Behind the Scenes: The Kyiv Independent's July digest

Welcome to the Kyiv Independent’s July digest where we share what we’ve been up to as a company — the work that goes into keeping our journalism independent and how it connects with our global community of readers and supporters.

What’s new at the Kyiv Independent

The biggest news of the month is that after a sold-out debut in New York last year, the Kyiv Independent is bringing another live event to the UK for the first time. On October 2, we’re hosting an event at Kings Place in London, with Editor-in-Chief Olga Rudenko hosting live storytelling from CEO Daryna Shevchenko and reporters Francis Farrell, Dominic Culverwell, and Olena Zashko. The evening will also include a curated photo exhibition, "The War They Live," an audience Q&A, and a meet-the-team reception.

As Olga Rudenko put it, "we spend most of our time reporting from Ukraine for an audience we don't actually see. Evenings like this mean a lot because they help close that gap."

Tickets are available now, with a livestream option for those who won’t be able to see us in person but would still like to attend.

Outside of the landmark events such as this one, we often organize meetings with our members whenever we travel. These are intimate gatherings over coffee, and an opportunity to connect with someone on our team and have a meaningful dialogue. To get a heads up when we come to your city, join our member community. Support of our members lets us scale our journalism and bring it to more people around the world. In turn, we offer many exclusive benefits, such as these meetups, Ukrainian language classes, merchandise store discounts, and more ways to connect with our team.

Over in our store, we launched Old Patterns, New Stories, a new collection built around Ukraine's centuries-old tradition of embroidery. It brings together two collaborations: a limited-edition vyshyvanka made with Ukrainian embroidery brand Gaptuvalnya, and several pieces created with Kyiv-based illustrator Kateryna Stepanishcheva (known as myfabstory), each representing Kyiv's past, present, and future.

With this collection, we also released the Kyiv Independent’s first-ever family look, with matching pieces for kids and their parents. You can build your own family bundle here, and the whole line is available here.

Vyshyvanka is one of the items that carries Ukrainian identity, and some of our team members, including our Editor-in-Chief Olga Rudenko, shared their stories connected with this traditional shirt which you can read here.

We also have a story we're especially glad to share. Ukrainian photojournalist George Ivanchenko, who lost his leg in the same Russian drone strike that killed his colleague, French journalist Antoni Lallican, in October 2025, has completed his recovery. Nearly 1,500 Kyiv Independent readers funded his fully functional electronic prosthesis, and George recently graduated from the Superhumans Center in Lviv wearing it for the first time. "I didn't think it was possible to walk this easily. It's incredible," George said. He’s now putting his prosthesis to a test on a He's now planning his first real test of the new prosthesis: a camping trip to France with his wife,  where he also intends to visit Antoni's family. It's a powerful reminder of what our community can do when it rallies around a shared cause — you can read the full story here.

Finally, we're excited to share that we partnered with The Atlantic to offer our community members a new benefit as a gesture of appreciation for their support. We teamed up with the Atlantic to offer the Kyiv Independent members based in continental Europe $30 off a yearlong digital subscription — unlocking The Atlantic's full archive, narrated articles, podcasts, and more.

In other media

July kept us on our toes as Ukraine's political situation shifted following the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Deputy Chief Editor Oleksiy Sorokin joined Pod Save the World, the Crooked Media podcast hosted by Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes, to break down the protests over President Volodymyr Zelensky's military staffing decisions and the latest Russian ballistic missile strikes on Ukraine. Oleksiy also appeared on the inaugural episode of Battleground: The Big Picture, the Goalhanger military history podcast, discussing the founding of the Kyiv Independent, the pressures facing Ukraine's free press, and the shifting balance of power within the Zelensky administration.

Deputy Chief Editor Toma Istomina spoke with NPR's Here & Now, about the wave of protests that followed Fedorov's dismissal and what it could mean for Ukraine's war effort.

And London-based think tank Chatham House drew on our reporting in its own analysis of the reshuffle, citing our coverage of Fedorov's record in office, the appointment of his successor, and the timing of his departure.

Special recognition

We're also glad to share that the Kyiv Independent has been shortlisted in two categories at the Press Gazette’s Future of Media Awards:  Newsletter of the Year (National/International) category with Ukraine Weekly, authored by our Editor-in-Chief Olga Rudenko, and  Reader Revenue Strategy category for our community-first approach in building a successful independent newsroom from Ukraine.

Thank you for reading. As always, there's a lot happening behind the scenes at the Kyiv Independent, and we're glad to have a way to bring you along for more of it. We'll keep sharing these updates every month, and we'd love to hear what you'd like to see more of.

If you're a member of the press looking to connect with us, or a reader who knows journalists we should connect with, email us at press@kyivindependent.com.