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]
High price of war: Milwaukee reacts to how Pyongyang’s support in Ukraine is being repaid by Putin
North Korea’s calculated support for Russia in the Ukraine war has thrust the secretive nation into a new level of international intrigue. Reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) revealed that Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to Moscow and...
Milwaukee donors cover cost of reconstructive surgery for American volunteer wounded in battle
Return to Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from areas across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, from June to July of 2023. It was the second time in the span of a year that the...
The trauma of living: When being killed is the preferred choice to being disfigured from battle
Return to Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from areas across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, from June to July of 2023. It was the second time in the span of a year that the...
President Zelenskyy offers gratitude and awards to wounded soldiers while visiting Lviv Hospital
Return to Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from areas across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, from June to July of 2023. It was the second time in the span of a year that the...
Former Vice President Mike Pence visits Irpin during unannounced campaign trip to Kyiv
Return to Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from areas across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, from June to July of 2023. It was the second time in the span of a year that the...
Cyberattacks from Russia target online auction of Banksy art selling to raise money for Ukraine relief
An online charity auction of Banksy prints for Ukraine recently revealed that it was targeted by thousands of “hostile attacks” from within Russia. Banksy, a world-renowned graffiti artist, originally announced the set of 50 new limited edition screenprints via the...
The Diary of Anya Verkhovskaya: Going to war in Ukraine without ever leaving her office in Milwaukee
Today I went to war without ever leaving my office in Milwaukee. Every morning at 3:00 a.m., which is 11:00 a.m. in Ukraine, I leave my warm, comfortable bed, drink my coffee, and then I stand up tall and strong to the bully. I stand up to Putin. I am a proud U.S....
Fighting War Fatigue: Volunteer network continues saving lives in Ukraine as public donations dry up
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked the world over ten months ago, Anya Verkhovskaya’s phone began to fill with messages from friends and former colleagues in Ukraine asking for help. In the space of just a few months, the informal network transformed into an...
Lola Vaganova: A journey from Izium to Milwaukee in the footsteps of an ancestor who also fled a war
Lola Vaganova’s Ukrainian great grandmother was 20 years-old when WWII started. She became an “Ostarbeiter,” a Nazi German designation for foreign slave workers in Germany. Vaganova’s first stop as a displaced refugee from Izium was Oppeln, Germany, now known as Opole, Poland. A terrible history had again repeated itself.
World leaders thanked for their support of Ukraine in billboard series by the “Brave Society” of Irpin
In the first 10 months of the war, about about 100 world-famous dignitaries visited Milwaukee’s Sister City of Irpin. For those foreign guests, Irpin became a symbol of hope, and the cost of freedom was represented by the city’s destruction. The Ukrainian...
A missile cemetery: Where spent Russian ordinance used to terrorize eastern Ukraine is stored as evidence
The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has a peculiar “cemetery,” one that recalls some of the worst damage done since the Russian invasion: the debris of rockets used against this town and its people. The graveyard has more than a thousand missiles, or...
Year In Review 2022: First-hand reports from the early days of war in Ukraine
2022 began with Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The traumatic war crimes against the Ukrainian people the escalating humanitarian crisis has strained the global economy and every level of civilized society. While taking place a continent...
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...
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.
