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]
A home in ruins: Ukrainian high jumper keeps one eye on the raised bar and the other fixed on the war
Kateryna Tabashnyk’s success depends upon utter concentration on the here and now, on the height of the bar in front of her, and her body’s ability to leap it. That focus and drive is a requirement for all high-level athletes. But the 30-year-old Ukrainian...
Why Ukraine’s spring offensive has yet to begin even with summer rapidly approaching
For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive. Summer is now just around the corner. While Russia and...
Remains of U.S. Marine veteran killed a year ago defending Ukraine finally brought home
The remains of a U.S. Marine veteran who was missing in Ukraine for more than a year returned to the United States on May 19, and headed to his hometown in eastern North Carolina. A Turkish Airlines plane flying from Istanbul with the remains of retired Marine Captain...
From invasion to liberation: Sergi Mykhalchuk earns 2 Milwaukee Press Club awards for his images in Irpin
Somewhere in Ukraine, at an undisclosed location along the frontlines, Sergi Mykhalchuk received a Facebook message from Milwaukee that his work documenting Irpin’s evacuation and later liberation had won two journalism awards. On May 12, the Milwaukee Press...
Milwaukee Independent earns 3 of its 11 Gridiron Awards for first-hand reporting of Ukraine War
The Milwaukee Independent earned eleven top distinctions on May 12 from the Milwaukee Press Club for Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism, during the 2023 Gridiron Awards at the Pfister Hotel. The journalism honors follow multiple years of double-digit recognition for...
Leading from behind: Why Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is now more than a proxy war for the United States
Although Washington insists that it is not interested in a direct military conflict with Moscow, the latter claims that the United States is, in fact, directly involved. On September 8, Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared in Kyiv on an unannounced visit. He...
Ukraine War Stories: Developer releases online game using real life events from Hostomel, Bucha, Mariupol
Kyiv-based game developer Starni Games has launched a special charity project, “Ukraine War Stories.” A demo version of the online game is available now for the PC, with a full release date planned for October 2022. Ukraine War Stories is a set of visual...
Running short on soldiers: Why Putin continues to ignore Russia’s staggering losses on the battlefield
By Alexander Hill, Professor of Military History, University of Calgary Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine recaptured thousands of square miles of territory from Russian forces in a matter of days in a counteroffensive near Kharkiv. Kyiv has since...
National Security: What the U.S. Military can learn from Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine
In Washington, wide agreement exists that the Russian army’s performance in the Kremlin’s ongoing Ukraine “special military operation” ranks somewhere between lousy and truly abysmal. The question is: Why? The answer in American policy circles,...
Crisis Fatigue: How overexposure to traumatic news pushes the public to becomes indifferent to tragedy
By Rebecca Rozelle-Stone, Professor of Philosophy, University of North Dakota When Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea on February 24, 2022, the images of war were conveyed to dismayed onlookers around the world. Far from the...
Ruin and Rejuvenation: Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Irpin during surprise visit to Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced trip to Kyiv on September 8, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He also visited Milwaukee’s Sister City of Irpin to survey its war-damage and recovery progress. President...
200th Day of War: Putin’s military forces suffer worst strategic defeat since the failed attack on Kyiv
Moscow has abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine, in a sudden collapse of one of the war’s principal front lines after Ukrainian forces made a rapid advance. The swift fall of Izyum in Kharkiv province on Saturday was Moscow’s worst defeat since its...
Congressional Battlefield: Why Republican lawmakers assist Putin’s infiltration of American politics
On the social media site X, formerly Twitter, Miles Taylor wrote: “After 2016, I helped lead the US gov[ernmen]t response to Russia’s election interference. In 2024, foreign interference will be *worse.* Tech[nology is] more powerful. Adversaries more brazen. American...
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.
