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

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Our head of marketing, Yerbolat Bekbau, who is usually based in Prague, visited the Kyiv Independent office for the first time last week. Pictured above Yerbolat (right) stands with COO Zakhar Protsiuk. 

We'd also like to welcome our 133 new members this week. Recurring contributions from our readers is our main source of revenue. We're proud to be reader-funded!

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

• We wrote about what could happen if Russia attacks the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Francis Farrell's piece covers what the consequences of a nuclear disaster in Zaporizhzhia would be, speaking with Mark Zhelezniak, a Ukrainian professor who worked on the effects of both Chornobyl and Fukushima.

• We also reported on Putin's new executive order that will force Ukrainians living in occupied territories to accept Russian passports. Alexander Khrebet's article explains how Ukrainians who refuse passportization will face deportation and loss of property, since they will then be considered "foreigners."

• This week, Belarus Weekly includes updates on Wagner and Prigozhin. Lukashenko told Belarusians to “calm down” as rumors circulate about the arrival of Wagner in the country and the construction of camps to accommodate the private military company. 

• We covered the consequences of the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. Video reporters Olena Makarenko and Liza Pyrozhkova traveled to the affected areas in the south of Ukraine to report on the damage done to people's homes, the environment, and water infrastructure. 

• We released our seventh and final installment of "Ukraine's True History." Alexander Query's story looks at how nationalist movements paved Ukraine's way to freedom and explains how Ukraine's nationalism is, first and foremost, an expression of the right to self-determination, not a far-right ideology. 

• We launched an account on Threads! This week, Meta launched a rival to Twitter called "Threads." We've already set up an account – if Threads is available in your country, you can follow us here.

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