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As the world watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold, UkraineAlert delivers the best Atlantic Council expert insight and analysis on Ukraine twice a week directly to your inbox.

editor’s picks

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

May 18, 2022

Disarming Russia’s energy weapon: Ukraine begins electricity exports to Moldova

By Aura Sabadus

Less than two months after synchronizing with the European electricity grid, Ukraine has begun energy exports to neighboring Moldova in a move that is likely to further dent Russia’s grip over the region.

Conflict
Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

May 17, 2022

Vladimir Putin is running out of options to avoid defeat in Ukraine

By Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin expected a quick victory in Ukraine but now finds himself facing a catastrophic defeat that will shatter Russia’s pretensions to military superpower status while threatening Putin’s own authoritarian regime.

Conflict
Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

May 16, 2022

Ukraine War Diary: Everyday life is slowly returning to Fortress Kyiv

By Vitaly Sych

Ukraine War Diary: A semblance of normality is returning to life in the capital but Kyiv remains a fortress city where a strong military presence and an absence of children serve as constant reminders that the country is at war.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2022

Will Putin use chemical weapons in Ukraine?

By Ben Connable

Fears are mounting that Vladimir Putin may seek to save his failing Ukraine invasion by deploying chemical weapons, but there are reasons to believe that the Russian army is not capable of biological warfare.

Arms Control
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2022

Western advocates of appeasement need a crash course in Putinology

By Anders Åslund

The war in Ukraine has exposed the fundamental failure of international audiences to appreciate the true nature of modern Russia. Western advocates of appeasement clearly need a crash course in Putinology.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

May 14, 2022

Ukraine wins Eurovision as European voters show song contest solidarity

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s Eurovision victory is a soft power success story that underlines the country’s dominance over Russia on the information front while highlighting the strength of international solidary and support for Ukraine.

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia

UkraineAlert

May 12, 2022

Independent Ukraine’s first president Leonid Kravchuk dies aged 88

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s first post-Soviet president Leonid Kravchuk passed away on May 10. He is best remembered for his leading role in the 1991 Ukrainian Declaration of Independence and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

May 12, 2022

Putin’s Imperial War: Russia unveils plans to annex southern Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Kremlin officials have underlined the expansionist imperial agenda driving Putin’s Ukraine war by announcing plans to officially annex Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast and incorporate it into the Russian Federation.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 11, 2022

Kazakhstan cancels Victory Day in protest over Putin’s Ukraine War

By Wilder Alejandro Sánchez, Kamila Auyezova

Kazakhstan’s recent decision to cancel the country’s annual WWII Victory Day parade was a small but significant indication of Nur-Sultan’s opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Central Asia
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 8, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s WWII victory cult is a recipe for international aggression

By Andrej Lushnycky

Vladimir Putin has transformed Russia’s traditional Victory Day commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany into a nationalistic celebration of militarism that helps justify Moscow’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

Civil Society
Conflict

spotlight

The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2021

Putin turns up pressure on Russian opposition ahead of September Duma elections

By Peter Dickinson

Moscow police raided a conference of independent municipal lawmakers on March 13 in a move that marks an escalation in the Kremlin crackdown on political opposition ahead of September elections.

Civil Society
Elections

UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2021

New documentary chronicles the plight of Crimean Tatars under Russian occupation

By Elina-Alem Kent

The recently released documentary film “Crimean Solidarity” chronicles the inspirational efforts of the Crimean Tatar community as it struggles against the oppressive reality of Russian occupation.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2021

Is the US still committed to stopping Putin’s pipeline?

By Diane Francis

Concerns are growing over the Biden administration's commitment to blocking a controversial gas pipeline that threatens to significantly strengthen Putin's influence over Europe.

European Union
Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Mar 11, 2021

How Zelenskyy can improve the US-Ukraine relationship

By Brian Mefford

Following a sometimes rocky relationship during the four years of the Trump administration, the Ukrainian government is seeking to begin the Biden presidency with US-Ukrainian ties on more stable footing.

Political Reform
Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Mar 11, 2021

New report offers road map for getting US-Ukraine bilateral ties back on track

By Andrew D’Anieri

To mark the beginning of the Biden presidency, the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center recently published a new report entitled Biden and Ukraine: A strategy for the new administration.

Politics & Diplomacy
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 11, 2021

Biden must persuade Germany and Austria to stop the “Schroederization” of Europe

By Anders Åslund and Benjamin L. Schmitt

US President Joe Biden needs to address the issue of Western politicians accepting Kremlin-linked jobs following their retirement from public service, argue Anders Åslund and Benjamin L. Schmitt.

Corruption
Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2021

US sanctions Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky

By Peter Dickinson

The United States imposed sanctions against Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky on March 5 in a move that underlined American support for Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

Corruption
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2021

America’s Russia policy must not ignore human rights

By Dylan Myles-Primakoff

Dylan Myles-Primakoff outlines why any effective future US policy towards Russia must include a human rights dimension.

Human Rights
Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2021

New report on Russia policy misses the mark

Atlantic Council experts voice their disagreement with a recent report on the role of human rights in US policy toward Russia.

Human Rights
Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Mar 7, 2021

Ukraine-EU border crossings in urgent need of upgrade

By Lesia Dubenko and Pavlo Kravchuk

Ukraine's EU border crossings play an important infrastructure role in the country's Euro-Atlantic integration but little has been done to upgrade border facilities since the country turned west in 2014.

Economy & Business
Eurozone