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]
Ukrainian tactics to cripple Russia’s Black Sea Fleet have historical parallels to the Russo-Japanese War
In a series of relentless and innovative strikes, Ukraine has continued to weaken Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, echoing a historic naval conflict over a century ago. Ukraine’s effective use of naval drone technology and modern warfare tactics against a superior maritime...
Ukraine can finally target Russian-occupied areas with long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S.
Ukraine for the first time began using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea and Russian forces in April. Long sought by Ukrainian leaders, the new missiles give Ukraine nearly double the...
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...
A 98-year-old Ukrainian woman escaped Russian occupation by walking in slippers for miles to safety
A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking almost 6 miles alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane has been reunited with her family days after they were separated while fleeing to safety. Lidia Stepanivna...
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...
The invasion of Ukraine is a war crime and calling it a “tragedy” shelters Russia from its responsibility
By Mariana Budjeryn, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom, Harvard Kennedy School Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to cause unspeakable, unimaginable suffering. By now, the word “tragedy” is firmly installed in the lexicon of the war and has become...
Russia admits it has no plans to rebuild Ukrainian cities it destroyed in order to illegally annex land
Ukrainians living in parts of Donbas illegally seized by the Russians in 2022 are facing another hellish winter with the aggressor state openly saying “there’s no point” in rebuilding many of the cities it destroyed. Russian minister of construction Irek...
Ukraine’s leaders assess war resources as Russian occupation of their territory nears another winter
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with President Joe Biden about future U.S. support for Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a military base near the invaded nation’s border as the warring countries prepared for the winter...
How long-range missiles provided by the U.S. enabled Ukraine’s major strike on Russian airfields
Ukraine claimed on October 17 to have carried out one of the most destructive attacks on Russian air assets since the beginning of the war, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying the assault used longer-range ballistic missiles donated by the United...
Ukrainian child enjoys normal life in Milwaukee after escaping war and finding treatment for spinal disease
Along with the hardships of the first year of war in Ukraine, Lesia Kutarenko began noticing that her baby was no longer trying to walk. He had also reverted to crawling. “Our son could walk while leaning on chairs, sofas, and walls. Like all children, he would...
Culture and heritage: Two war-ravaged historic sites in Ukraine on UNESCO’s endangered list
The U.N.’s World Heritage Committee in September placed two major historical sites in Ukraine on its list of such sites that it considers to be in danger. The iconic St. Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval center of the western city of Lviv,...
China restricts exports for some civilian drones over concerns of military use in Ukraine
China imposed restrictions on exports of long-range civilian drones beginning in August, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and concern that drones might be converted to military use. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is friendly with Moscow but says it...
A break from war: Joy mixes with sorrow at the Paris Olympics for Ukrainian athletes
For Ukrainian competitors in Paris for the Olympics, joy goes hand in hand with sorrow. Athletes are striving to enjoy the dream of competing at one of the world’s most prestigious sports events while carrying the burden of the war back home. “When we read...
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.