We reported from Odesa on the 5-day blackout after Russian strikes: Here's what you helped us accomplish this week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your continued support. We hope that you're all getting ready for the holidays and hopefully able to get some rest over the coming weeks.

We know 2025 probably hasn't been the ideal year for any of us, to put it mildly, but we hope that you're able to end it on a good note, no matter where you are. Happy holidays from the team!

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to the 207 new members who joined this week. Thank you for joining our community — we're proud to be a reader-funded newsroom. You all make our work possible.

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

We reported from Odesa on the five-day blackout after Russian strikes. Odesa — home to one million residents — was plunged into near-complete darkness earlier this week on Dec. 13, with hundreds of thousands of residents left without electricity, while water and heating services became scarce. Valeriia Samsonova's article shows how Odesa residents are adapting and how day-to-day life continues, despite Russia's war. Pictured above is a general view of Odesa without power following missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure on Dec. 13, 2025, taken by Oleksandr Gimanov for the AFP.

What's it like to experience a mass air attack in Ukraine? On Nov. 28, Russia launched a mass air attack that lasted more than 10 hours, with missiles and drones launched at cities across Ukraine and Kyiv as the main target. Nick Allard and Tania Myronyshena spent the night with a Kyiv family sheltering in a parking garage with their three children. You can watch the video report here — with the family explaining their routine in the air raid shelter, how the war has changed over the years, and why they continue to stay in Ukraine.

Our most widely read story was about Russia's strong economy — and how it signals economic woes. Since early December, the Russian ruble has continued to strengthen against other currencies despite increasing pressure from U.S. sanctions, but, according to experts, the ruble's strength will hurt the Russian economy more.

Another popular story was about the "Flamingo missile-sized weak spot" in Russia's air defenses. Chris York's article takes a look at a new report from the Royal United Services Institute and its key takeaways, including that Ukraine's domestically produced cruise missiles — including the Flamingo — could help deal a devastating blow to Russia's air defense production.

We wrote about what we know about Russia’s offensive in Siversk, a key Donbas outpost, so far. Russia’s renewed offensive on the front-line city of Siversk has brought fresh attention to the small, but important outpost that Russia has aimed to capture since 2022. Tania Myronyshena's article explains the situation on the ground and why Siversk matters.

We explained why security guarantees without NATO membership may fail to protect Ukraine. Martin Fornusek's explainer breaks down what we know about the "Article 5-like" security guarantees and why these guarantees won't deter Russia — according to experts, Russia will only accept a deal that does not prevent it from being able to eventually destroy or subjugate Ukraine.

How do Ukrainians feel about ceding territory to Russia? As U.S. pressure on Kyiv to accept a "peace deal" grows, Zelensky said last week that any territorial concessions to end Russia's war should be decided by the Ukrainian people, through a referendum. Kateryna Denisova asked Kyiv residents whether Ukraine should hold a referendum now and if they would support withdrawing from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts — (in short, the answer was no) — but you can watch the video here or read the article here.

Finally, to end on a positive note, the Kyiv Independent team is having a small Christmas party in the office today to celebrate the holidays and our achievements in 2025 — we want to say thank you, because the Kyiv Independent and what we accomplish simply wouldn't be possible without our members. You can also read the end-of-year thank you note from our COO Zakhar Protsiuk here, in case you missed it. We know we say it a lot, but it's true: We're so grateful you're a part of our community and have chosen to stand with independent journalism in Ukraine!

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