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]

Putin’s Proxy: An unhinged Trump berates President Zelenskyy in ambush set by Vance at White House visit
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance unleashed a blistering verbal assault on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on February 28, abruptly canceling a long-anticipated minerals deal and severing hopes for continued U.S. backing of...

Secretary Blinken highlights global pledges to support Ukraine in case it is abandoned under Trump
Ukraine is on its way to being able to “stand on its own feet” militarily, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on July 19, noting that more than 20 other countries have pledged to maintain their own military and financial aid to the country even if the...

A changed battlefield: Ukraine’s bold gamble on an incursion moves deeper into Russian territory
Ukraine’s stunning incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region was a bold gamble for the country’s military commanders, who committed their limited resources to a risky assault on a nuclear-armed enemy with no assurance of success. After the first...

Ukrainian armed forces now control almost 390 square miles of Russia’s Kursk region in blow to Putin
Ukraine’s top military commander says his forces now control 386 square miles of Russia’s neighboring Kursk region, the first time a Ukrainian military official has publicly commented on the gains of the lightning incursion that has embarrassed the...

The Olympic spotlight has allowed Ukraine to capture global attention and fight war fatigue
Ukraine’s Olympic house stands out for its somber atmosphere, with fewer celebrations and parties than the other fan clubhouses that countries set up to tout their athletes and culture. It has moments of silence for war victims and screens documentaries about...

Vigilante justice: Why enemy collaboration in occupied Ukraine evokes painful memories in Europe
By Ronald Niezen, Professor of Practice in Sociology and Political Science/International Relations, University of San Diego Collaboration with the enemy is a common and often painful part of armed conflict. It is also an issue in which I have both a professional and...

Believe in Ukraine: Milwaukee continues its solidarity on second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion
Milwaukee marked the solemn second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the 10th anniversary of Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, with a powerful show of solidarity at O’Donnell Park in downtown on February 24. City officials,...

UN condemns Russia for worsening humanitarian conditions in Ukraine by attacking energy facilities
Intensifying Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities are worsening humanitarian conditions across the war-torn country, where heavy snow and freezing temperatures have already arrived, U.N. officials said in December. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav...

Billions of frozen Russian assets and other profits are slowly being redirected to help Ukraine
European Union nations have decided to approve an outline deal that would keep in reserve the profits from hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian central bank assets that have been frozen in retaliation for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, an EU official said. The...

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,...

The humanitarian case for why Ukraine cannot accept anything less than total liberation of its land
In a detailed analysis published on December 31 by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), experts Frederick W. Kagan, George Barros, Noel Mikkelsen, and Daniel Mealie outlined a compelling argument for Ukraine’s complete liberation from Russian occupation....

MAGA’s gift to Putin: Lack of U.S. aid making life very difficult on the front line in Ukraine
Delays in weapons deliveries from Western allies to Ukraine are opening a door for Russian battlefield advances, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, making the fight “very difficult” along parts of the front line where the Kremlin’s forces...

A sense of duty: Why more wounded Ukrainian soldiers are returning to battle after amputation
The Ukrainian intelligence soldier does not know how long his clinical death lasted after an explosive detonated beneath him. All Andrii Rubliuk remembers is overwhelming cold, darkness, and fear. When he regained consciousness in his shattered body — missing both...


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.