We reached our goal of 20,000 members — a landmark for Ukrainian media: Here's what you helped us achieve this week

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your continued support.

Before we get to the news of the week, most of our team is currently on a (well deserved) mental health retreat. If you have a few minutes and words of support you'd like to pass along, please email senior community manager Brooke (brooke@kyivindependent.com), who is compiling these messages and passing them along to the rest of the team while they're on the retreat. It always means a lot to hear from our readers and members. Pictured above is part of the team on a hike today.

Today we also reached our goal of 20,000 members — a landmark for Ukrainian media. We're incredibly grateful for the support you've shown for the Kyiv Independent, and we're also proud to be backed by people like you. We've been able to accomplish so much with your support already, and we're ready to do more.

We'd like to give a warm welcome to the 632 new members who joined this week. We truly wouldn't be here without the support of readers like you! Thank you for standing with independent journalism in Ukraine, especially during Russia's ongoing, full-scale invasion.

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

• This week, Ukraine launched a successful — and unprecedented — attack on Russia's heavy bombers, damaging and destroying over 40 planes. We reported on Operation Spiderweb and everything we know so far and published the drone footage from Ukraine's Security Service of the attack.

• Another widely read story was about the Russian responses to Operation Spiderweb. Oleg Sukhov's story breaks down the different reactions coming from Russia after the attack on its bombers, from silence to calling it "grounds for a nuclear attack." Russia did "retaliate" for the operation with a mass drone and missile strike last night, although Russia has been consistently launching mass attacks on Ukraine prior to Operation Spiderweb.

• We reported on Russia's ability to sustain its mass missile and drone attacks on Ukraine. Russia is reportedly building new launch sites for its Shahed suicide drone, as well as ramping up production, meaning Ukraine could soon face nightly attacks consisting of over 500 drones. Russia’s ballistic missile production is also reportedly up at least 66% over the past year, meaning that this production now outnumbers the total number of Patriot air defense missiles each year.

• We also reported on Russia's potential summer offensive, as 50,000 Russian troops amass near Sumy Oblast. Asami Terajima and Kollen Post explain what we know so far, including how much equipment Russia has moved to the area and what Russia's plans for the offensive might be.

• We reported from Donetsk Oblast on Ukraine's Peaky Blinders drone unit. Francis Farrell's field report takes a close look at one of Ukraine's top drone units and its ability to quickly eliminate the enemy, which is becoming more important than ever, as Russian forces are increasing infantry-based attacks against Ukraine's overstretched defenses.

• We wrote about the sentiments towards Russia's war — inside Russia. Oleg Sukhov interviews people based in Russia, who mainly spoke along the official Russian lines, referencing Soviet nostalgia and placing the blame on Ukraine, with some arguing that there will not be peace while there's still an independent Ukraine.

• We published a photo story about how Ukrainian children are affected by war. Elena Kalinichenko's photo series follows five families as they raise their children during Russia's ongoing invasion, showing how the war reshapes childhood.

• We also wrote about the ethnic Romanians in Western Ukraine and how the war has affected them. Natalia Yermak's article takes a look at the Romanian communities in Chernivtsi Oblast, which is home to an estimated 100,000 Romanians, and how the war has affected their ability to cross between countries and between cultures.

• Finally, to end on a positive note, we updated our community map. We launched our community map in late 2024 as a way to show how many thousands of people, from all around the world, are supporting the Kyiv Independent. We've added features to show the amount of pins added in the past week and the number of pins by country. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out (and place your pin) here.

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