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]
Ukraine marks 33rd Independence anniversary without fireworks or parades as war against Russia rages
A somber atmosphere pervades Ukraine’s 33rd Independence Day on August 24, as the nation’s war against Russia’s aggression reaches a 30-month milestone. No fireworks, parades, or concerts are planned and instead Ukrainians will mark the day with...
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...
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...
Environmental toll of war: The pollution caused by Russia’s invasion will take Ukraine years to clean up
Olga Lehan’s home near the Irpin River was flooded when Ukraine destroyed a dam to prevent Russian forces from storming the capital of Kyiv just days into the war. Weeks later, the water from her tap turned brown from pollution. “It was not safe to...
Diane Baima: Former Milwaukee teacher shares stories of life in rural Ukraine during 9 months of war
Diane Baima grew up in America’s midwest, being born and raised in Minnesota, attending college in Madison, and later working in Milwaukee. Her love of education would eventually bring her to Ukraine, where her hope for a peaceful post-Soviet era collided with...
Years of investigating Holocaust atrocities are helping unearth Russian war crimes in Ukraine
“Everywhere, when we liberate our land, we see one thing … Russia leaves behind torture chambers and mass burials of murdered people. This was the case in Bucha and other cities in the north of the country after the occupation. This was the case in the Kharkiv...
Could Russia collapse? It may be unthinkable but nobody predicted the end of the USSR either
By Matthew Sussex, Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Among the many questions asked about Russia’s disastrous war against Ukraine, one of them is posed only very rarely: can Russia survive what seems increasingly likely to be...
Most Ukrainians left without power after latest wave of Russian brutality targets vital energy resources
A punishing new barrage of Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure on November 23 caused power outages across large parts of the country as well as neighboring Moldova, piling more damage onto Ukraine’s already battered power network and adding to the misery...
The cold and dark of Kyiv: Russia uses air strikes on infrastructure to plunge Ukraine into the Stone Age
When the power is out, as it so often is, the high-rise apartment overlooking Ukraine’s war-torn capital feels like a deathtrap. No lights, no water, no way to cook food. And the risk of not being able to escape from the 21st floor in time should a Russian...
Halyna Zdyrko Salapata: The sacrifices that come with supporting Ukraine while raising a family in Milwaukee
Parents in Milwaukee, like those everywhere, understand the universal struggle of balancing work with home life. It is a common challenge to juggle job responsibilities with family demands. What is more uncommon is when the job in Milwaukee involves raising funds to...
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.
