With the help of funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, many startup media companies escaped the control of political parties and oligarchs to strengthen a vibrant and free press in Ukraine. Some flourished and produced vital coverage on Russia’s invasion of their country. They were part of an American effort to support democracy, farming, business development, and anti-corruption efforts through humanitarian assistance. Now, faced with foreign aid cuts under the Trump administration, Ukraine’s free press is finding a new basis of independence.

“Losing that funding was a crisis for sure, but in Ukraine we are living in a constant crisis from the war,” Ola Myrovych tells Howard LaFranchi in his story today. “That has forced us to learn to adapt, and I think that ability to adapt will help us avoid this crisis for independent media becoming a catastrophe.”