We reported on Russian troops using gas pipelines to bypass Ukraine's defenses: Here's what you helped us accomplish this week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your continued support and for continuing to pay attention to the news. We know it isn’t easy to stay engaged.

In the past weeks, we’ve seen Russia test some new tactics — and it’s clear that Russia isn’t planning on stopping its war anytime soon.

By now, you’ve probably heard about the unprecedented drone incursion into Polish airspace — which resulted in Poland activating NATO's Article 4 — and Russia redeploying Iskander ballistic missiles close to the border with NATO, in its exclave Kaliningrad.

Just this week, we also saw three Russian MiG fighter jets violate Estonian airspace and Estonia request NATO to activate Article 4, as well as NATO scramble fighters to intercept a Russian spy plane over the Baltic Sea. We also saw airports close in Denmark and Norway due to suspicious drone sightings, and now Denmark is also considering activating Article 4, too.

Pictured above, the Danish police are seen at Copenhagen Airport, in Kastrup near Copenhagen, on Sept. 22, 2025. Planes cannot land or take off due to drones, according to Danish press agency Ritzau on September 22, taken by Steven Knap for AFP via Getty Images.

Taken together, it’s clear that Russia’s war isn’t slowing down. In fact, it looks like it’s only ramping up.

We're so grateful for our community of nearly 22,000 members, from all around the world, who have chosen to make a difference and fund independent journalism from Ukraine. It's thanks to you that we have a stable source of funding to continue our work, reporting from the front lines, telling the human stories of war, analyzing Russia's expanding aggression — and reaching millions of readers each month.

Your contribution helps keep the world informed.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to the 282 new members who joined this week. We wouldn't be here without readers like you.

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

We reported on how Russian troops are again bypassing Ukrainian defenses by advancing through gas pipelines. Near Kupiansk, as Russia tries to cross the Oskil River, they’re sending soldiers through decommissioned, underground gas pipelines. Though the tactic is effective, it’s also costly: Reportedly, when Russia has used gas pipelines in the past, “dozens of soldiers suffocated, committed suicide, or died in panic and delirium."

We analyzed the question "Is NATO already at war with Russia?" The short answer is that it depends on who you ask. While NATO and Europe respond to Russia's increasing aggression under the threshold of outright war, Russia sees things very differently — with experts arguing that there's evidence that Putin already considers this a war. We also took a look at Trump's change of tone toward Russia — and if Trump's pro-Ukraine statement will lead to any action.

We interviewed historian Niall Ferguson, who says we're "in a new Cold War." Oleksiy Sorokin down with British historian Niall Ferguson on the sidelines of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference to discuss the geopolitics shaping Russia's war in Ukraine — and why Ukraine's fate now depends on Europe stepping up.

We launched a new newsletter "One story from Ukraine." From Monday to Friday, our team will select the most important story of the day — from front-line reports to analysis of the Russian economy, and more — and send it directly to your inbox. You can sign up for "One story from Ukraine" here.

We reported from Moldova as the country prepares for elections — and Russian interference. From Russian-controlled politicians, troll farms, cyberattacks, vote-buying, and coordinated violence, Russian is doubling down trying to gain control over Moldova, as the country heads to the polls on Sunday. Paula Erizanu's article explains Moldova's parties and voting blocs, as well as how Russia is attempting to destabilize the country and influence the election.

We also reported on how Ukraine is struggling to keep hold of its next generation. Tania Myronyshena's story looks at how Russia's full-scale invasion has affected young people in Ukraine and its demographic crisis — the country's youth population has already dropped from 9 million in 2022 to just 6 million by 2024. Studies show that the number of young Ukrainians abroad that want to return home is also dropping.

This week, the fourth episode of "Dare to Ukraine: Village" was released. In this episode, host Masha Lavrova has her quiet daily routine interrupted in order to discover local history and debunk Russian propaganda myths about Ukraine. You can watch the episode here and subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notifications for future episodes.

We're planning our next Zoom Q&A for the community, and we want to hear from you. We currently have a poll going in our Discord server, where you can vote on whether you'd like our next Q&A to be about Ukrainian culture (with Kate Tsurkan) or another war update about NATO and Russian provocations (likely with Oleksiy Sorokin). The results are really, really close right now, so ideally we'd hear from a few more people before finalizing the topic on Monday. Please vote here!

Finally, to end on a positive note, last week we shared the fourth edition of our "How to help Ukraine" newsletter, where we featured the work of Dignitas, a volunteer-powered nonprofit, currently raising money for their Victory Robots program to train operators of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). Our community has not only already raised over $5,000 for Dignitas — one of our members has also offered to match donations from the Kyiv Independent community up to $10,000! If you'd like to make a contribution, you can do so here. Thank you so much for your support — and especially to our member who is matching donations — it's been incredible to see our community help make a real, tangible difference for Ukraine during the war!

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