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

Dear KI community members, 

Thank you for your continued support. 

We'd like to give a warm welcome to the 77 new members who joined this week! Support from our readers makes our work possible. Thank you for standing with us.

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

• On Monday, Russia launched another massive missile attack across Ukraine, with over 70 cruise missiles. Our team in Kyiv had to take shelter in the nearby metro station. Pictured above is editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko working underground in a metro station during the air alarms on Dec. 5. Ukraine was able to intercept 60 incoming missiles, and the country's largest energy provider DTEK says of the ongoing strikes "no system in the world has faced the same."

• Two developments in the war this week include reports that Russia is losing 50-100 troops daily near Bakhmut, one of the fiercest battles, and the delivery of blood-stained parcels with animal parts, including cow and pig eyes, to multiple Ukrainian embassies. 

• One popular story this week was Oleg Sukhov's piece about Russia's decline in geopolitical standing since the country started the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

• We spoke with a departing EU diplomat about documenting Russian war crimes. According to Swedish Fredrik Wesslau, who is leaving Ukraine after 4.5 years with European Union Advisory Mission, "civilian casualties in Ukraine may be 3 times higher than UN estimates." 

• This week, our Belarus Weekly dispatch features Moscow and Minsk signing a rushed and classified protocol on regional security, which experts call "very atypical."

• We reported on the children that have been killed since the start of Russia's full scale invasion. Our Daria Shulzhenko spoke to three families who all lost a child.

• We wrote an editorial aboutwhy we choose to publish stories about misconduct in the Ukrainian military, following our recent investigation. You can also listen to reporters Anna Myroniuk and Alexander Khrebet speak about this investigation into alleged misconduct in Ukraine's international here.

• French independent media outlet Les Jours reported on the Kyiv Independent. Read their story about how the war was a terrible and formidable springboard for the KI. 

• Finally, please welcome our new head of communications! We're happy to announce that Anastasiia Holovnenko will be joining the team. She can be reached at a.holovnenko@kyivindependent.com. 

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