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

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Thank you for your support! Yesterday, we celebrated Vyshyvanka Day at the office in Kyiv. Pictured above, a part of the Kyiv Independent team poses in their vyshyvankas, or traditional embroidered shirts, on Thursday, May 18.

We'd like to give a warm welcome to our 36 new members this week. We're so glad you're with us.

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

• We reported on the current situation in Bakhmut, as the Ukrainian forces have made advances on the flanks, while Russian forces reach the last streets in the city. Francis Farrell's article explains how this battle, by now likely the bloodiest single military engagement of the 21st century, may affect the coming stages of the war.

• Our most popular article was Igor Kossov's overview of Russia's defensive lines. Although the defenses have been prepared across the entire front, they're particularly dense in the southwestern part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, indicating that this is where Russia may expect the Ukrainian counterattack.

• We reported from the front lines in Donetsk Oblast. Asami Terajima takes a look at the Ukrainian sappers – those who lay and clear mines – and the soldiers on the front lines and their experiences of war, saying that "every time feels like your last" and that "dying stops becoming scary."

• Earlier this week, major media outlets reported on the story of Russian writer's resignation from PEN America, after the organization's World Voices Festival added and canceled a panel involving Russians at the last minute, focusing on the angle of the “censorship” of Russians. Kate Tsurkan's article explains why Ukrainian writers refuse to share the stage with Russian authors at festivals and why they're justified in doing so.

• We interviewed a British volunteer, helping to evacuate civilians from the front lines. Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke discusses the evacuation efforts including the challenges of creating humanitarian corridors and convincing people to leave.

• This week's Belarus Weekly takes a look at Lukashenko's brief public appearance after rumors of his poor health and the Belarusian UN representative's statement that Russian tactical nuclear weapons have not yet arrived in the country.

• We released episode 8 of the podcast "This Week in Ukraine." Host Anastasiia Lapatina and reporter Francis Farrell discuss the work of Ukrainian air defense and how it denies Russia the air superiority that so many predicted it would have.

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