We're reporting on the "peace talks" in Istanbul as they happen: Here's what you helped us achieve this week
Dear Kyiv Independent community members,
Thank you for your continued support.
To start on a positive note: Yesterday, we launched a campaign to reach 20,000 members — to prove that journalism can survive without a wealthy owner, a paywall, or compromise.
We know that the state of the world is anxiety-inducing, and our answer to that is to do more. Cover more topics, write more stories, investigate more war crimes, and amplify our journalism to bring more awareness to Russia's all-out war and the threat Russian aggression poses to the world. With more members supporting the Kyiv Independent, that's exactly what we'll be able to do.
We'd like to give a warm welcome to the 503 new members who joined this week. We've made huge progress towards our goal in only one day, with 18,393 members now backing us. Thank you for your support — it's thanks to you, our readers, that we're here.
In case you'd like to learn more about why your support is so critical and what being funded by our readers really means for our work, we wrote an explainer here about our reader-funded journalism.
Here's what you helped us accomplish at the Kyiv Independent this week:
We reported on the "peace talks" in Istanbul, as they came to an end on Friday with no ceasefire agreement, but the agreement for a 1,000-for-1,000 POW exchange. We also reported from Istanbul on how the Ukraine-Russia talks "descended into name-calling shambles" earlier this week — as well as how, prior to the talks, both countries tried to appeal to Trump, to avoid any blame for the potential failure of the talks. You can find all our coverage of peace negotiations here.
One widely read story was our interview with Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash, who escaped Russia earlier this month after being placed under house arrest for criticizing Russia's war in Ukraine. Ekaterina said, "Even intelligent and well-educated Russian people often don’t truly understand Ukraine. Almost all Russians have been poisoned by imperial propaganda."
We reported from Donetsk Oblast, near the front lines. Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko spent a day with “Peaky Blinders,” one of Ukraine’s most effective drone units, named after the gang portrayed in a popular British television show. As Russian forces continue to push across the front line, Peaky Blinders are tasked with stopping Russian assaults near the embattled city of Pokrovsk.
We interviewed a Dutch minister on whether Putin will ever face justice. Earlier this week, European foreign ministers approved the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, and we asked Justice Minister David van Weel about the future tribunal and the role it might play in holding Russia accountable for its war in Ukraine.
We also interviewed foreign soldiers on why they keep fighting for Ukraine amid growing uncertainty. Daria Shulzhenko's story looks at five foreign volunteers and their motivation, battlefield experiences, and plans for the future, with one saying, "The fate of Ukraine is the fate of Europe's peace and stability. Russians need to be taught a lesson."
We wrote about Russia's sabotage across Europe — from spy rings to arson. Kateryna Denisova's story compiles a list of suspected sabotage incidents across Europe since February 2022, possibly involving Russia, showing how Russia's hostility toward European security has gone largely unchallenged and unpunished.
We reviewed Viktoria Amelina's book "Looking at Women, Looking at War," a deeply personal diary of how Viktoria set aside her career as one of Ukraine’s most successful young writers to become a war crimes researcher. Kate Tsurkan's review of the unfinished book — Viktoria was killed in a Russian missile strike in 2023 — also includes her own memories of their developing friendship.
Our War Crimes Investigations Unit is developing a special project about Crimea and would like your input. They have some questions they’ve shared in our Discord server about what information is missing from English-language coverage of Crimea and the Russian occupation of the peninsula. You can find their questions and write your responses here.
Finally, to end on a positive note, this week we celebrated Vyshyvanka Day, a holiday dedicated to Ukraine's traditional embroidered shirt. You can find our photo story explaining vyshyvankas here. Pictured above, the Kyiv Independent team in the office on Thursday, May 15, in their vyshyvankas.
Thank you for standing by our side as we bring independent, locally sourced news about Ukraine to the world.