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]

Propaganda’s reach: How Kremlin disinformation tactics echo in Trump’s America and erode truth
As Russia wages its brutal and unprovoked war on Ukraine, a troubling alignment has emerged not only among those inside Russia’s media sphere, but also among some Ukrainian Americans and conservative U.S. TV viewers who repeat narratives that mirror Kremlin...

Trump shuts down humanitarian parole option for Ukrainian refugees in a pro-Kremlin shift toward Putin
A group of American citizens and immigrants is suing the Trump administration for ending a long-standing legal tool presidents have used to allow people from countries where there is war or political instability to enter and temporarily live in the U.S. The lawsuit...

Trump’s abrupt policy change on Ukraine to support Putin raises fears he will abandon Taiwan next
U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal of three years of American policy toward Ukraine has raised concerns China might become emboldened to push its territorial claim on Taiwan, though experts say Beijing is most likely in a wait-and-see mode right now...

2000 Meters to Andriivka: Oscar winner Mstyslav Chernov takes viewers back to Ukraine’s frontlines
The day Mstyslav Chernov won the BAFTA for his documentary “20 Days in Mariupol” was the day he learned two soldiers he knew had been killed in combat. They were primary subjects of his new film “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a harrowing portrait...

European institutions back tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders for orchestrating invasion of Ukraine
A project to establish a court to prosecute the Russian leaders who orchestrated the invasion of Ukraine took a step forward in February, with an announcement from a group of international organizations, including the European Union and the Council of Europe, working...

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...

Ukrainian hospital clowns replace fear with joy for cancer patients who survived Russian missile strike
Their costumes are put on with surgical precision: Floppy hats, foam noses, bright clothes, and a ukulele with multicolored nylon strings. Moments later, in a beige hospital ward normally filled with the beeping sounds of medical machinery, there are bursts of giggles...

Cultivating grapes: Napa Valley teaches Ukrainian winemakers how to heal their war-ravaged vineyards
As the head of an association of winemakers in southern Ukraine, Georgiy Molchanov knows a lot about how to cultivate grapes but not so much how to grow them amid undetonated mines. But that was the situation he found himself in after a Russian rocket dropped the...

2000 Meters to Andriivka: Oscar winner Mstyslav Chernov takes viewers back to Ukraine’s frontlines
The day Mstyslav Chernov won the BAFTA for his documentary “20 Days in Mariupol” was the day he learned two soldiers he knew had been killed in combat. They were primary subjects of his new film “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a harrowing portrait...


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.