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]
Global populations face threat of radioactive pollution from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
By Nino Antadze, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies, University of Prince Edward Island Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put the country’s nuclear facilities at considerable risk. For example, on April 7 a drone attacked Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power...
Defenders of Irpin honored at Bucha memorial on second anniversary of the liberation of Kyiv region
On the second anniversary of the liberation of Kyiv region from Russian invaders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the raising of the State Flag of Ukraine on the flagpole of the Memorial to the Defenders of the Bucha Community. By the end of March 2022,...
Trauma still haunts some families as Ukraine’s Bucha rebuilds two years after brutal occupation
Days after Russian forces withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv in the dramatic first weeks of their full-scale invasion two years ago, a photo revealed what had become of Nataliia Verbova’s missing husband. Poring over the image of eight men executed and lying on cold...
A “God’s-Eye” view: Aboard secretive surveillance flights keeping watch on Russian forces in Ukraine
Off in the distance, Ukraine is fighting for its survival. Seen from up here, in the cockpit of a French Air Force surveillance plane flying over neighboring Romania, the snow-dusted landscapes look deceptively peaceful. The dead from Russia’s war, the shattered...
Vigilante justice: Why enemy collaboration in occupied Ukraine evokes painful memories in Europe
By Ronald Niezen, Professor of Practice in Sociology and Political Science/International Relations, University of San Diego Collaboration with the enemy is a common and often painful part of armed conflict. It is also an issue in which I have both a professional and...
So Long Ukraine, and Thanks for All the Hotdogs*
As I reflect on my second assignment to Ukraine from June to July, and the corresponding news series of articles, interviews, and photo essays I produced, a flood of thoughts come to mind. One in particular involved a hotdog. I originally intended to post the image...
Seeking Truth: Journalistic integrity in the face of Russian propaganda, lies, and disinformation
“A country that cannot face its past has no future.” – Yang Jisheng Recently, someone asked me about how I keep my journalistic integrity when I cover Ukraine and get so close to traumatic events. I said firstly, ethics in school and ethics in...
Ukraine replaces despised Soviet icon with trident on Kyiv monument in time for Independence Day
The towering Mother Ukraine statue in Kyiv, one of the nation’s most recognizable landmarks, lost its hammer-and-sickle symbol on August 6 as officials replaced the Soviet-era emblem with the country’s trident coat of arms. The move is part of a wider...
Outrage grows in Odesa after Russia terrorizes port city with attacks on beloved historic sites
“They shot at themselves. This cathedral was a symbol of Russia’s presence in this city. And now the same country that blessed this church is destroying it.” – Father Yevhen Gutyar Tetiana Khlapova’s hand trembled as she recorded the wreckage of...
Officials and analysts believe that Kyiv has launched a major push against Russian forces
Ukraine has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from the country’s southeast as part of its weekslong counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle, according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts. The surge in troops and...
Putin’s alleged deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus dismissed as more bluster and blackmail
Sometime over the summer, if Vladimir Putin can be believed, Russia moved some of its short-range nuclear weapons into Belarus, closer to Ukraine and onto NATO’s doorstep. The declared deployment of the Russian weapons on the territory of its neighbor and loyal...
True Stories of Love: Ukrainian women use painting as a therapy to help them cope with loss
In a sunlit art studio in Kyiv filled with easels and canvases, Iryna Farion puts the finishing touches on an oil painting with a predominantly dark color palette in shades of blue and brown. The artwork depicts two intertwined trees held together by their roots, as...
Russia concludes secretive political trial with conviction of U.S. reporter on espionage charges
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was falsely convicted on July 19 of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison on charges that his employer and the U.S. government have rejected as fabricated. The swift conclusion of the secretive...
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.