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]
The Olympic spotlight has allowed Ukraine to capture global attention and fight war fatigue
Ukraine’s Olympic house stands out for its somber atmosphere, with fewer celebrations and parties than the other fan clubhouses that countries set up to tout their athletes and culture. It has moments of silence for war victims and screens documentaries about...
Treating grievous wounds: The consuming task of a Ukrainian trauma surgeon during Russia’s war
As the lead trauma surgeon at a military hospital in Ukraine’s capital, Petro Nikitin has his hands deep in a war churning hundreds of miles away. The 59-year-old doctor’s work to repair the bodies of some of the most badly injured soldiers is...
Drone Swarm: Why more unmanned aerial vehicles are filling the skies over Ukraine
By Tara Sonenshine, Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice in Public Diplomacy, Tufts University Loud explosions rock the evening sky. Streaks of light appear like comets. Missiles rain down. Below, people scramble for cover. The injured are taken on stretchers. That...
Belarusians are fearful Putin will pull them into his desperate war as cannon fodder against Ukraine
For Ruslan, an engineer in the Belarus capital of Minsk, Russia’s war in neighboring Ukraine suddenly seemed closer than ever when a conscription office recently sent him a summons for military training. It is part of an effort that will see thousands of men in...
Quietly staying put: Why some Western companies are finding it not so simple to quit Russia
When Russia invaded Ukraine, global companies were quick to respond, some announcing they would get out of Russia immediately, others curtailing imports or new investment. Billions of dollars’ worth of factories, energy holdings and power plants were written off...
Kherson returns to life as residents face reminders of the terrifying months spent under Russian occupation
In the time since the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was liberated, residents cannot escape reminders of the terrifying eight months they spent under Russian occupation. People are missing. There are mines everywhere, closed shops and restaurants, a scarcity of...
Moldova seeks aid to survive being hit hard by the collateral damage of war in next-door Ukraine
Diplomats are drumming up money and other support on November 21 for Europe’s poorest country, Moldova, which is suffering massive blackouts, heavy refugee flows and potential security threats from the war in neighboring Ukraine. The international aid conference...
Irpin officials say foreign philanthropic foundations have used the city’s suffering as a PR stunt
In a recent interview with the Polish publication “Gazeta Wyborcza,” the Mayor of Milwaukee’s Sister City detailed his frustration with foreign foundations that toured Irpin with promises of help for its reconstruction, only to used the visits as a...
Ukraine United: Following his failed military strategy Putin’s war of false narratives is also crumbling
By Ronald Suny, Professor of History and Political Science, University of Michigan People understand the world, where we came from, how we got here, and where we are likely to go because of the stories we tell about ourselves and others. The very political and social...
Online language tools: A personal journey to learn Ukrainian after Russia’s second invasion began
I began to learn Ukrainian in the early spring of 2022, shortly after the start of Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine. For me, languages are an important way of making sense of the world and creating connections. At that time, more than anything, I wanted to feel...
Ukraine officials urge local residents from recently-liberated areas to relocate before upcoming winter
Ukrainian authorities have started evacuating civilians from the recently-liberated areas of the Kherson region and the neighboring province of Mykolaiv, fearing that damage to the infrastructure is too severe for people to endure the upcoming winter, officials said...
A barbed wire curtain: Russia’s war in Ukraine ushered in a new era of confrontation and the rise of barriers
The long border between Finland and Russia runs through thick forests and is marked only by wooden posts with low fences meant to stop stray cattle. Soon, a stronger, higher fence will be erected on parts of the frontier. Earlier this month, Polish soldiers began...
Ukraine’s LGBTQ soldiers rally for legal rights in hope that their military service is changing public attitudes
Several hundred LGBTQ Ukrainian servicemen and their supporters marched in central Kyiv on June 16 to demand more rights and highlight their service to their country in its war with Russia. The service members — many wearing rainbow and unicorn patches on their...
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.
