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]

Crimea and beyond: A timeline of Russia’s land grabs during its brutal invasions of Ukraine
Russia’s illegal seizure of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014 was quick and bloodless, and it sent Moscow’s relations with the West into a downward spiral unseen since the Cold War. It also paved the way for Russia’s full-scale...

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...

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...

Inside the Ukrainian military operation that captured two North Korean soldiers fighting for Putin
When Ukrainian soldiers captured two North Korean prisoners of war in January, it provided the first undeniable proof of Pyongyang’s direct involvement in the war against Ukraine. It also shed some light on the mindset and training of the conscripted North...

Road of Life: Romanivsky Bridge Memorial earns global acclaim for Irpin’s journey since wartime devastation
A somber reminder of the early days of the brutal Russian invasion now stands as a beacon of unity and rebirth in Milwaukee’s sister city of Irpin, located on the outskirts of Kyiv. The memorial installation was unveiled last August on the site of the destroyed...

The 24-hour lie: Trump’s political impotence persists after failing to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
It has been more than 48 hours since convicted felon Donald J. Trump took the oath of office for his second presidential term on January 20. To nobody’s surprise, except his most delusional loyalists, the war in Ukraine was not brought to an end in his first 24 hours...

Failing Ukraine: Why cutting aid now would cost the United States $808 billion later to protect NATO
Ukraine is not only fighting Russia, but a group of four autocratic states that all help Putin’s war. They have been dubbed CRINK: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. China sells micro-electronic components used in weapons systems and is a political partner...

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...

Winter of war: Display of scorched transformer highlights Russia’s attack on civilian energy
A charred transformer from one of Ukraine’s badly damaged power plants has come to a square in Kyiv’s city center, a stark reminder of the scale of destruction caused by Russian strikes on the country’s energy system. The massive blackened hulk...

U2’s Bono questions if the world still values mercy as peace retreats in an age overshadowed by war
Cannes is a short trip from Bono’s seaside villa in Eze-sur-Mer. He bought it with The Edge in 1993, and considers himself grateful to a coastline that, he said, gave him a “delayed adolescence.” “I can tell you I’ve slept on beaches...


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.