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]
Battlefield challenges: Ukraine fights for survival against Russia as political winds shift in U.S.
After almost 30 months of war with Russia, Ukraine’s difficulties on the battlefield are mounting even as its vital support from the United States is increasingly at the mercy of changing political winds. A six-month delay in military assistance from the U.S.,...
Why an unlikely wartime leader like President Zelenskyy instills hope for Ukraine and the world
A year ago, with Russian forces bearing down on Ukraine’s capital, Western leaders feared for the life of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and advised him to flee. The U.S. offered him an escape route. Instead, he filmed a defiant video of himself on a darkened...
War is a huge calamity: Ukraine’s year of pain, death, and nation building
In the final hours before the Russian onslaught, a last grasp at peace. Russian troops would soon pour across Ukraine’s borders and Russian missiles would fill Ukrainian skies, taking Ukrainian lives in the biggest air, sea and ground assault in Europe since...
Vladimir Putin put on trial for his war crimes in Ukraine by People’s Court in The Hague
A “people’s court” put Russian President Vladimir Putin on trial February 20 for the crime of aggression over his invasion of Ukraine, in a symbolic move to close an “accountability gap” in the absence of an international tribunal with...
Unacknowledged Prisoners of War: Ukrainian civilians vanish or languish in squalid Russian-run jails
Alina Kapatsyna often dreams about getting a phone call from her mother. In those visions, her mother tells her that she’s coming home. Men in military uniforms took 45-year-old Vita Hannych away from her house in eastern Ukraine in April. She never returned....
Fears of an expanding conflict: Why the war in Ukraine could soon spread to Moldova and Transnistria
By Tatsiana Kulakevich, Assistant Professor of Instruction at School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, Affiliate Professor at the Institute on Russia, University of South Florida There is growing concern that Moldova and Transnistria could be dragged into Russia’s...
When brute power prevails: Peaceful disobedience only works against regimes with an ability to feel shame
History is teetering on an edge. No one knows which way it will go. Maybe the Russian empire, the last and most terrible of the European empires, will fall. Or maybe it will absorb the hit and survive as it has and expanded since the 17th century. The graveyards of...
Putin’s imperialist aspirations: How Ukraine went from being ignored by America to a vital national interest
By Alexander Motyl, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University – Newark President Joe Biden and NATO allies in Europe are trying to help Ukraine fight off Russian aggression, but not so much that Russia will retaliate militarily against them. These...
How Milwaukee’s Sister City was liberated: A chronicle of the heroic counterattack in Irpin that saved Kyiv
Irpin, Bucha, and Hostomel became the frontlines of the unprovoked Russian invasion for a month as Putin’s forces attempted to capture the capital city Kyiv. Irpin was the first of the trio of cities to become free from Russian occupation on March 28. The...
Drone images from Irpin show devastating scope of war crimes by Russian forces targeting civilian homes
The United Nations Institute for the Preparation and Research of Satellite Images recently estimated the devastating level of destruction in Ukrainian cities, after they were assaulted and occupied by invading Russian forces. According to the data, in the Kyiv suburb...
Uniting for Ukraine: Federal program aims to resettle refugees in order to discourage entry from Mexico
President Joe Biden’s administration has announced a new program on April 21 that will make it easier for Ukrainian refugees to be resettled in the United States, as the Russian offensive in their home country continues. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said...
The next Ukraine: Why Putin’s lust for conquest looms over the fragile stability of Bosnia-Herzegovina
By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University; and Jack Adam MacLennan, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Graduate Program Director for National Security Studies, Park...
Navigating the darkness: Ukraine’s power blackouts return after Russia targets civilian infrastructure
During daytime, entire districts of Ukraine’s capital are disconnected from the power grid to save energy. Traffic lights stop, choking traffic, accompanied by the constant rumble of generators installed outside cafes and shops. Ukraine, including Kyiv, is...
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.
