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’s brutal advances strain Ukrainian front-line troops just as mobilization law comes into force
A divisive mobilization law in Ukraine came into force on May 11, as Kyiv struggles to boost troop numbers after Russia launched a new offensive that some fear could close in on Ukraine’s second-largest city. The legislation, which was watered down from its...
Occupation Billboards: Russia’s propaganda war has been waged in tandem with the battlefield brutality
A Ukrainian firefighter tears off a Russian billboard in Kherson, southern Ukraine, November 17. 📸 Bernat Armangue (AP) In the liberated city of Kherson, Ukrainians have been tearing down a glaring symbol of occupation, billboards spreading Russian propaganda....
Culture as a target: Why Russian attacks specifically aim to erase Ukrainian identity
Russian troops in Ukraine are deliberately attacking the country’s museums, libraries and other cultural institutions, according to a report issued on December 2 by the U.S. and Ukrainian chapters of the international writers’ organization PEN....
Peace and PTSD: Ukraine is already working to heal the mental wounds of its soldiers
Sleep plunges the soldier back into the horrors of Ukraine’s battlefields. He can hear bombs falling again and picture explosions. He imagines himself frantically running, trying to save himself and others. The nightmares are so vivid and frightening that he...
President Zelenskyy thanks America for making Ukraine stronger to defend against Russia’s tyranny
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on December 21 that “against all odds” Ukraine still stands, as he paid a defiant wartime visit to Washington to thank U.S. leaders and “ordinary Americans” for their support in fighting off...
Images from the frontlines: Sergi Mykhalchuk photographs the people of Kyiv living daily with war
Kyiv-based photojournalist and cinematographer Sergi Mykhalchuk, has been on the ground and capturing images of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine since February 24. Milwaukee Independent previously published his evacuation images from Irpin, Milwaukee’s sister...
A Matter of Conscience: Acclaimed combat photojournalist Maks Levin reported missing near Kyiv
War photojournalist Maksym “Max” Levin has gone missing from the front line near Kyiv, according to his friend and news correspondent Markiian Lyseiko. First reported by Ukrіnfоrm news service and later confirmed by the Kyіv Іndependent, Lyseiko reported...
A War on Journalism: When reporters in Mariupol were hunted for covering the truth about Russian cruelty
The Russians were hunting us down. They had a list of names, including ours, and they were closing in. We had been documenting the siege of Mariupol by Russian troops for more than two weeks and were the only international journalists left in the city. We were...
Kherson Diary: A first-hand account documenting three weeks of life in a Russian-occupied Ukrainian city
Since Kherson became the first Ukrainian city to be captured during Russia’s invasion, its population of more than 280,000 has been living under brutal occupation. Two female journalists, whose identities are being protected, have been documenting the struggles they...
Irpin under siege: Alderman Rainey asks public to help Milwaukee’s sister city as it faces humanitarian crisis
Milwaukee’s sister city in Ukraine has been under siege for weeks by invading Russian forces, and agencies have been enlisted to facilitate aid to those affected by the crisis. As chair of Milwaukee’s Sister Cities Committee, Alderman Khalif J. Rainey said that the...
Suffering for art: What Mikhail Baryshnikov gets wrong about being punished for a nation’s sins
The Creative Arts have always been a bridge in times of trauma. They can inspire a population struggling with the daily impact of trauma, and teach lessons to later generations who were not alive during such times. Music and dance have also helped bridge cultural...
Fear and Retribution: Why the Russian diaspora shows little support for Moscow’s massacres in Ukraine
By Vic Satzewich, Professor of Sociology, McMaster University Members of diaspora communities often mobilize to provide support to their ancestral homeland during a crisis. While the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a crisis for Ukrainians, it is also a crisis for...
UN condemns Russia for worsening humanitarian conditions in Ukraine by attacking energy facilities
Intensifying Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities are worsening humanitarian conditions across the war-torn country, where heavy snow and freezing temperatures have already arrived, U.N. officials said in December. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav...
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.
