Author: Mark Raczkiewycz

CHICAGO – Despite freezing temperatures, more than 1,000 people gathered for a rally in the heart of the Ukrainian Village neighborhood on February 24 to commemorate the first-year anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. Saint Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church was center stage, and 365 people from the Klych (beckon) advocacy group lined...

CHICAGO – Despite freezing temperatures, more than 1,000 people gathered for a rally in the heart of the Ukrainian Village neighborhood on February 24 to commemorate the first-year anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. Saint Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church was center stage, and 365 people from the Klych (beckon) advocacy group lined...

U.S. president pledges ‘unwavering’ support to Ukraine CHICAGO – U.S. President Joe Biden’s hazardous trip to Kyiv ahead of the first year anniversary that marked the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was seen more as a stringent message to his counterpart in the Kremlin. As the first U.S. commander-in-chief to visit Ukraine since...

Getting equipment to battlefield in time is ‘a work in progress’ CHICAGO – A coalition of dozens of countries that have been providing arms to Kyiv are urging that the production of military hardware be ramped up to keep pace with the munitions Ukraine is using on the battlefield amid a new Russian offensive. This...

Main thrust expected in Luhansk Oblast while Bakhmut faces encirclement CHICAGO – A renewed Russian offensive is unfolding in eastern Ukraine. The war-battered country’s military general staff said on February 9 that the latest massive-scale assault is underway along five axes in the nation’s easternmost regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. Ukrainian officials have for weeks...

Kremlin ‘fairly quickly’ found alternative routes to import components critical to waging war CHICAGO – As the first-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine looms, a report published earlier this week found that a multitude of restrictive measures imposed on the most sanctioned country in the world have not had their desired effect. The...

‘Ukraine will win and prevail’ in Russia’s invasion CHICAGO – The Ukrainian American community in the U.S.’s third-largest city hosted the U.S. secretary of state, four members of Congress, the city’s mayor and two Washington-based analysts over the weekend of January 20-22 during a commemoration to mark Ukrainian Unity Day. U.S. Secretary of State Antony...

Rocket strikes Polish border town, killing two civilians KYIV – Two massive salvoes of Russian projectiles rained downed on Ukraine’s critical power and gas production facilities within the span of three days, causing temporary power and water supply outages for 10 million people. The latest came on November 17 and saw about 50 projectiles fired...

Kyiv senses Russian trap amid second Kremlin military setback since September KYIV – Russia’s high military command has ordered the withdrawal of its occupying forces from the west bank of the Dnipro River amid a steady Ukrainian counteroffensive that started in late August in the southern part of the country. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu...

Civilian reports indicate Russia is abandoning Kherson in the south KYIV – Russia again struck Ukraine’s electrical power infrastructure on October 31, destroying about 40 percent of power generating capacity, which affected 16 regions and forced the government to implement unscheduled rolling blackouts. The multiple projectile onslaught, worth an estimated $760 million, according to Forbes...

Though women still face discrimination in Armed Forces KYIV – When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, veteran sniper Olena Bilozerska’s husband awoke her from her slumber in Kyiv after hearing explosions in Ukraine’s capital. “About an hour after that, I and my spouse, gathered our things and went to serve...

Conflicting reports on southern Kherson region emerge amid Ukrainian operational silence and Russian moves to evacuate KYIV – Russia has changed its military strategy in Ukraine as of October 10 to massively target critical civilian infrastructure by striking power plants ahead of winter. About 40 percent of Ukraine’s electrical power-generating capacity has been lost following...