We spoke to Ukrainian soldiers who captured a North Korean POW: Here's what you helped us accomplish this week (Patreon)

We hope you're all doing well.

Next week, we’ll be hosting an exclusive online premiere of the latest documentary by our War Crimes Investigations Unit before we show the film in Kyiv. “Curated Theft” reveals how Russian forces looted two local museums in Kherson, committing the largest robbery of its kind in Europe since World War II.

We’ll be hosting the online screening for members on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 7 p.m. Kyiv time (12 p.m. EST). The film will be followed by a Q&A with Yevheniia Motorevska and Danylo Mokryk from the War Crimes Investigations Unit.

Register for the screening and submit your questions here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wZPZ9w6aSSCTGhHEvGLZmw

After registering, you will immediately receive the meeting information, and we will send a reminder one hour before the start of the event. We hope to see you there.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to the 175 new members who joined our community this week. Thank you all for your support.

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

We covered Ukraine’s capture of two North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in Kursk Oblast. We interviewed two Ukrainian soldiers involved in capturing one of the North Koreans and obtained exclusive footage showing the operation. You can read our interview with the Ukrainian soldiers and watch the video on our YouTube channel. 

We also assessed how North Korean soldiers are faring on the battlefield. Martin Fornusek spoke to experts about how Moscow is utilizing North Korean troops and the kind of lessons Pyongyang is learning from the battlefield. 

One of our most popular stories this week was about Ukraine’s new push on Russia’s Kursk Oblast. Asami Terajima reported on how the operation is bringing few gains, raising concerns over the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ limited resources.

Another popular story was on why Ukraine has struggled to launch domestic missile production. Kollen Post’s story shows why these ambitions have faced years of delays, and what might come next for Ukraine’s defense industry. 

We reported on whether Europe would put ‘boots on the ground’ for peace in Ukraine. Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, Francis Farrell spoke to top officials in Nordic and Baltic countries, which have emerged as some of Ukraine’s strongest partners.

We reported on Transnistria’s gas crisis as a result of Russia halting gas supplies to Moldova. Oleg Sukhov looked at how the lack of gas could destabilize both Russian-occupied Transnistria and pro-European Moldova.

We reported on how Trump might wield sanctions against Russia as a tool in peace negotiations. Dominic Culverwell’s story explains the current status of U.S. sanctions against Russia and the strategies that Trump’s team might use to pressure Russia towards talks. 

We published a video explainer on how Russia’s war might end. Francis Farrell lays out the four scenarios that could see an end to the war in Ukraine, for better or worse.

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