We reported from a town 800 meters from Russian positions: Here's what you helped us accomplish in the last week (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

We hope your Fridays have all been going well. And here's something to boost your morale just in case: There's a new cat that will be visiting the Kyiv Independent office. Pictured above is Squeaky, hard at work in the Kyiv office earlier this week. Squeaky is originally from Donbas, and was recently adopted by our video production manager Anna Yakutenko. She got her from a friend that serves in an artillery unit. 

We'd like to give a warm welcome to the 99 new members this week. Thank you for your continued support. We're proud to be reader-funded.

Here are some highlights from the Kyiv Independent from this week:

We're adding a new benefit for our community members: free Ukrainian language lessons. In case you missed it, we will be working with a Ukrainian teacher and the first lesson is scheduled for March 19. If you're interested be sure to fill out this interest form.

Our next community Q&A will be about telling the human stories of war. Join deputy chief editor Toma Istomina and Tim Mak of The Counteroffensive on March 19 – register and submit your questions here.

Our most popular story last week was about Ukraine destroying 13 Russian military aircraft in the past two weeks, which is likely the result of Russia increased use of planes directly over the battlefield and Ukraine's "new tools" which can reach targets at longer distances.

We reported from Kupiansk on Ukrainian preparations for a potential Russian offensive. Asami Terajima's article looks at the uncertain situation on the front line since the fall of Avdiivka, and Ukraine's defensive fortifications as some soldiers predict that Russian troops are preparing for a breakthrough in the Kupiansk direction.

We also reported from the very front lines from the town of Krasnohorivka. Watch Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko's video showing what life is like in Krasnohorivka, 15 kilometers west of Russian occupied Donetsk and only 800 meters from Russian front-line positions.

We wrote about the Ukrainians who have been displaced multiple times by Russia's war. Alexander Khrebet's story looks at people who have had to leave their home twice due to Russia's invasion – with one family fleeing Donetsk in 2014 only to be in Hostomel in 2022 when the full-scale invasion began.

Our War Crimes Investigations Unit was featured on the Telegraph's podcast "Ukraine: The Latest." Listen to the interview with war crimes reporter Danylo Mokryk about his documentary on Russia's killing of Ukrainian children here.

This week's Belarus Weekly includes Polish calls for EU sanctions on Belarusian and Russian agricultural products – as Polish farmers protested against Ukrainian agricultural imports and blockaded the border, Poland was conducting discrete trade with Belarus and Russia, importing millions worth of agricultural produce. 

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