Why we’re going dark for September

For free subscribers, we’ll be paywalled for the entire month. International news is expensive and taxing. Today’s issue is about the closure of foreign reporting bureaus around the world.

Editor’s Note:

We’ve been looking at the data: right now, just 3% of our readers pay for our work, meaning 97% read it for free. It’s an unsustainable figure for us as we try to report from a war zone.

Upgrade now, and you’ll get full access to our reporting for September and beyond!

Imagine what would happen if The Counteroffensive had to close down.

For the month of September, those who are not paid subscribers to our publication won’t have to imagine. We’ll be paywalling all of our work for the month.

One of the main principles we’ve had since our launch is to make most of our reporting free. But what that has meant is that there may not be enough of an incentive for many readers to pay to support us.

So for one month, we’ll be paywalling all of our reporting from Ukraine, because even worthwhile, meaningful journalism without a sustainable business model cannot last.

If you are a paid subscriber, you’ll continue to enjoy full access to our reporting, weekly livestreams, and the knowledge that you’re helping mission-oriented war correspondence!

Since the beginning of the century, news organizations have been closing their foreign bureaus, narrowing the public’s window to the world. It’s left us in the West with a foggier picture of global affairs even as the world has gotten more dangerous.

At The Counteroffensive, we are doing the opposite. We are building a team in Ukraine and Europe to put a face on societies that are victims of authoritarian regimes worldwide.

Let’s look at the problem: between 1998 and 2011, at least 20 American news outlets closed all of their foreign bureaus, according to the American Journalism Review. Those remaining have scaled back. By 2010, there were around 230 foreign correspondents from American organizations, a 50% decrease from the 430 in the mid-1970s.

As conflicts have erupted in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Asia, foreign reporting from The Counteroffensive has never been so important.

The Counteroffensive team in the Kyiv office.

With our headquarters located in Kyiv, we put human stories front and center.

Our goal is also to provide our audience with an understanding of the country's rich historical, cultural, linguistic, and culinary traditions, adopting a more holistic approach to war reporting. At The Counteroffensive,

“The very best coverage I have seen of the Ukraine war places the audience on the scene, using traditional reporting mixed with storytelling about the human condition and suffering,” said Sherry Ricchiardi-Folwell, former war correspondent and a researcher in the fields of international journalism and conflict journalism.

The height of international coverage was in the 1980s and the 1990s, when even regional and metropolitan newspapers in the United States had offices abroad.

In 2008, the Boston Globe closed the last three international offices in Berlin, Bogota, and Jerusalem. The Baltimore Sun also announced that it would shut down its bureaus in South Africa and Russia.

Alfredo Corchado was the chief of the Dallas Morning News’ Mexican bureau for over three decades. In the late 1990s, the Dallas Morning News had the largest bureau in Mexico of any major U.S. news organization.

Yet from 2012 onwards, Corchado was the only person covering Mexico and the rest of Latin America for the Dallas Morning News. In 2024, he decided to leave the company – the audience's interest “was not there as it was in the beginning.”

The Counteroffensive is currently the most-read Substack in the international category, with some 150,000 subscribers.

Yet, we recently discovered that 97% of readers are not paid subscribers, meaning that most of our readers do not pay to read our work.

War reporting is dangerous AND expensive. While readers can’t protect us from the ongoing Russian attacks, they can help us by subscribing. With it, we can buy more of what we need to report: body armor, medical kits, car rentals, recording equipment, and emergency supplies.

In return, you will get to experience Ukraine as if you were here with us, tasting the traditional Ukrainian dishes, meeting emergency workers who are saving lives at the frontline, and walking through cities that have turned into rubble.

In February this year, we were the first to publish a detailed play-by-play on the first successful all-drone assault on Russian positions.

We also reported a first-hand account of how young Ukrainian students study for their exams in a bomb shelter while their city is under attack and why they decided to stay in Ukraine.

In addition, we have also reported on Taiwan’s ‘red beaches’ as the island prepares for a potential Chinese attack.

Residents of Kyiv hang up a Ukrainian flag and begin working to cleanup the damage from a Russian strike earlier this week.

This sort of international correspondence is of a scale and breadth that is near-unparalleled in other news outlets nowadays due to costs and risks.

In the 2000s, the emergence of the internet began to hurt the newspapers, whose revenues were declined amid low circulation and faltering advertising.

“Cost-cutting was essential, and international news was among the first things to go on the chopping block,” said Phillip Balboni, an American reporter who in 2008 founded Global Post.

