Here's what you helped us achieve in the last week

Dear KI community members,

Thank you for your continued support. This week's Monday morning in Kyiv again started with a Russian attack – this time using drones. The attacks continued on Tuesday. Pictured above is some of the Kyiv Independent team working in an underground cafe, waiting for the air raid alert to end, on Wednesday, Oct. 20.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to our 171 new members this week! We're glad you're with us – our work wouldn't be possible without you!

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

• We covered Russia's first-ever drone attack on Kyiv. Igor Kossov's story includes first-hand accounts of the attacks. 

• Russia continues to target energy infrastructure in missile and drone attacks. Oleg Sukhov's article about the intensified attacks explains why they are unlikely to help the Kremlin's goals.

• Zelensky said Russian forces are preparing to blow up a major dam in the south as they set for retreat. Alexander Khrebet's article looks at Zelensky's claim that Russia has mined the Kakhovka dam and Asami Terajima's Ukraine War Latest touches on the potential "historical disaster" which would flood Kherson. 

• Also in Kherson Oblast, Russians announce their plan to relocate 60,000 Ukrainian civilians. Igor Kossov's story "As Ukraine sets its sights on liberating Kherson, Russian proxies try to push people out" examines what these "evacuations" might mean.

• Belarus has started covertly mobilizing troops. This week, Belarus Weekly includes the reports of mobilization, which Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has denied, and the arrival of 9,000 Russian troops to the country. 

• One of our most popular articles was Illia Ponomarenko's "Defense minister: ‘The age of Ukraine-centrism has begun,'" which features an interview with Oleksii Reznikov. 

• We also interviewed Vladyslav Vlasiuk, secretary of the Yermak-McFaul sanctions group. Anastasiya Gordiychuk's article explains Ukraine’s fight to get Russia designated as state sponsor of terrorism.

• The third episode of our podcast Power Lines: From Ukraine to the World was released this week. In Ep. 3, "What does Ukraine mean to Europe?" co-hosts Anastasiia Lapatina and Jakub Parusinski speak with Alexander Clarkson, a German and European Studies lecturer at King's College London, and Edward Reese, a Ukrainian LGBTQ+ activist.

• Margaret Atwood tweeted in support of the Kyiv Independent and our goal to reach 10,000 members. On Oct. 15, the author of The Handmaid's Tale retweeted our video of reporter Anna Myroniuk from Kharkiv, asking people to support us. 

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