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]

World leaders agree with territorial integrity for Ukraine as basis of any peace deal at Swiss conference
Eighty countries called for the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine on June 16 to be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia’s two-year war, though some key developing nations at a Swiss conference did not join in. The way forward for...

New mass grave: Mourners in Bucha commemorate volunteers who tried to stop Russian drive to Kyiv
Clutching flowers and wiping away tears, relatives, neighbors and friends of eight men executed by Russian forces during the occupation of the Ukrainian town of Bucha gathered on March 4 to mark the first anniversary of the deaths. The eight had set up a roadblock in...

United For Freedom: Milwaukee holds vigil to honor the lives lost in 365 days of defending Ukraine
More than 64 cities across America joined the “365 Days Defending Freedom” event, which began on February 24. The Milwaukee rally was organized to remind the world that Russia’s war against Ukraine has been going on for nine years. It has been one year since the unprovoked full-scale invasion started on February 24, 2022.

A World War: How information became a key weapon of the Ukrainian defense against Russia’s brutality
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, and the first to see algorithms and TikTok videos deployed alongside fighter planes and tanks. The online fight has played out on computer screens and smartphones around the...

Drone footage shows the utter devastation of Bakhmut and the scale of Putin’s madness
Amid the smoking ruins, a lone dog pads in the snow, surely unaware that death rains down regularly from the skies on the remnants of this Ukrainian city that Russia is pounding into rubble. But for now Bakhmut stands — growing as a symbol of Ukrainian resistance with...

Images from Ukraine: Putin’s attack on Babyn Yar is a painful reminder of the broken vow of “Never Again”
Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in...

Images from Ukraine: An unexpected encounter with Jewish history and the bloody legacy of persecution
Jews had lived in Brzeżany since the sixteenth century, making up the second-largest ethnic group in the town after the Poles. Berezhany is located between Lviv and Ternopil, the two cities that were my entry and exit points in Ukraine. It was said that the cemetery was as old as Berezhany itself, a testimony to the history of the community.

Images from Ukraine: Listening to timeless voices of ethnic heritage etched in stone at Lychakiv Cemetery
Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in...

Stories from Ukraine: How Milwaukee helped a bakery feed hungry survivors in Bucha with fresh bread
Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in...

Stories from Ukraine: Bucha resident recalls how Russians turned neighborhood into a street of death
Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in...

Stories from Ukraine: How a mass grave of executions overshadowed accountability from Bucha’s leadership
Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in...

Why Putin will fail: Former Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine shares views on Russia’s strategic situation
In a now-censored essay, former PRC Ambassador to the Ukraine Gao Yusheng, explained why Russia was losing the war in Ukraine. He also shared his thoughts about the effect that defeat may have on the international order. Gao Yusheng’s article appeared on the website...

Why Trump’s anti-American attacks on the justice system over his felony convictions are a gift to Putin
After his historic guilty verdict in his hush money case, Donald Trump attacked the U.S. criminal justice system, making unfounded claims of a “rigged” trial that echoed remarks from the Kremlin. “If they can do this to me, they can do this 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.