Russian invasion of Ukraine
Special Coverage
Vladimir Putin began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that he started in 2014. The invasion received widespread international condemnation, including massive economic sanctions. Milwaukee’s Ukrainian American community began with immigrants in the early twentieth century, and continued to grow in the years after World War II and the fall of the Soviet Union.
These news stories cover the local connections in Milwaukee to an international crisis, and all the complexities woven into America’s political climate.
- Selected features that focus on news from Milwaukee’s Sister City of Irpin can be found here: mkeind.com/irpin
- Complete coverage from the series Reports from Ukraine can be found here: mkeind.com/reportsfromukraine
Featured: Jennifer Vosters: A visit to Kyiv that offered insight, awareness, and an inspiration for solidarity [Feb 24, 2022]
Not planting means death: Ukraine farmers continue to risk losing their lives or livelihoods during war
A grassy lane rutted with tire tracks leads to Volodymyr Zaiets’ farm in southern Ukraine. He is careful, driving only within those shallow grooves, and veering away might cost him his life in the field dotted with explosive mines. Weeds grow tall where rows of...
Deterring Russian aggression: The United States will provide Ukraine with $1.2B in long-term security aid
The U.S. will provide $1.2 billion more in long-term military aid to Ukraine to further bolster its air defenses as Russia continues to pound Ukraine with drones, rockets, and surface-to-air missiles, the Pentagon said. The aid package will be provided under the...
Our Fire is Stronger Than Your Bombs: Ukrainian artists send defiant message to Russia at exhibit
As Ukrainian artists Jenya Polosina and Anna Ivanenko watched missiles descend on their country, the two decided to use their creativity to push back against Russia’s invasion. Working in the early days of the war from bunkers or sometimes without electricity...
The cyber gulag: How Russia restricts its citizens by using a state system of total digital surveillance
When Yekaterina Maksimova cannot afford to be late, the journalist and activist avoids taking the Moscow subway, even though it is probably the most efficient route. That is because she has been detained five times in the past year, thanks to the system’s...
Possible anti-Putin uprising behind incursions in rural Russian border region with Ukraine
Russia alleges that dozens of Ukrainian militants crossed into one of its border towns in its Belgorod region, striking targets and forcing an evacuation, before over 70 of the attackers were killed or pushed back by what the authorities termed a counterterrorism...
European human rights summit approves increased aid for Ukraine to counter Russia’s brutal invasion
At the conclusion of their previous Council of Europe summit in 2005, the 46 member states solemnly declared they would “bear witness to unprecedented pan-European unity.” Fast-forward 18 years, to May 16, 2023 and Europe’s pre-eminent human rights...
Russian cyberespionage operations in dozens of countries finally disabled by the United States
The Justice Department announced in early May that it had disrupted a long-running Russian cyberespionage campaign that stole sensitive information from computer networks in dozens of countries, including the U.S. and other NATO members. Prosecutors linked the spying...
Global Ambitions: What peace for Ukraine means to authoritarian leaders in Moscow and Beijing
By Ronald Suny, Professor of History and Political Science, University of Michigan Just a few days after being branded a war criminal in an international arrest warrant, Russian President Vladimir Putin was talking peace with his most important ally, Chinese president...
Federal prosecutors launch criminal cases involving illegal flow of technology to Russia, China, and Iran
The Justice Department announced a series of criminal cases on May 16 tracing the illegal flow of sensitive technology, including Apple’s software code for self-driving cars, and materials used for missiles, to foreign adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran....
Charm offensive: President Zelenskyy’s diplomatic tour highlights stark international isolation of Putin
While the world awaits Ukraine’s spring battlefield offensive, its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has launched a diplomatic one. In the span of a week, he has dashed to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France, Britain, and Japan to shore up support for defending his...
Why Ukraine’s spring offensive has yet to begin even with summer rapidly approaching
For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive. Summer is now just around the corner. While Russia and...
Remains of U.S. Marine veteran killed a year ago defending Ukraine finally brought home
The remains of a U.S. Marine veteran who was missing in Ukraine for more than a year returned to the United States on May 19, and headed to his hometown in eastern North Carolina. A Turkish Airlines plane flying from Istanbul with the remains of retired Marine Captain...
From invasion to liberation: Sergi Mykhalchuk earns 2 Milwaukee Press Club awards for his images in Irpin
Somewhere in Ukraine, at an undisclosed location along the frontlines, Sergi Mykhalchuk received a Facebook message from Milwaukee that his work documenting Irpin’s evacuation and later liberation had won two journalism awards. On May 12, the Milwaukee Press...
Featured: Photos from the frontlines: Sergi Mykhalchuk documents images of war as civilians evacuate Irpin [Mar 16, 2022]
Featured: Milwaukee formalizes Sister City status with Ukraine’s Irpin [Mar 23, 2018]
Milwaukee has a small but thriving Ukrainian American community, and Irpin is a sister city. Follow our special coverage at mkeind.com/ukraine for updates on Putin’s invasion, and about how the fight by Ukrainian people to preserve their democracy is having an impact on the families and businesses here in Milwaukee. 🇺🇦 Слава Україні! Героям слава!
Help maintain a reliable news source in Ukraine by supporting the Kyiv Independent, an English-language media outlet created by journalists who were fired from the Kyiv Post for defending editorial independence. Donations can be made via patreon or gofundme.
