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

Dear KI community members,

Thank you for your continued support.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to our 341 members this week! We're proud to be an independent, reader-funded media outlet.

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

• On Monday, Kyiv's Christmas tree was lit, despite Russian drone attacks the previous night. This year the tree is called the "Invincibility Christmas Tree," as it runs on a generator and features energy-saving lights. Pictured above is a frame from our video report about the tree and the hopes of Kyiv residents for 2023.

• One of our most popular stories this week was Illia Ponomarenko's analysis of the war, where he explains that Ukraine will enter 2023 with a frail upper hand over Russia.

• We wrote about Zelensky's visit to Washington, D.C., which comes shortly after the US announced an additional $1.85 billion in additional military assistance for Ukraine, including the Patriot air defense system. Here are some key quotes from Zelensky's address to Congress.

• Belarus Weekly looks at Putin's meeting with Lukashenko, the first of their meetings since 2020 that has taken place in Belarus, as well as Russia continuing to transfer military equipment to Belarus.

• This week, Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and ex-сhair of space agency Roscosmos was injured in a possible targeted strike. Dmitrii Rogozin sustained injuries from shrapnel after an attack outside of a restaurant in occupied Donetsk.

• As the year draws to a close, we revisited stories of people we interviewed in 2022, to see how the war has affected them and how their lives have changed since then. We also selected 22 photos from the past year that show Ukraine during the war in its hardest, darkest, and most impactful moments.

• We also wrote a Christmas wish list for Ukraine, highlighting what is needed to win the war quickly. Francis Farrell's story looks at the five main requirements for a definitive Ukrainian victory, from air defense to public support.

• We did an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit. Editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko, defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko, and reporter Francis Farrell answered questions people wrote in – read their answers here.

• We've started a new newsletter – Investigative Stories from Ukraine, where we highlight the biggest stories that Ukrainian journalists broke over the past week. Read the second edition and subscribe to the newsletter here.

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