We covered Zelensky's meeting with Trump, his domestic political struggles, and Ukraine's strikes on Russia's biggest retailer — here's what you helped us do this week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your continued support. This week, Russia launched another wave of large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, killing and injuring civilians — including six members of the same family in a village in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The same night, Russian strikes reached Lviv in the west of Ukraine, and even triggered air raid alerts in Poland after a Russian missile flew 100 kilometers into the Lublin region before falling in a field. Above, you can see a picture of the aftermath in Lviv, taken by our photo editor Irynka Hromotska, who is based in the city.

Before we proceed to other news, a little announcement: We've made some changes to our website, and it’s now easier to manage your email preferences. You can now find all of your Kyiv Independent email subscriptions — newsletters, community emails, event invitations, and other updates — in one place in your member account. Many of you shared in our recent Community Survey that you'd like a single place to manage your email settings, and we're happy to say it's now live!

To use it, simply follow this link or go to Account Settings in the upper-right corner of your account and select Newsletters. Please note that you'll need to be logged in to access your email preferences.

We're grateful to have our members with us. We'd also like to give a warm welcome and thanks to the 430 new members who joined this week. We wouldn't be here without you.

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

One of our most-read stories this week was the one possible breakthrough from President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Tim Zadorozhnyy and Jimmy Rushton shared that Ukraine and the U.S. are coordinating a fresh set of peace proposals for Moscow, with officials hoping Russia may now be more willing to accept at least a partial ceasefire in the air as Ukraine's expanding long-range strike campaign changes the battlefield calculus.

We looked at how Zelensky turned a loyal ally into his biggest rival. Oleg Sukhov examined how by firing Mykhailo Fedorov, the president triggered a crisis and drove his former defense minister's ratings above his own, with 72% of Ukrainians opposing the dismissal and Fedorov now emerging as a genuine presidential contender.

We continued following the fallout from Ukraine's military leadership shakeup. Francis Farrell analyzed how new Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi has inherited a manpower mess of his predecessor Oleksandr Syrskyi's making, from thinned-out brigades to a recruitment system under strain, and the hard choices he now faces. Separately, Francis also covered a disturbing media investigation alleging that a Ukrainian assault regiment commander ordered his troops to fire on retreating comrades.

We explained the dangers of Ukraine and Iran's new diplomatic standoff. Oleg Sukhov broke down how the two countries ended up on a collision course, what is driving the escalation, and why it could grow more dangerous from here.

We looked at how Ukraine's strikes on Wildberries warehouses put Russians in a real jam. Karol Luczka highlighted that hitting the logistics hubs of Russia's largest online retailer disrupted deliveries for millions of ordinary Russians, bringing the war home in an unusually direct way.

We also examined how Russia built one of the world's most far-reaching surveillance states. Katie Marie Davies reported that, despite early doubts about whether it could even be possible, the Kremlin has assembled a sprawling apparatus for watching and controlling its own people.

We reported on rising attacks against Ukrainians in Poland, and the disinformation fueling them. Martin Fornusek reported on how false narratives spread by pro-Russian networks are stoking hostility toward Ukrainian refugees, turning online lies into real-world violence.

We continued celebrating Ukrainian classic literature with the latest installment of our Hidden Canon series. Kate Tsurkan wrote about Mykola Khvylovy, one of Ukraine's most influential early 20th century writers who rallied for cultural independence from Moscow.

We reported on the far-reaching consequences of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. Kate spoke to Ukrainian publishers after Russia destroyed over a million books in Ukrainian warehouses in July alone, leaving the book publishing sector with enormous financial losses.

We published a front-line report from Dobropillia, where Russia has intensified its assault on one of the key cities in Donetsk Oblast. Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko embedded with an FPV drone team to document how Ukrainian soldiers are defending what remains of the city from underground positions as relentless Russian glide bomb, artillery, and drone attacks turn once-busy streets into a battlefield. You can watch the video here.

We published a report from Kherson Oblast, where Dominic Culverwell and Nick Allard documented how two brothers continue farming the region's iconic watermelons just 50 kilometers from Russian positions. After surviving Russian occupation and rebuilding their farm from scratch, they now work under the constant threat of FPV drone attacks, determined to preserve one of Ukraine's best-known agricultural traditions despite the war. You can watch the video here.

We looked at the Nord Stream sabotage case in the latest episode of Ukraine This Week. Anna Belokur explains why the pipelines became one of Europe's most controversial energy projects, what evidence of Ukraine’s involvement German prosecutors have presented, and how the investigation could affect relations between Ukraine and Germany. You can watch the video here or listen to the episode as a podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Before we wrap up, we have some news from our e-store: As part of our ‘Old Patterns, New Stories’ collection, we've paired our two bestselling pieces — the Chestnut City Unisex Zip Hoodie and the Chestnut City Unisex T-shirt — into the new Kyiv City Bundle, now with 10% off. As a thank-you to the Kyiv Independent community, we're also adding a free Kyiv Motifs Sticker Pack with every bundle purchase.

To claim your gift, add the Kyiv City Bundle and Kyiv Motifs Sticker Pack to your cart. Then, enter the promo code KYIVGIFT at checkout to make your sticker pack free before you complete your purchase. Remember that you can apply only one promo code at a time. We hope you'll love this little gift and carry a piece of Kyiv with you wherever you go.

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