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]

Irpin and Zelenskyy: Documenting the brutality of Putin’s full-scale invasion in images for two years
Two years ago today, the free world awoke to the horrific news about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign nation in the heart of Europe. February 24 marks the second anniversary of a brutal conflict that has reshaped the geopolitical landscape,...

Images from Ukraine: The experience of attending a military funeral in Kyiv while children died in Uvalde
Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in...

Images from Ukraine: Stepping out of the fog of war to see the beauty of faith in ancient places of worship
While Eastern Ukraine is brutalized by Russia’s effort to annex large portions of the independent nation, Ukraine itself is the site of a less visible religious battleground. All forms of faiths in Ukraine are trying to contain the corrosive influence, and in some cases dominance, of Russian controlled religions.

Images from Ukraine: The cities of Kyiv and Lviv were divided by history but remain united in identity
Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in...

The Big Exodus: How creating Ukrainian refugees was part of Putin’s plan to destabilize Europe
By Mark A. Grey, Professor of Anthropology, University of Northern Iowa More than 6.3 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russia first invaded in late February 2022. The European Union has welcomed Ukrainian refugees, allowing them to enter its 27 member...

Budget deadlock: White House warns of dire situation in Ukraine as Republicans hold military aid hostage
President Joe Biden’s top budget official warned in stark terms in early January about the rapidly diminishing time that lawmakers have to replenish U.S. aid for Ukraine, as the fate of that money to Kyiv remained held hostage to demands by Republicans over...


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.