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]

Congressional Battlefield: Why Republican lawmakers assist Putin’s infiltration of American politics
On the social media site X, formerly Twitter, Miles Taylor wrote: “After 2016, I helped lead the US gov[ernmen]t response to Russia’s election interference. In 2024, foreign interference will be *worse.* Tech[nology is] more powerful. Adversaries more brazen. American...

Targeting civilian power supply earns Russia the “state sponsor of terror” title as winter’s chill begins to bite
By Jonathan Este, Associate Editor, International Affairs Editor Large areas of Ukraine, including the capital, are now without power much of the time. And still Moscow persists with its strategy of targeting Ukraine’s power supply. It’s hard to argue – as the Kremlin...

Putin’s Silence: Russian dictator leaves the bad news of humiliating withdrawals in Ukraine to other leaders
By mid-March, less than a month into the full-scale invasion by Russia, it was immediately clear that Putin’s ambitious campaign was not going to plan. What was expected to take a mere three days on February 24 is now on day 277 on November 27. In that time...

A powerful dynamic of war: Why Ukrainian liberation is an incentive for allies like the United States
Amid the death and destruction war leaves in its wake, there are powerful dynamics and narratives: domination, besieged populations, occupation and their counterparts, resistance, freedom and liberation. Vast swaths of Western and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union...

Ukraine focuses suspicions on Orthodox Christian clergymen seen as being loyal to Russia
An investigation of a centuries-old monastic complex in Ukraine’s capital and other religious sites has underscored Ukrainian authorities’ suspicions about some Orthodox Christian clergymen they see as loyal to Russia despite Moscow’s nine month-old...

Russian assault of Zaporizhzhia Power Plant intensifies global fears of radioactive disaster
Russian forces reportedly seized control of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant on March 3 shortly after a triggering a fire at the facility, intensifying global fears of a massive and unprecedented radioactive disaster. The fire, which Ukrainian officials said was...

A betrayal of Ukraine: Republican Senators obstruct vital humanitarian aid while seeking profits for Big Oil
Much needed financial aid for Ukraine to fight back Putin’s brutal invasion has been delayed while special interests in America demand greater profits for Big Oil, Big Coal and Big Gas. If such a thing happened in any other developed country in the world, many...

Wisconsin National Guard troops remain on standby in Poland with no orders about Ukraine mobilization
Tensions remain are high across the globe as Russia carries out an invasion of Ukraine by land, air, sea, and cyber attack. It is a conventional military action the likes of which has not been seen since World War II. When the capital of Kyiv came under fire, ordinary...

President Joe Biden highlights unity and diplomatic triumphs against Putin in State of the Union address
In Ukraine, Russian troops escalated their bombing of cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Mariupol, in what Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky called a campaign of terror to break the will of the Ukrainians. On March 1 (in U.S. time), airborne troops...

Putin’s biggest fan: Why Trump would happily oblige his Russian benefactor in a second presidency
President Vladimir Putin has put his nuclear deterrence forces into high alert on February 27, 2022. Only five days earlier, on February 22, Trump called Putin “savvy” and his flagrant violation of international law “genius.” “You gotta...

What we are taught to be ashamed of: A tale of two grandmothers and our ethnic identity in America
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has forced Americans across the political spectrum to consider many issues. While taking place thousands of miles away, there is still a very real impact close to home. For me, it included considering how I was denied my...

We are all Ukrainians now: Milwaukee residents condemn Putin at peace rally against war in Ukraine
A large crowd of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators gathered for a peace rally by the Sunburst sculpture in downtown Milwaukee. Comprised mostly of generations of families from grandparent to grandchild, they called on the United States and governments around the world to tighten economic sanctions on Russia, and offer more military aid to Ukraine.

Putin mocks Ukraine conference while floating latest ploy for peace talks using 2022 draft document
A draft peace agreement that Russia and Ukraine negotiated in the early days of the conflict could serve as a starting point for talks to end the fighting, the Kremlin said recently, reviving a proposal that Ukraine had rejected. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov...


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.