We raised money for local Ukrainian media with your help: Here's what you helped us accomplish this week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

We have some good news to end January with.

As you might have already seen, last night the Kyiv Independent launched a fundraiser to support local Ukrainian news outlets that were affected by the U.S. foreign aid freeze.

We launched with an initial goal of £40,000 — which would help three local newsrooms continue operations for about two additional months — and we have already surpassed this goal. 

It's incredible to see this amount of support, especially as we face a lot of uncertainty in 2025. Thank you to everyone for being part of our community and for your continued solidarity. Knowing that you are with us is a bright spot against a grim-looking future. It's inspiring and reassuring to see this support.  

We also want to highlight that we were not impacted by the U.S. aid freeze, as the Kyiv Independent does not receive grants funded by U.S. taxpayers. It’s literally thanks to you — our community of 14,000 members — we remain secure. We did receive such grants in 2022 and 2023 while we were still growing, and they were instrumental in giving us the runway to become sustainable. It's because of your support that we can continue working, uninterrupted.

Pictured above, journalist Polina Kulish of Gwara Media — one of the newsrooms supported by our fundraiser — reports near Bakhmut during the winter of 2024.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to the 111 new members who joined our community this week. Thank you for your support!

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

We reported on the scandal of the Ukrainian military transferring air force personnel to infantry. Asami Terajima's story explains the controversy and the implications around the transfer of specialized troops to replenish infantry units, which are struggling with heavy losses.

We also reported on the potential encirclement of a couple hundred troops in Velyka Novosilka. As Ukraine tries to hold onto Donetsk Oblast strongholds, Ukrainian soldiers and Western experts are raising concerns about the cost of last-ditch withdrawals.

We wrote about the all-female partisan group Zla Mavka and how they resist Russian occupation. One of them told us: "As long as there is hope, we will continue to resist."

We interviewed Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek about the long-standing romanticization of Russia in the West and the failure of the left in the face of Ukraine’s fight for survival.

We explained Zelensky's recent round of sanctions on top pro-Russian politicians and propagandists. Kateryna Denisova's article breaks down the new sanctions, including who was on the list and why.

We also interviewed Poland's charge d'affairs in Kyiv, Piotr Lukasiewicz, who spoke on Poland moving past its painful history with Ukraine. Lukasiewicz said "When Poland and Ukraine argue, the only one who benefits is Russia."

This week, Belarus Weekly looks at Lukashenko getting himself reelected for the seventh consecutive term, with the West condemning the sham election and introducing more sanctions. We also interviewed Belarusians in exile who reflected on their lost revolution.

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