We reported from a military medical stabilization point in Kharkiv Oblast — Here's what you helped us achieve this week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your continued support.

Tomorrow is World Press Freedom Day, which means today Reporters Without Borders released their World Press Freedom Index for 2025. For those unfamiliar, the index ranks 180 countries on the quality of their press freedom, based on things like political and economic context, as well as legal frameworks and overall safety. 

Let’s get right to it: Reporters Without Borders said that for the first time, the global state of press freedom is now classified as a “difficult situation,” marking an all-time low since the index started in 2002. The main threat is deteriorating economic conditions in the media sector. 

Here at the Kyiv Independent, we can continue doing our work, uninterrupted, because of the support of our members like you! Meanwhile, independent journalism in Ukraine faces not only a critical economic situation due to the suspension of USAID, but also Russia’s brutal, all-out war. Your support puts us in a better place and directly fights against the economic threats independent media faces. Thank you for making a difference.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to the 221 new members who joined this week. Thank you for standing with us — we literally wouldn't be here without readers like you.

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

We reported a military medical stabilization point in Kharkiv Oblast. Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko spent one night with medics from the 3rd Assault Brigade, a unit that is often working at the hottest spots of the front line, showing the new problems associated with drone warfare, from the injuries to the inability to evacuate wounded soldiers on time. Pictured above, Francis speaks to the camera at the stabilization point.

This week, the mineral deal between the U.S. and Ukraine was signed. Andrea Januta's explainer takes a look at what we know: Although the most controversial elements, which many experts viewed as exploitative towards Ukraine, are not present in the deal, the deal is also missing security guarantees for Ukraine.

We reported on the dozens of Ukrainian journalists — and thousands of Ukrainian civilians — in Russian captivity. This week, additional details emerged about Russia's torture and murder of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, and we wrote about the pattern of Russia detaining Ukrainian journalists as well as civilians, especially those opposing occupation, and the human rights abuses in Russian captivity.

We fact-checked Trump's claims about Russia's war. Recently Donald Trump said that "Ukraine will be crushed very shortly," and we explained why he is wrong: Though Ukraine is outmanned and outgunned, it's been able to stabilize the front. Trump also claimed that 5,000 soldiers were dying each week — and here's what the numbers actually say.

We interviewed a former U.S. diplomat about Russian disinformation and how it works. James Rubin, who previously led a main State Department initiative to expose disinformation campaigns from Russia and China, said that "there's an information war, and we’ve disarmed ourselves," as a result of Trump's policies. Watch the video interview here.

We wrote about the potential that North Korean troops may fight on Ukrainian soil. According to some experts, North Korean troops fighting in Russia's Kursk Oblast may soon be deployed to Ukraine, and Asami Terajima's article explains the potential consequences and international implications if North Korea were to be in a state of all-out war against Ukraine.

We also reported on Russia's allies and what they contribute to the Kremlin's war machine. Although Russia's arms industry has survived sanctions with the support of allies and enablers, the military continues to operate not ideally, but with "just enough" of what they need at any time. Katie Marie Davies' article takes a look at whether Moscow could continue the war without outside help.

We have a favor to ask. We’re getting ready to start our spring membership campaign, and we're still looking for volunteers in Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Switzerland who can help us with language used in our messaging. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please fill out our short form, here. 

Finally, this is the last chance to take our community survey, before we close the form on Monday. Your answers directly influence our work — and it only should take about five minutes to complete the survey. Right now we have just under 950 responses (and it would mean a lot to the community management team to reach 1,000)! Either way, this is an incredible number: Last time, when we ran our survey in October, we received 555 responses (about 4.5% of our community at the time). Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to fill it out. We really appreciate it.

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