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]
Intelligence officials fear Russia’s brazen campaign of sabotage is growing more dangerous
It was almost midnight when a truck driver resting in his cab heard the crackling of flames at a warehouse in east London storing equipment for Ukraine. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and leapt out, but realized the blaze was too big and retreated. When police...
How Ukraine’s Operation Spider Web tore apart the idea that aircraft far behind the front lines are safe
By Benjamin Jensen, Professor of Strategic Studies at the Marine Corps University School of Advanced Warfighting; Scholar-in-Residence, American University School of International Service A series of blasts at airbases deep inside Russia on June 1, 2025, came as a...
An estimated 30,000 North Korean troops prepare to join Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine
North Korea is expected to deploy tens of thousands of troops to the frontlines of the war in Ukraine, in what intelligence assessments describe as one of the most significant foreign reinforcements to Russian ground forces since the invasion began. The move could...
Russia’s slave labor pact with North Korea exposes brutal alliance built on fear and repressive control
While Russia is waging an undeclared war on Ukraine, it is outsourcing reconstruction of its destroyed infrastructure and battlefield logistics to one of the world’s most brutally oppressed populations. In a June agreement emblematic of both desperation and disregard...
Army of Drones: Why Ukraine turned some battlefield operations into a point-based video game
More than three years into a war that was expected to last just days, Ukraine has continued to rewrite the modern military playbook. Facing a vastly larger and better equipped adversary in Russia, Ukrainian forces have leaned into technological adaptation not simply...
Оглядаючись на третю річницю своєї першої поїздки для висвітлення війни в Україні, Milwaukee Independent
Три роки тому, майже день у день — 20 травня — команда журналістів із Вісконсину перетнула кордон України в перші місяці повномасштабного вторгнення Росії. Це був перший випадок, коли медіа зі штату висвітлювали події безпосередньо з України після ескалації війни у...
From Abuja to Irpin: Milwaukee’s Sister Cities Day celebrates international ties built through people
City Hall came alive with music, dance, and heartfelt stories on May 16, as Milwaukee marked its 2025 Sister Cities Meet and Greet Day, honoring the relationships that continue to grow between Milwaukee and its seven international partners. From Abuja to Irpin,...
Parade of Denial: Russia exploits 80th anniversary of VE Day to honor a war it worked with Hitler to start
While most of the democratic world solemnly marks VE Day, as the Victory in Europe Day and end of World War II on May 8, the Kremlin will again stage its annual May 9 military parade across Red Square. It is a performance designed not to commemorate, but to control a...
Echoes of Yalta: How Stalin got what he wanted in Poland and now Putin could get in Ukraine
By Wendy Webster, Professor of Modern Cultural History, University of Huddersfield As Britain celebrated Victory in Europe (VE) Day on May 8, 1945, the Polish airmen of RAF 305 Bomber Squadron captured a starkly different sentiment in their diary. “‘Victory!’ every...
Вплив пропаганди: як дезінформаційна тактика Кремля відлунює в Америці Трампа й роз’їдає правду
Поки Росія веде жорстоку та неспровоковану війну проти України, тривожна узгодженість виявляється не лише в межах російського медіапростору, а й серед деяких українців у США та глядачів американського консервативного телебачення, які повторюють наративи, що...
The opening of McDonald’s first restaurant in Irpin marks a milestone in post-war reconstruction
The city of Irpin, once a key battleground in the defense of Kyiv during the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, will soon be home to its first McDonald’s restaurant, a 550-square-meter location slated to open near the city’s railway station. The development...
A cowardly retreat: Trump trades his “24-hour” boast for dodging blame as Ukraine peace efforts collapse
During his campaign, Donald Trump said repeatedly that he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours” upon taking office. He has changed his tone since becoming president again. Trump’s swaggering promise to end Russia’s war of...
Russia’s slave labor pact with North Korea exposes brutal alliance built on fear and repressive control
While Russia is waging an undeclared war on Ukraine, it is outsourcing reconstruction of its destroyed infrastructure and battlefield logistics to one of the world’s most brutally oppressed populations. In a June agreement emblematic of both desperation and disregard...
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.
