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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

Aug 23, 2023

Ukraine’s fight against Russian imperialism is Europe’s longest independence struggle

By Peter Dickinson

The war unleashed by Vladimir Putin eighteen months ago is best understood as the latest chapter in a dark saga of Russian imperial aggression against Ukraine that stretches back centuries, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

Fast Thinking

Aug 23, 2023

What Prigozhin’s plane crash tells us about Putin’s Russia

By Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council experts share their insights on the apparent death of Wagner Group founder Yevgeniy Prigozhin.

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia

UkraineAlert

Aug 22, 2023

Putin weaponizes history with new textbook justifying Ukraine invasion

By Taras Kuzio

A new Kremlin-approved history textbook for Russian schoolchildren offers an unapologetically imperialistic view of Russia’s past while attempting to justify the current invasion of Ukraine, writes Taras Kuzio.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Aug 22, 2023

Belarus dictator Lukashenka must face justice for role in Russia’s Ukraine war

By Katie LaRoque

It is time for a serious conversation on how to hold Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka accountable for his participation in Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, writes Katie LaRoque.

Belarus
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2023

Ukraine’s state authorities must follow private sector in unlearning old habits

By Roman Waschuk

To achieve individual, business, and national goals of renewal, Ukrainians need their government to be just as nimble and adaptive as the country’s private sector, writes Ukraine’s Business Ombudsman Roman Waschuk.

Conflict
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2023

Ukraine’s vibrant tech ecosystem is a secret weapon in the war with Russia

By Mykhailo Fedorov

Ukraine’s secret weapon in the war against Russia is a vibrant and sophisticated tech ecosystem including around 300,000 IT professionals and hundreds of defense tech startups, writes Mykhailo Fedorov.

Cybersecurity
Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2023

Putin must not be allowed to turn the Black Sea into a Russian lake

By Melinda Haring

Western countries must take urgent action to prevent Vladimir Putin from turning the Black Sea into a Russian lake, warns Melinda Haring.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2023

Ukraine strikes back against Russia as world’s first drone war escalates

By Marcel Plichta

Recent drone attacks in Moscow and on Russian shipping in the Black Sea are an indication that Ukraine is becoming increasingly bold as it seeks to strike back in what is the world’s first ever drone war, writes Marcel Plichta.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Aug 12, 2023

Winter is coming: Is Ukraine’s power grid ready for new Russian attacks?

By Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Last winter, Russia launched a six-month bombing campaign to methodically destroy Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure. With a new winter heating season now fast approaching, is Ukraine prepared for a repeat?

Conflict
Energy Transitions

UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2023

Why Putin’s Russia cannot accept its borders

By Glenn Chafetz, John Sipher

Vladimir Putin’s attempts to justify the invasion of Ukraine as a just war to reunite historically Russian lands reflect the expansionist ideology at the heart of modern Russia’s imperial identity, write Glenn Chafetz and John Sipher.

Conflict
Disinformation

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.

The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Apr 15, 2021

Corporate governance crisis continues at Ukraine’s state-owned enterprises

By Anders Åslund

Efforts to reform corporate governance at Ukraine's many large state-owned enterprises are being hampered by a lack of political will and a desire to maintain lucrative corruption schemes.

Corruption
Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Apr 14, 2021

Belarus is the new front in Putin’s war against Ukraine

By Brian Whitmore

Fears are growing that the rapidly expanding Russian military presence in Belarus will help transform the country into a new front in the Kremlin's war against Ukraine.

Belarus
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2021

Russian passports: Putin’s secret weapon in the war against Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Since 2019, Moscow has distributed hundreds of thousands of Russian passports to Ukrainians living the occupied east of the country. Kremlin officials are now vowing to defend these Russian citizens if necessary.

Conflict
Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2021

A pipeline deal could help end Putin’s Ukraine war

By Colin Cleary

The Russian-led conflict in eastern Ukraine and the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline are the two most contentious issues on the Euro-Atlantic security agenda today. Linking the two could broaden the space for negotiation.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2021

Ukraine’s cultural revival faces political challenges

By Kateryna Botanova

Efforts are underway in Ukraine to defend the independence and transparency of the Ukrainian Cultural Fund amid concerns in Ukrainian civil society that toxic political practices are making a comeback.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Apr 8, 2021

Ukraine’s digital revolution continues with enhanced legal status for e-passports

By Mykhailo Fedorov

On March 30, the Ukrainian parliament passed legislation that recognizes e-passports as official documents and provides them with the same legal status for domestic use as their more traditional paper cousins.

Digital Policy
Internet

UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2021

Ukraine rules out a return to Minsk peace talks as Putin tightens his grip on Belarus

By Vladislav Davidzon

Ukraine has ruled out a return to peace talks in Minsk due to growing Russian influence over Belarus as the Kremlin capitalizes on the international isolation of Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Belarus
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2021

Ukraine fails vaccine test

By Brian Mefford

Ukraine currently ranks among Europe's worst performers in terms of Covid vaccinations. The shortage of vaccines in the country is fueling mounting anger over the Ukrainian government's handling of the pandemic.

Coronavirus
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2021

Upgrading Ukraine’s Air Force could deter Russia

By Stephen Blank

Reinforcing Ukraine's Air Force would be a powerful way to deter Russian aggression against Ukraine and indicate to Moscow that the Western world will no longer tolerate Russian military adventurism in Eastern Europe.

Conflict
Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2021

How to reform Ukrainian Railways

By Adomas Audickas

In order for Ukraine’s railway service to modernize, or even to survive in the long-term, the government needs to help reform UZ by changing tariffs, funding loss-making passenger operations, and cutting taxes.

Economy & Business
Fiscal and Structural Reform