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 Russian asset: Trump’s policy behavior confirms evidence he was groomed by the Kremlin since the 1980s
The “Kyiv Independent” published an explosive interview on February 26 that torched any lingering doubt about President Donald Trump’s deep ties to Russian intelligence. Veteran journalist Craig Unger has tracked Trump’s relationships with Moscow for years...

Ukrainian tactics to cripple Russia’s Black Sea Fleet have historical parallels to the Russo-Japanese War
In a series of relentless and innovative strikes, Ukraine has continued to weaken Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, echoing a historic naval conflict over a century ago. Ukraine’s effective use of naval drone technology and modern warfare tactics against a superior maritime...

Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine: Understanding the rules behind Putin’s threat of using atomic weapons
Since Russia launched its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the brutal dictator Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin voices have frequently threatened the West with its nuclear arsenal. On Day 1 of the war, Putin said “whoever tries to impede us,...

Global populations face threat of radioactive pollution from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
By Nino Antadze, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies, University of Prince Edward Island Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put the country’s nuclear facilities at considerable risk. For example, on April 7 a drone attacked Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power...

Relentless onslaught: Russia presses its summer offensive in Ukraine as the West tries to blunt the push
Slowly but steadily this summer, Russian troops are forging through Ukraine’s outgunned and undermanned defenses in a relentless onslaught, prompting the West to push for new weapons and strategies to shore up Kyiv. That, in turn, has brought new threats by...

99-year-old U.S. D-Day veteran hugs President Zelenskyy and calls him a savior of the Ukrainian people
An American veteran and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared an emotional moment at a ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion to liberate France in World War II, each praising the other as a hero. Retired Staff Sgt. Melvin Hurwitz,...

President Zelenskyy accuses China of aiding Russia by pressuring countries to avoid Ukraine peace talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused China on June 2 of helping Russia to disrupt an upcoming Swiss-organized peace conference on the war in Ukraine. Speaking at Asia’s premier security conference, Zelenskyy said that China is pressuring other...

Why Trump’s anti-American attacks on the justice system over his felony convictions are a gift to Putin
After his historic guilty verdict in his hush money case, Donald Trump attacked the U.S. criminal justice system, making unfounded claims of a “rigged” trial that echoed remarks from the Kremlin. “If they can do this to me, they can do this to...

Ukraine can finally target Russian-occupied areas with long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S.
Ukraine for the first time began using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea and Russian forces in April. Long sought by Ukrainian leaders, the new missiles give Ukraine nearly double the...

Russia’s brutal advances strain Ukrainian front-line troops just as mobilization law comes into force
A divisive mobilization law in Ukraine came into force on May 11, as Kyiv struggles to boost troop numbers after Russia launched a new offensive that some fear could close in on Ukraine’s second-largest city. The legislation, which was watered down from its...

A 98-year-old Ukrainian woman escaped Russian occupation by walking in slippers for miles to safety
A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking almost 6 miles alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane has been reunited with her family days after they were separated while fleeing to safety. Lidia Stepanivna...

Putin mocks Ukraine conference while floating latest ploy for peace talks using 2022 draft document
A draft peace agreement that Russia and Ukraine negotiated in the early days of the conflict could serve as a starting point for talks to end the fighting, the Kremlin said recently, reviving a proposal that Ukraine had rejected. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov...

Ukrainians rally around their president after Trump’s ego is bruised for parroting Putin’s lies
Days before the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion, Ukrainians were as somber and tense as they were right before Moscow launched the unprovoked war. Only now, they are not just worried about their longtime enemy. Ukraine’s stunning...


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.