We reported on Russia's unprecedented incursion into NATO airspace: Here's what you helped us accomplish this week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your continued support.

This week, during a mass aerial attack on Ukraine on early Wednesday morning, 19 Russian drones crossed into Poland in what is now known as the largest attack on a NATO member state since the start of Russia’s all-out war. And, for the first time, NATO jets engaged with Russian drones. We saw not only Ukrainian homes filled with rubble and dust — but a Polish home too.

Pictured above, police and army inspect damage to the house destroyed by debris from a shot-down Russian drone in the village of Wyryki-Wola in eastern Poland, on Sept. 10, 2025, taken by Wojtek Radawanski for AFP via Getty Images.

The unprecedented violation of NATO airspace isn’t even the only way that Russia has ramped up its invasion recently. Last weekend, Moscow launched its largest aerial assault of the full-scale invasion, sending a record 810 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine. One missile hit the Cabinet of Ministers, marking another “first” — the first time Russia had hit the main government building in Kyiv.

We'd like to say thank you for supporting the Kyiv Independent — it's thanks to members like you that we have a stable source of revenue for our reporting. Our journalism is able to reach millions of people each month, helping make sure that the world is informed not only about the full-scale war in Ukraine, but also the threat that Russian aggression poses to the world.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to the 143 new members who joined this week. Thank you for standing with us when it matters the most.

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

We reported on Russia's unprecedented incursion into NATO airspace. Poland confirmed it downed Russian drones on the night of Sept. 10 — making it the first time that NATO has engaged Russia, and according to the Polish prime minister, "the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II." We wrote about Russia's kamikaze drones — with a range of 2,500km, nearly all of Europe could be at risk.

We wrote about Europe's response to the Russian drones within Polish airspace. Chris York and Martin Fornusek explain that while NATO's countering of drones was touted as a major success of the military alliance, the incident also highlighted that NATO doesn't actually have an effective way to shoot down Russia's cheap, mass produced UAVs. Instead, now Europe is scrambling for Ukrainian interceptor drones after the attack.

Our most popular story last week was about the Polish military — Europe's largest army. Martin Fornusek's article explains how Poland has been rapidly growing its defense capabilities — more than doubling the size of its armed forces personnel between 2014 and 2025 — and its potential weaknesses, like the lack of preparation for mass drone warfare.

Another widely read story was about how Russia has been able to speed up its gains on the battlefield. Francis Farrell's article analyzes how Moscow has continued to pursue offensive operations with high intensity across the front line, taking Ukrainian territory at a steady rate — despite "peace talks" earlier this summer.

We published a photo story telling the stories of Ukrainians on both banks of the country's longest river. "Along the Dnipro," a photo project by Sergey Melnitchenko, captures how the Dnipro unites Ukrainians in times of war.

We published two video explainers: on Poland’s readiness for war, as the country faces its most serious security challenge in decades, and on the Ukrainian strikes targeting oil refineries deep inside Russia and their impact on the Kremlin’s war machine.

This week, the second episode of "Dare to Ukraine: Village" was released. Watch Masha face her first full day of village life, including managing household chores and exploring a greenhouse. This week, Masha also answered your questions about the series and what it's really like living in a Ukrainian village on Discord. You can find the Q&A in the general channel here, in case you missed it.

Finally, to end on a positive note, over the past months, we were able to raise $7,900 through our online store for the Ukrainian charity East SOS. The profits from the sales of our "603,628 km²" T-shirt were donated to East SOS, which will use the funds to repair houses damaged by war in front-line areas. It takes about $1,500 on average to repair one house, which means the money raised should cover about five homes. Thank you to everyone who bought our T-shirt and supported the initiative!

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