Author: Lee Matz

The Battle of Irpin and the Battle of Mariupol are Ukraine’s version of the Alamo. Both very different, but each of strategic importance and at great sacrifice. Both cities were essentially martyred to save the nation. Although the city of Mariupol is now in Russian hands, it only recently fell after many weeks of bitter fighting.

Mexican-American artist Roberto Marquez painted a special mural on the destroyed bridge crossing the Irpin River, in the town of Irpin just 12 miles northwest of Kyiv, to memorialize the refugees who fled to safety from that location at the start of the unprovoked Russian invasion.

Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in Wisconsin that traveled to the country since it was invaded. The purpose of this journalism project was to document personal stories and events that detailed or showed the conditions of the war at that time, and their connections to Milwaukee. mkeind.com/reportsfromukraine Ukrposhta, Ukraine’s Post Office, issued another two stamps commemorating the sinking of the Russian warship Moskva...