who are now faced with the decision to stay or to evacuate. Russia continues to gain ground in eastern Donetsk, overrunning Kurakhove and approaching Pokrovsk from three directions.

We interviewed Russian chess grandmaster and political activist Garry Kasparov about the current state of Russian and the failure of the opposition to make any meaningful changes. Kasparov said of the modern Russian empire that one "can't negotiate with this kind of evil."

Our most popular story this week was Chris York's article on the devastating demographic time bomb Russia faces, a result of declining birth rates, but exacerbated by the effects of war in Ukraine.

We also wrote about the internally displaced Ukrainians who have returned home, some to Russian occupation. Natalia Yermak's story looks at how the lack of adequate government assistance has forced some families to make the dangerous journey back to their homes in occupied territories, facing "filtration" and persecution for Ukrainian identities.

We reported on Russia's gas sector now that the transit deal through Ukraine has expired. Dominic Culverwell's story explains what this means for the Russian gas industry, now that it can no longer transport 40 billion cubic meters of gas through Ukraine to buyers in the EU every year.

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