Here's what you helped us achieve last week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

We hope you've been well. This week, we've been taking care of our mental health! Pictured above, the Kyiv Independent team is in the Carpathian Mountains for a mental health retreat on Friday, Sept. 29.

We'd also like to welcome our 78 new members this week. Thank you for your continued support. Our main source of revenue is contributions from our readers, and our work wouldn't be possible without you.

Here are some highlights from the Kyiv Independent over the last week:

We wrote about why Ukraine likely won't hold elections next year. Oleg Sukhov's article explains that though Western commentators have urged Ukraine to hold elections regardless of the ongoing war, it is legally impossible under martial law, and elections would pose huge security risks, with likely millions unable to vote, due to being displaced, occupied, or fighting on the front line.

Our week's most popular story was Francis Farrell's piece about the 47th Mechanized Brigade. This NATO-trained brigade has breached the Surovikin line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and reached their assigned task: a front-on attack where Russian defensive lines were most concentrated.

We also wrote about Russia's extensive mining in Ukraine and how painstaking demining will be. Rich Wordsworth's story explains the challenges associated with mines, especially new, advanced technology that further complicates the demining process.

We explained Ukraine's "TV marathon." Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the country's biggest media outlets have created a united news program that broadcasts 24/7 to combat disinformation and boost morale. Anastasiia Lapatina's story explains whether the marathon is a power grab or an effective weapon against Russia.

We reported on Ukrainian parents fighting to rescue their children from Russia. Daria Shulzhenko's story follows how two families were able to save their children from "recreational camps" after they were deported from occupied territory in Ukraine to Russia.

This week's Belarus Weekly looks at the two competing delegations from Belarus at the UN General Assembly, one representing Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and one representing the Belarusian democratic forces that oppose it.

Episode 27 of "This Week in Ukraine" is about the recent Ukrainian attacks in Russia-occupied Crimea. Host Anastasiia Lapatina sits down with reporter Igor Kossov to discuss how Ukraine is destroying the Russian military in Crimea, with your questions starting at 17:55.

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