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]
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...
The cyber gulag: How Russia restricts its citizens by using a state system of total digital surveillance
When Yekaterina Maksimova cannot afford to be late, the journalist and activist avoids taking the Moscow subway, even though it is probably the most efficient route. That is because she has been detained five times in the past year, thanks to the system’s...
Possible anti-Putin uprising behind incursions in rural Russian border region with Ukraine
Russia alleges that dozens of Ukrainian militants crossed into one of its border towns in its Belgorod region, striking targets and forcing an evacuation, before over 70 of the attackers were killed or pushed back by what the authorities termed a counterterrorism...
European human rights summit approves increased aid for Ukraine to counter Russia’s brutal invasion
At the conclusion of their previous Council of Europe summit in 2005, the 46 member states solemnly declared they would “bear witness to unprecedented pan-European unity.” Fast-forward 18 years, to May 16, 2023 and Europe’s pre-eminent human rights...
Russian cyberespionage operations in dozens of countries finally disabled by the United States
The Justice Department announced in early May that it had disrupted a long-running Russian cyberespionage campaign that stole sensitive information from computer networks in dozens of countries, including the U.S. and other NATO members. Prosecutors linked the spying...
Negotiating with a tyrant: Trump shows his loyalty to Putin with deceptive offer of brokering a peace deal
Disgraced ex-president Donald Trump floated his offer to broker peace for Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion on September 28, and the insincere prank against Ukraine’s sovereignty was met with glee from his former benefactor, the Russia’s...
A holiday for heroes: Ukrainian people honored on Defenders Day for courage against Russia’s invasion
A combination of Memorial Day and Veterans Day in the United States, “Defender of Ukraine Day,” also known as Defenders Day, is a public holiday celebrated by Ukrainians on October 14. It was officially established by President Petro Poroshenko in 2014....
Humiliating Setbacks: Russia launches wave of terror attacks on Ukraine’s civilians to placate hardliners
The day after Russian president Vladimir Putin’s birthday on October 7, a large explosion badly damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge linking Russia to Crimea. Completed in 2018, the Kerch Bridge is a symbol of Putin’s attempt to restore imperial Russia by attaching Ukraine...
Congress accuses Saudi Arabia of helping underwrite Putin’s war in Ukraine with oil profits from supply cut
The Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee pledged on October 10 to block all future U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia as backlash over OPEC’s decision to cut oil production and push up gas prices continues to grow on Capitol Hill. Senator...
Irpin begins to dismantle and rebuild residential complex destroyed at start of Russia’s invasion
Oleksandr Markushin, Mayor of Milwaukee’s Sister City of Irpin, announced on September 29 the start of the process to restore residential buildings damaged in the early days of Russia’s unprovoked wide-scale invasion. The first civilian structure to be...
Ukraine responds to Russia’s declaration of war against Western democracies with NATO application
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally applied for NATO membership on September 20, along with a public statement. The application came after the Russian dictator signed an illegal decrees to annex four Ukrainian territories, a move widely believed to...
Economic Shock: Putin’s global Energy War continues to falter after sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines
By Amy Myers Jaffe, Research professor, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University Russia’s effort to conscript 300,000 reservists to counter Ukraine’s military advances in Kharkiv has drawn a lot of attention from military and political analysts. But...
South Korea considers sending weapons to Ukraine after dictators Putin and Kim sign military pact
South Korea said on June 20 that it would consider sending arms to Ukraine, a major policy change that was suggested after Russia and North Korea rattled the region and beyond by signing a pact to come to each other’s defense in the event of war. The comments...
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.
