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]
South Korea considers sending weapons to Ukraine after dictators Putin and Kim sign military pact
South Korea said on June 20 that it would consider sending arms to Ukraine, a major policy change that was suggested after Russia and North Korea rattled the region and beyond by signing a pact to come to each other’s defense in the event of war. The comments...
Diane Baima: A holiday season filled with thoughts of Milwaukee but with the trauma of war in Ukraine
People often ask me how we are doing, how is the situation in Ukraine, what it is like to live through an invasion. Usually, I am so busy that I do not have time to process how I am doing. The internet works sporadically, so I can only follow the news sometimes. When...
“We are here to fix it,” How Ukraine utility crews adapt and overcome after Russia strikes on power grids
Over the grinding wail of a chainsaw pruning trees, Oleh Braharnyk recalls how his crew sprang into action in Kyiv recently to repair power lines downed by Russian missiles and keep electricity flowing to his beleaguered fellow Ukrainians. Braharnyk, an electric...
Ukrainian youth choir sings in defiance of war with messages of hope and freedom
From a dank Kyiv bomb shelter to the bright stage lights of Europe’s theaters, a Ukrainian youth choir’s hymns in praise of freedom offer a kind of healing balm to its war-scarred members. The Shchedryk ensemble, described as Kyiv’s oldest...
Ukraine celebrates the Jewish Festival of Lights in the darkness of Russia’s war against humanity
Jews in Ukraine waging a “war between darkness and light” lit a giant menorah on December 18 to start the eight-day Hanukkah holiday as tens of thousands remained without electricity and Russia’s nearly 10-month war produced new victims. Dozens...
Where families once lived: War through the eyes of Ukrainians in the wasteland of Kharkiv
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russians have been bombing the second largest Ukrainian city, Kharkiv. Apparently, the Russian authorities were counting on the rapid conquest of a city close to the Russian border. However, Kharkiv...
Grief and Solidarity: Kyiv’s suburbs transformed from thriving community to ghost town in two weeks
As I write these lines in Kyiv, my window panes are shaking to the booms of air defense guns intercepting Russian aircraft over the city. On March 7, the Ukrainian military reported two airplanes had been downed. What happened to the city still feels like an old...
Wisconsin warns public about charity scams claiming to help those affected by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) released information on March 1 urging the public to do their research before sending money to a charity claiming to help those...
Siege of Irpin: Images show conditions in Milwaukee’s sister city as civilians flee Russian bombardment
Urban centers in Ukraine, including Milwaukee’s sister city Irpin, continued to face increasingly heavy bombardment on March 6 and 7 as Russia’s nearly two-week invasion of its neighboring country intensified. Scenes of destruction were reported around the...
Ukraine is the first military engagement of America’s Proxy Wars where a country wants to fight for itself
In statements addressing Western leaders, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked for help fighting the Russians. But in a way very unusual from the American experience. He has asked to be armed with weapons. Zelenskyy said that no one needed to...
Why the Republican Party faces a crisis over Ukraine and the global support for its defense of democracy
Russia’s war on Ukraine continues. If the broader patterns of war apply, Russian president Vladimir Putin is making the war as senselessly brutal as possible, likely hoping to force Ukraine to give in quickly before global sanctions completely crush Russia and the...
A sympathy for Putin: When the rightwing’s “Culture War” spills into an actual “War” war
America is divided. That is not news. But the authoritarian ruler in the Kremlin deciding to invade a democratic neighbor – that is the type of international crisis that traditionally might have inspired some closing of the ranks: set differences aside, let domestic...
Russia’s brutal advances strain Ukrainian front-line troops just as mobilization law comes into force
A divisive mobilization law in Ukraine came into force on May 11, as Kyiv struggles to boost troop numbers after Russia launched a new offensive that some fear could close in on Ukraine’s second-largest city. The legislation, which was watered down from its...
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.
