A crowdfunded news outlet that bills itself as Russias free press in-exile has seen its funding completely severed by the descent of Russian President Vladimir Putins new iron curtain, cutting Russians off from one of their few remaining independent sources of information.

The Latvia-based outlet, Meduza , has published stories in both English and Russian since 2014, relying on a combination of advertising revenue and donations from readers. That changed drastically in 2021, when the Kremlin branded the news website a foreign agent and ad revenue evaporated.

Some 30,000 Russian donors stepped in to make up the difference, according to the outlet. But now that sending money into and out of Russia is virtually impossible , Meduza is once again facing an existential crisis.

Meduzas editorial staff in Russia fled the country at the start of the war some on foot, in the middle of the night and are now scattered across Asia and Europe. Though Meduzas website has been blocked in Russia, the outlet says millions of Russians continue to read via the outlets app and encrypted messaging apps, like Telegram. (Meduza has produced a number of joint investigations in the past via a partnership with BuzzFeed, HuffPosts parent company.)

Now Meduza is getting a signal boost from news outlets around the world in a bid for new members .

We ask you to take the place of our dedicated supporters from Russia, the Meduza staff wrote in a crowdfunding appeal. We have a duty to tell the truth. We have millions of readers in Russia who need us. Without independent journalism, it will be impossible to stop this monstrous war.