Foreign bureaus are expensive for a news organization to maintain, with costs reaching up to $250,000 annually in the early 2000s (nearly $500,000 in today’s dollars).

“Foreign bureaus cost real money. So they are seen as an extravagance for declining media,” said Peter Kann, former publisher of The Wall Street Journal Asia, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and chairman of the board of Dow Jones & Company. “Further, there are fewer and fewer serious media these days. Most are shallow and more interested in entertaining than enlightening, more focused on opinion than news.”

Kann believes the role of the foreign correspondent is still relevant.

“Global news matters more than ever in an interconnected world. Sadly, we get too little of it,” he said.

The Counteroffensive team receiving medical training from Tim in August 2025.

At The Counteroffensive, we know that many people lack a direct view of Ukraine’s lesser-known corners. That’s why we aim to be your eyes and ears in places rarely visited.

One of our next pieces: how Russian attacks are threatening Ukraine’s flamingo population.

Unfortunately, this sort of travel and foreign correspondence is rare due to pressures on the media industry.

“The impact of technology on journalism cannot be overestimated. Many so-called ‘international reporters’ never leave their desks,” Ricchiardi added.

The Counteroffensive team on the ground covering protests against Zelenskyy’s bill on anti-corruption bodies in July 2025.

Since the closure of their bureaus abroad, newspapers are now replacing their staff with individual correspondents, many working as freelancers with no stable income.

Yet, autocratic countries such as China have been investing heavily in foreign correspondents and overseas bureaus for the purposes of propaganda.

Xinhua News Agency, China Central Television, China Radio International, People’s Daily, and China Daily reportedly received between $2 billion and $9 billion to open foreign bureaus. In 2017, Xinhua had 27 bureaus in sub-Saharan Africa, more than any other news agency.

For Ricchiardi, foreign correspondents have a central place in the news industry, as they “can point to similarities and differences in a struggle for survival as we are seeing in Ukraine.”

She recalls the years she was a war reporter covering the Balkan War in the 1990s, where her editor told her she wanted to have “boots on the ground” as it is important for readers to experience the human suffering of the war.

The Counteroffensive wants to play a role in pushing back against the trend of foreign bureau closures.

We want to be your eyes and ears on the ground in Ukraine and everywhere that democracies are fighting against authoritarianism.

Help us now to fulfill this mission.

Editor’s Note:

Upgrade now, and you’ll get full access to our reporting for September and beyond!

NEWS OF THE DAY:

By: Clara Preve

U.S. APPROVES $300M SALE OF EQUIPMENT TO UKRAINE: The United States has approved a $300 million sale of equipment to bolster Ukraine’s Patriot air defense systems and Starlink satellite communications.

“Patriot air defense systems are vital for Ukraine. They protect our people, our cities, and critical infrastructure from relentless Russian air attacks,” said Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, Denys Shmyhal.

The announcement comes just days after a deadly Russian strike killed at least 23 people. President Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged Western allies to supply more Patriot batteries to defend Ukraine’s skies.

TRUMP SUPPORTS CHINESE PEACEKEEPERS IN UKRAINE: Donald Trump has reportedly suggested sending Chinese troops as peacekeepers to Ukraine after the war, reviving a proposal originally put forward by Vladimir Putin, according to the Financial Times.

The plan envisions Chinese forces monitoring a neutral zone along Ukraine’s 1,300-kilometer front line as part of a broader peace deal with Russia. The idea surfaced during Trump’s meeting this month with EU officials and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Both European leaders and Zelenskyy have firmly opposed the proposal, citing Beijing’s alignment with Moscow. U.S. officials, meanwhile, have denied the allegations, saying Chinese peacekeepers were not discussed at the summit.

PUTIN AND XI TO MEET, STRENGTHEN ALLIANCE: Vladimir Putin will travel to China this weekend for what Moscow is calling a “truly unprecedented” visit to his most important ally.

Over the course of a week, Putin will hold talks with Xi Jinping and attend Beijing’s Victory Day military parade, where he will be joined by North Korea’s Kim Jong-un as well as leaders from Iran and Cuba.

Analysts say the trip will be crucial for Putin and Xi to coordinate their positions on the war in Ukraine as peace talks continue. Since the invasion began, China has served as a key economic lifeline for Russia , becoming the leading buyer of Russian oil and coal. Kyiv has repeatedly voiced concern over Beijing’s support for Moscow.

DOG OF WAR:

The Counteroffensive team spotted this good boy in the city center of Vinnytsia during a work trip!

Stay safe out there.

Best,
Clara