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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.

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Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Jun 18, 2018

Five Ways the Kremlin Can Meddle in Ukraine’s Big Election

By Mykola Vorobiov

On June 15, Yulia Tymoshenko launched the start of Ukraine’s presidential election season with a two-and-half hour speech in Kyiv, Ukraine. With twenty-nine percent of voters telling pollsters they haven’t made their minds up for the race slated for March 31, the field is wide open. But it’s not too soon to start worrying about […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2018

They speak Russian in Crimea, but that doesn’t make it part of Russia

By Peter Dickinson

Away from the frontlines of the conflict, the myth of Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin Russian-speakers never really needed debunking.

Conflict
Nationalism

UkraineAlert

Jun 14, 2018

Will Ukraine’s New Anticorruption Court Make a Difference?

By Anastasia Krasnosilska

On June 7, Ukraine’s parliament finally adopted a long-awaited law that paves the way for the establishment of an anticorruption court. Members of parliament had only one hour to evaluate the draft before voting, and the final text was released on June 13. Ukrainians have been waiting for four long years for justice. None of […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2018

Will Ukraine Be the Ultimate Loser of Putin’s World Cup?

By Peter Dickinson

Back in 2010 when world football governing body FIFA awarded Russia the right to host this year’s World Cup finals, few viewed Moscow as a threat. At the time, President Dmitry Medvedev seemed eager to portray himself as a Western-friendly reformer. In the diplomatic arena, the reset with the Obama White House had yet to […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2018

Why Ukrainians Are Betting On a Rock Star or Comedian to Turn Things Around

By Vera Zimmerman

No one knows how the Ukrainian presidential election next March will play out, but it’s fair to say that election season has already begun. Polls paint a worrying picture for candidates.  Despite perfect name recognition, the frontrunner Yulia Tymoshenko has only 9 to 13 percent support, according to recent polls (Rating, SOCIS, and Democratic Initiatives). […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2018

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The Saga of Hanna Solomatina

By Josh Cohen

Hanna Solomatina never set out to be a whistleblower. The former head of Ukraine’s National Agency for Corruption Prevention’s (NACP) Financial Control and Lifestyle Monitoring Department just wanted to use her background in finance and auditing to help the country fight endemic graft. The NACP manages Ukraine’s e-declaration system, which mandates that officials reveal their […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2018

The Epic Struggle of Crimean Tatars Captured in the Film Mustafa

By Viola Gienger

Crimean Tatars’ unending struggle for freedom has been nothing less than epic, and much of it is represented in the long life of Mustafa Dzhemilev. Finally, a film producer has recognized his story for what it is: a compelling tale of historic sweep featuring a legendary protagonist of distinguished bearing.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2018

Ukraine’s Next Reform Challenge May Be the Toughest One Yet

By Olena Halushka and Anastasia Krasnosilska

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) recently made headlines after masterminding a dramatic plot to spare the life of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko. On May 29, newspapers announced that Babchenko had been assassinated in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he had been living as a dissident Russian journalist. The next day at what many thought was an ordinary SBU […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2018

Ukraine Takes One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

By Melinda Haring

It’s only been six weeks since I was last in Kyiv, and yet the mood now feels completely different. When I was last in Kyiv, posters advertising rock star Slava Vakarchuk’s Independence Day concert were everywhere and he was the talk of the town. No longer. Now former prime minister and campaigner extraordinaire Yulia Tymoshenko’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2018

How to Keep the Kremlin and the Oligarchs Out of the Ukrainian White House

By Anders Åslund

The other night in Kyiv, one of Ukraine’s best political analysts came to see me. He asked me what the United States wants in the next Ukrainian presidential election slated for March 2019. I told him that the United States doesn’t have a favorite. Nor will it. My interlocutor was highly dissatisfied with the answer. […]

Russia
Ukraine

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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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UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2020

Czar Putin wants a new age of empires

By Nataliia Popovych and Danylo Lubkivsky

In both word and deed, Putin has made it clear that he rejects today’s rules-based international order and seeks to reverse the verdict of 1991. His vision for a new age of empires represents an existential challenge to the West.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jul 2, 2020

Analysis: Ukraine’s central bank governor quits post citing “political pressure”

By Peter Dickinson

National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Governor Yakiv Smolii submitted his resignation on July 1 in what was widely seen as a major blow to Ukraine’s reform agenda. What does this mean for the country’s future direction?

Economy & Business
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2020

Ukraine’s central bank chief resigns leaving Zelenskyy’s reform credentials in tatters

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine’s reform agenda suffered a serious blow on July 1 when Yakiv Smolii, the highly respected governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), resigned due to what he called “systematic political pressure.”

Financial Regulation
Macroeconomics

UkraineAlert

Jun 30, 2020

Ukraine’s powerful Interior Minister Avakov under fire over police reform failures

By Liliane Bivings

Ukraine's post-2014 police reforms were initially hailed as a success but have since unraveled alarmingly. Many now blame powerful Interior Minister Arsen Avakov for blocking genuine law enforcement reform.

Political Reform
Rule of Law

UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2020

How fake news helped hide Soviet genocide in Ukraine

By Georgiy Kent

Stalin’s man-made famine in 1930s Ukraine ranks as one of the worst crimes of the twentieth century but it remains relatively unknown. The new movie "Mr. Jones" seeks to counter decades of disinformation.

Disinformation
Media

UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2020

Russia is quietly occupying Ukraine’s information space

By Taras Kuzio

Viktor Medvedchuk is Ukraine's leading pro-Kremlin politician and a personal friend of Vladimir Putin. Medvedchuk's expanding media empire is sparking concerns over Russian influence in Ukraine's information space.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 25, 2020

How Russia weaponizes the language issue in Ukraine

By Iryna Matviyishyn

Critics of Ukraine's 2019 Language Law claim that it goes too far in promoting the Ukrainian language at the expense of Russian. Others claim attempts to politicize language policy will only help Putin.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2020

The US is defending Europe by blocking Putin’s pipeline

By Diane Francis

Berlin has slammed US plans to impose harsh new sanctions on Vladimir Putin's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but critics see the project as a direct threat to European security and energy independence.

European Union
Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2020

Ukraine needs EU rules to avoid global gas imbalances

By Aura Sabadus

More than 50 European companies may be barred from exporting gas to Ukraine during the peak storage season if the Ukrainian and Slovak gas transmission system operators fail to reach a solution for an alternative transport route during an unplanned pipeline outage this summer.

Central Europe
Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Jun 23, 2020

What John Bolton tells us about President Trump’s Ukraine policy

By Anders Åslund

Former White House national security advisor John Bolton's new book “The Room Where It Happened” is an extraordinary read that portrays President Trump as being deeply hostile towards Ukraine.

Politics & Diplomacy
Russia