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]
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...
Russian cyberespionage operations in dozens of countries finally disabled by the United States
The Justice Department announced in early May that it had disrupted a long-running Russian cyberespionage campaign that stole sensitive information from computer networks in dozens of countries, including the U.S. and other NATO members. Prosecutors linked the spying...
Global Ambitions: What peace for Ukraine means to authoritarian leaders in Moscow and Beijing
By Ronald Suny, Professor of History and Political Science, University of Michigan Just a few days after being branded a war criminal in an international arrest warrant, Russian President Vladimir Putin was talking peace with his most important ally, Chinese president...
Federal prosecutors launch criminal cases involving illegal flow of technology to Russia, China, and Iran
The Justice Department announced a series of criminal cases on May 16 tracing the illegal flow of sensitive technology, including Apple’s software code for self-driving cars, and materials used for missiles, to foreign adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran....
Charm offensive: President Zelenskyy’s diplomatic tour highlights stark international isolation of Putin
While the world awaits Ukraine’s spring battlefield offensive, its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has launched a diplomatic one. In the span of a week, he has dashed to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France, Britain, and Japan to shore up support for defending his...
Seeking Shelter: Displaced residents in war-torn Ukrainian towns fear a bitter winter without homes
If it is too cold in the garage, Vadim sleeps in his old car. He lived on the third floor of an apartment block by Borodianka’s central street, but it was destroyed by Russian grad missiles in March. There is barely anything here for him now, beyond the section of...
Wishful Thinking: Why the fallacy of making peace with Russia necessitates feeding the wolf of war
Close your eyes and try to envision the two wolves. Imagine yourself as a terrified child. I think that helps bring the myth to life … this myth, said to be Cherokee, of humanity’s two choices. The wolves are engaged in a vicious fight. The wise...
Destroyed War Machines: Ukraine follows the ancient practice of trophy displays to ridicule Russia
By Anya Free, Ph.D. Candidate in History, University of California, Davis As Ukraine prepared to celebrate its independence day even while its military forces battled a monthslong Russian invasion, government officials assembled a grandiose, yet gruesome, display on...
Zaporizhzhia could be Chernobyl 2.0: The Russians are again orchestrating an atomic disaster for the world
By Najmedin Meshkati, Professor of Engineering and International Relations, University of Southern California Russian forces occupy Europe’s largest atomic energy plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar. Russian and Ukrainian...
An enduring resilience: Remembering Ukraine’s 1991 vote for independence and its continued courage
By Marta Dyczok, Associate Professor of History and Political Science, Specializing in Ukraine, Western University On August 24, 1991, I was one of a handful of foreign journalists working for a British newspaper and in the Ukrainian parliament when legislators...
The Dream of Democracy: Why Ukrainians have never treated their country’s sovereignty as a given
By Emily Channell-Justice, Director of the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program, Harvard University I stood on Kyiv’s main boulevard, Khreshchatyk, one year ago, on August 24, 2021, celebrating along with thousands of Ukrainians who were watching the Independence Day...
From Irpin to Milwaukee: The price we still pay after six months of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
As recent as August 17, just seven days short of six months after Putin’s unprovoked full-scale invasion to seize Ukraine began, two dozen bodies of unknown residents were discovered in the city of Bucha. Placed in freshly dug graves, their headstones were...
A break from war: Joy mixes with sorrow at the Paris Olympics for Ukrainian athletes
For Ukrainian competitors in Paris for the Olympics, joy goes hand in hand with sorrow. Athletes are striving to enjoy the dream of competing at one of the world’s most prestigious sports events while carrying the burden of the war back home. “When we read...
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.
