We reported on Ukraine's struggle to ramp up mobilization: Here's what you helped us achieve this week

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

We hope your Fridays have been going well so far. As you probably already know, our Kyiv office is pet-friendly – something we're all grateful for! Pictured above, head of marketing Yerbolat Bekbau poses with Iggy Pop, the dog of our head of communications Anastasiia Mozghova. 

We'd also like to welcome the 51 new members this week. Thank you for your support of independent journalism in Ukraine. We wouldn't be here without you. 

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

• One of our most popular stories last week was Francis Farrell's article about Ukraine's struggle to ramp up mobilization as Russia's full-scale war enters its third year. The military aims to conscript an additional 450,000-500,000 people in 2024, as Ukraine faces the internal challenge of balancing the need to defend the country’s independence with the painful reality of having to take civilians off to war. 

• We also wrote about Russia's forced conscriptions in occupied Ukrainian territories. Alexander Khrebet's story explains how in Eastern Donetsk Oblast, the Kremlin's forced conscriptions of local Ukrainians has created a shortage of essential workers in the area.

• We reported on how Donald Trump's recent wins in U.S. primary elections impact Ukraine. Nate Ostiller's story takes a look at how U.S.-Mexico border security has become linked to military aid for Ukraine. Our next community event is a Q&A with Nate Ostiller and Oleksiy Sorokin about how the 2024 U.S. presidential elections affect aid for Ukraine – you can register and submit your questions here. 

• We published a video explainer about how Ukraine is able to destroy Russia's Black Sea fleet, one ship at a time. Francis Farrell takes a look at Ukraine's major victories against Russia's navy, despite Ukraine having limited naval capabilities itself, and the critical role of long-range weapons. 

• We wrote about how one combat medic continued working until the eighth month of her pregnancy. Yuliia Romanenko, 33, received the news she was expecting a child in between rescue missions in eastern Ukraine, but continued to work saving lives near the very front lines near Bakhmut and in some of the areas of heaviest fighting. "I joined the military with one aim — to save people. I did not want to stop," said Romanenko, who has now given birth to a healthy baby girl. 

• We reviewed a Ukrainiannovel about time, trauma, and identity. Kate Tsurkan's review of "Forgottenness" by Tanja Maljartschuk explores how these themes connect to the narrator's fascination with the forgotten political figure of early 20th century Ukraine, Viacheslav Lypynskyi, after she discovers his obituary. 

• This week, Belarus Weekly looks at Belarus' amendments to its military doctrine, which now permits the use of nuclear weapons as a "deterrence against 'armed provocations and incidents' along the country’s southern and western borders." 

• Episode 3 Season 2 of our podcast "This Week in Ukraine" focuses on the campaign against free press in the country. Editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko joins podcast host Masha Lavrova to discuss the recent attacks against journalists in Ukraine and the country's press freedom over the years.

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