We're providing live updates of Russia's new offensive in Kharkiv Oblast on our website: Here's what you helped us achieve this week

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for standing with us. Today, Russia has launched new offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, with Zelensky saying that now, "there is a fierce battle going on in (Kharkiv's) direction." The Kyiv Independent homepage features live updates on the situation at the top of the page.

Pictured above, reporter Francis Farrell stands with his cat Sazha and the dog of reporter Daria Shulzhenko, Miya, in Kyiv, earlier this week. Sazha and Miya are frequent visitors to the Kyiv Independent office and professionals at boosting our morale.

We'd like to welcome our 92 new members this week. We wouldn't be here without your support – your contribution makes a tangible difference.

Here are some highlights from the Kyiv Independent this week:

• We explained Russia's highly-militarized Victory Day celebration and its history. Under Putin's rule, the holiday marking Germany's defeat in WWII was revived as a means to unify the country and became an all-encompassing national myth – and an endless source of propaganda. We also published a photo story showing the similarities between WWII and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

• We've launched a new newsletter: "WTF is Wrong With Russia?" which focuses on Russia, its politics, history, and culture – all of which influence the country's brutal all-out war against Ukraine. Sign up here to have it delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday.

• One popular story last week was about the potential demise of Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov and what it means for the region. Rumors about his health have circulated since September, but it was reported recently that Kadyrov allegedly was diagnosed with necrotizing pancreatitis.

• We wrote about Chinese president Xi Jinping's tour of Europe, as China still feeds Russia's war machine. Martin Fornusek's story explains how China remains Russia's leading source of sanctioned dual-use goods, continuing to supply Russia with products such as drones, microchips, and machine parts, and allowing Russia to bypass Western sanctions.

• We wrote about the crisis facing the cement industry in Ukraine. A key ingredient in Ukraine's reconstruction efforts will be cement. Dominic Culverwell's article explains that Ukraine will need to produce 15-16 million metric tons of cement annually, more than it's currently capable of, and how a deal between Ukraine's two multinational cement giants could create a harmful monopoly.

• This week, Belarus Weekly looks at the country's drop in this year's World Press Freedom Index, falling ten places and ranking 167th out of 180 countries. Belarus, often called "Europe’s most dangerous country for journalists until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” scored even below Russia, which ranked 162nd.

• Former Kyiv Independent defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko will join our next Q&A, centered around his war memoir "I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv."  You can register for the Q&A, scheduled for May 16 at 8 p.m. Kyiv time, and submit your questions here. We look forward to hearing from you.

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