At the Kyiv Independent, reader contributions are our main source of revenue. By becoming a member, you pledge a certain amount of money per month. Your monthly support allows us to bring independent, locally-sourced news about Ukraine to the world.

Membership and one-time donations keeps us sustainable as a news organization and allows us to keep our journalism free and accessible to everyone. It also allows us to connect and engage with our community of readers. Our monthly or annual members get access to exclusive newsletters, events, direct communication with our staff and many more benefits. You can learn more about exclusive benefits by reviewing our tiers or writing to us at [email protected].

We encourage our readers to become a member and support us monthly or annually – this form of support allows us to better plan our expenses and be more sustainable as an organization.

Your payment security is our priority. We utilize Stripe, a reputable international payment processor, to handle all transactions. This means we do not store or have access to your credit card details. Stripe employs advanced security measures, including encryption and compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), to protect your information.

If you have any concerns about payment security, please contact us at [email protected]. You can also read more about how Stripe handles payment security at the Stripe Privacy Center.

There are two options when choosing how to support the Kyiv Independent. A single payment is just a one-time contribution – you will only be charged once, but you won’t receive membership benefits.

Membership is a monthly payment, with recurring billing, meaning you will be charged on the same day each month. By choosing this option, you will receive membership benefits. For example, our special weekly email blast with behind-the-scene updates and recommended readings. Different tiers of membership come with different benefits.

You also have the option to join as a member with an annual payment. In this case, you will also receive membership benefits, but you will only be charged once a year on the date you signed up. Members who pay annually also receive a 15% discount.

Membership benefits will be delivered via email – any relevant links, such as Zoom meetings, videos or recordings, or questionnaires, will be included in these emails.

If you’re experiencing any trouble receiving your benefits, please email either our community manager Brooke Manning at [email protected] or our general community email address [email protected].

Yes, there are lots of opportunities to get in touch with the Kyiv Independent team. We recently launched a community chat on Discord, offering an exclusive space for our members to connect directly with the team. You can ask us questions, reach out to specific team members, participate in polls, share memes, and much more. Partners and Insiders can also have regular one-on-one calls with our leadership.

If you would like to change or update your credit card information, you can do so in your account. Please see the steps below:

1. Create your online account or sign in to your existing account. You will need to sign in using the email address you registered with.
2. Once you’re signed in, go to your account and click the “Update” button located next to “Billing info.”
3. You will receive a 6-digit code that will be sent to your phone. Enter the code on the screen.
4. Input your new credit card information and select “Save card.” All membership payments to the Kyiv Independent will be charged to your new card.

If you’re experiencing any difficulties with changing the payment information, please email us at [email protected].

We accept debit and credit card payments from around the world, including:

• Mastercard
• Visa
• American Express
• China UnionPay (CUP)
• Discover & Diners
• Japan Credit Bureau (JCB)

All prices listed are in US dollars.

We use the payment system Stripe, which will accept payments even if you’re paying in a currency other than US Dollars.

Stripe’s payment system is able to convert currencies. It uses the daily mid-market rate, or the average between the buy and sell price for the currency, for this conversion. This is the amount that will be charged to your card – all payment processing and currency conversion fees are covered by the Kyiv Independent, not passed along to the member.

The Kyiv Independent also accepts one-time contributions via PayPal, direct bank transfer, and crypto currency.

If you’re experiencing any difficulties with our payment methods, please email us at [email protected].

If you would like to change your contribution amount, please see the steps below :

1. Create your online account or sign in to your existing account. You will need to sign in using the email address you registered with.
2. Once you’re signed in, go to your account and click the “Change” button located next to your Membership details (for example “Believer” $30/month).
3. On the Membership landing page, select your new membership plan and click the "Choose" button.

If you’re experiencing any difficulties with our payment methods, please email us at [email protected].

If something goes wrong and your payment doesn’t go through, you will receive an email letting you know there’s been a problem.

If you need help resolving the problem, please email us at [email protected].

If you’re already a member on Patreon, that’s totally fine! Thank you for supporting us. Even though we have our own membership program now, nothing will change for you. We will still maintain our Patreon account and you will receive all the benefits, the same as before. If you do want to move to our new membership system, we’d be happy to have you!

If you need any help setting up your account with the Kyiv Independent please reach out to us [email protected] and we’ll help you.

If you need help with signing in to your account, please follow these steps:

1. Select “Sign in” or “Account” located in the top right of the kyivindependent.com homepage.
2. Enter the email address associated with your account, then select “Sign in.”
3. If you created an account using Google, please use whichever login you registered with.
4. Check your email. A login link will be sent to your inbox (email from Kyiv Independent with the subject “Secure sign in link for Kyiv Independent”). If it doesn't arrive in 3 minutes, be sure to check your spam folder. Open the link to sign in automatically. This link expires in 24 hours.

If you’re experiencing any difficulties with signing in, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll help you.

If you would like to cancel your monthly or annual membership, please follow this guide:

1. Sign in to your existing account. You will need to sign in using the email address you registered with.
2. Once you’re signed in, go to your account and click the “Cancel Membership” button located at the bottom.

If you’re experiencing any difficulties with canceling the membership, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll help you.

It is now possible for you to buy a Kyiv Independent membership for someone else. You can find all the information here: https://kyivindependent.com/membership/gift