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]

Cult of War: How the Kremlin weaponized Russian history to justify the era of Soviet terror
When Tucker Carlson asked Vladimir Putin about his reasons for invading Ukraine two years ago, Putin gave him a lecture on a fictional version of Russian history. The brutal 71-year-old dictator spent more than 20 minutes showering a baffled Carlson with dates and...

Stories from Ukraine: Having a shared purpose helped Irpin’s leaders protect the city and stop the invaders
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: How Irpin’s cemetery processed the staggering massacre of its local citizens
By the time Milwaukee Independent’s team of journalists arrived in Irpin, city residents who had been killed in March at the start of Russia’s unprovoked invasion had been buried for weeks. That process did not begin until the city was liberated, after a key battle that halted Putin’s plans to capture Kyiv.

Stories from Ukraine: Healing remains slow as Borodyanka residents recover from occupation
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: The deep scars of war remain visibly etched across the landscape of Borodyanka
What happened in Borodyanka is considered one of the biggest tragedies in Ukraine, and was one of the places in Kyiv Oblast most impacted by Russian aggression. The city had no Ukrainian military fortifications of strategic importance, and troops simply acted out of cruelty against the unarmed civilian population.

President Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not back down as winter brings new phase to Putin’s brutal invasion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the war with Russia is in a new stage, with winter expected to complicate fighting after a summer counteroffensive that failed to produce desired results due to enduring shortages of weapons and ground forces. Despite...


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.