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.
- Links to complete news coverage of Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine: mkeind.com/ukraine
- Reports from Ukraine – Series of news reports from May 2022 in Ukraine: mkeind.com/reportsfromukraine
- Return to Ukraine – Series of news reports from June-July 2023 in Ukraine: mkeind.com/returntoukraine
- Selected features that focus on news from Milwaukee’s Sister City of Irpin: mkeind.com/irpin

Featured: Jennifer Vosters: A visit to Kyiv that offered insight, awareness, and an inspiration for solidarity [Feb 24, 2022]

A “God’s-Eye” view: Aboard secretive surveillance flights keeping watch on Russian forces in Ukraine
Off in the distance, Ukraine is fighting for its survival. Seen from up here, in the cockpit of a French Air Force surveillance plane flying over neighboring Romania, the snow-dusted landscapes look deceptively peaceful. The dead from Russia’s war, the shattered...

Cultural Symbolism: Why heritage sites in Ukraine like Saint Sophia Cathedral remain a threat to Russia
By J. Eugene Clay, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Arizona State University More than 160 Ukrainian cultural sites have been damaged or destroyed since Russia invaded the country in February 2022,...

A war on food in Ukraine: World Central Kitchen’s relief effort has served 100 Million meals in 5 months
Today marks five months since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, displacing millions of people, claiming tens of thousands of lives, and destroying thousands of buildings and entire communities. But these numbers only partially convey what the Ukrainian people have had...

Illusion of Greatness: Russia’s war continues to be propelled by propaganda and historic parallelism
By Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Associate Professor of Critical Cultural & International Studies, Colorado State University; and Evgeniya Pyatovskaya, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, University of South Florida Russia’s war against Ukraine is pressing into its...

A terror playbook: Almost two million Ukrainians have been victims of Russia’s mass kidnappings
By Alexander Hinton, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology; Director, Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Rutgers University – Newark Following months of speculation, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on July 13, 2022, that Russia...

Outnumbered defenders in Ukraine’s Avdiivka face collapse due to GOP’s obstruction of sending aid
Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka struggled on February 16 with severe ammunition shortages as Russian forces tightened the noose around the strategic eastern city in an intense Kremlin push for a battlefield win. The timing is critical as Russia is looking for a morale...


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.