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Outlet profile

The Kyiv Independent

Ukrainian pro-independence, center-left by Western standards

Owned byJointly owned by its editorial staff and Jnomics Media, a Kyiv- and London-based media consultancy co-founded by Jakub Parusinski and Daryna Shevchenko; no single majority owner
FundingPrimarily reader-funded via subscriptions and memberships (roughly 70% of revenue, approximately 27,000 paying members as of 2025–2026); initial seed grant from the European Endowment for Democracy in 2021; previously received some USAID funding
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Kyiv Independent was founded on November 11, 2021 — three months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine — by about 30 journalists dismissed from the Kyiv Post after its Syrian-born owner, Adnan Kivan, shuttered that paper amid editorial disputes. The founders partnered with Jnomics Media, a consultancy run by former Kyiv Post employees Jakub Parusinski and Daryna Shevchenko, and Olga Rudenko, also a Kyiv Post alumna, became editor-in-chief. The outlet launched with a founding grant from the European Endowment for Democracy and later received some USAID funding, but has steadily shifted toward reader support; by 2025, subscriptions and memberships made up roughly 70 percent of revenue, with about 27,000 paying members. Russia's February 2022 invasion dramatically expanded its audience, from roughly 13,000 monthly visitors in January 2022 to nearly 3 million by 2025. Media Bias/Fact Check rates it Left-Center with high factual reliability; AllSides rates it Center. Its editorial perspective is firmly pro-Ukraine and pro-Western integration, which shapes its framing of the Russia-Ukraine war. Under Trump's second term, the outlet has been openly critical of U.S. policy moves it views as accommodating Russia — including reports that the administration considered recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.

Sources

  1. The Kyiv Independent – Wikipedia
  2. Who really funds the Kyiv Independent?
  3. About – The Kyiv Independent
  4. Kyiv Independent – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  5. The Kyiv Independent Media Bias – AllSides
  6. Trump administration weighs recognizing Crimea as Russian territory – The Kyiv Independent
  7. Ukraine editor Olga Rudenko on starting Kyiv Independent – Committee to Protect Journalists

Profile compiled 2026-07-06; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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