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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

Jun 1, 2023

The fight against courtroom corruption continues in wartime Ukraine

By Olena Halushka

Despite the existential challenges created by Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine continues to make progress toward the reform of the country’s deeply discredited judicial system, writes Olena Halushka.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 30, 2023

Ukraine’s Diia platform sets the global gold standard for e-government

By Anatoly Motkin

Ukraine’s Diia app is widely seen as the world’s first next-generation e-government platform, and is credited with implementing what many see as a more human-centric government service model, writes Anatoly Motkin.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 30, 2023

Russia’s new reality: Less Peter the Great, more Putin the Pariah

By Peter Dickinson

The invasion of Ukraine has left Russia greatly diminished on the world stage and earned Putin a place in infamy alongside history’s greatest criminals. Instead of emulating Peter the Great, he has become Putin the Pariah, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

May 27, 2023

Exploring the secrets of Ukraine’s successful wartime diplomacy

By Yuna Potomkina

Over the past 15 months, Ukraine has built an international coalition of partners prepared to arm the country against Russia’s invasion. This unprecedented diplomatic success offers important lessons, writes Yuna Potomkina.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

May 27, 2023

Ukraine must reduce role of state in the economy to boost EU integration

By David Clark

Ukraine has conducted a number of nationalizations as part of the war effort but the state should now be looking to reduce its role in the Ukrainian economy in order to advance the process of EU integration, writes David Clark.

Conflict
Corruption

UkraineAlert

May 25, 2023

Russian narratives ignore real reasons for Western support of Ukraine

By Richard Cashman

Russian attempts to explain away Western support for Ukraine with conspiracy theories and outdated arguments are falling flat as the democratic world continues to oppose Moscow’s invasion, writes Richard Cashman.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2023

Belgorod raid sparks border alarm for Russia ahead of Ukrainian offensive

By Peter Dickinson

This week’s unprecedented cross-border raid into Russia’s Belgorod Oblast could be part of Ukrainian shaping operations designed to stretch the Russian military ahead of a coming counteroffensive, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2023

Ukraine’s coming counteroffensive has a good chance of succeeding

By Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

Ukraine’s coming counteroffensive has a great chance of succeeding due to a number of factors including superior leadership, equipment upgrades, and strong morale, writes Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2023

China, Iran, Belarus, and Armenia all fear a Russian defeat in Ukraine

By Taras Kuzio

China, Iran, Belarus, and Armenia all have different motivations for backing the Kremlin, but they are united by a common fear of what a Russian defeat in Ukraine might mean for their own countries, writes Taras Kuzio.

Belarus
China

UkraineAlert

May 18, 2023

Ukraine’s European integration is the key to a sustainable peace

By Stephen Nix, Zachary Popovich

Ukraine’s full integration into the institutions of the Western world is the only way to end the threat of ongoing Russian aggression and secure a sustainable peace in Europe, write Stephen Nix and Zachary Popovich.

Conflict
European Union

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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

Jun 10, 2020

Ukraine’s $7 billion Russian gas transit deal at risk amid claims of political pressure

By Aura Sabadus

Alleged political pressure targeting Ukraine's recently unbundled gas transmission system operator GTSO is threatening to undo Ukraine's energy sector reforms and derail a multi-billion dollar transit contract with Russia's Gazprom.

Corruption
Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2020

Ukraine’s worst move yet

By Alan Riley

The Ministry of Finance “dismissed” Walter Boltz, the chair of the Ukrainian gas transmission system operator MGU. If that independence is undermined, Gazprom may pull the transit contract and with it the guaranteed fees that Ukraine needs.

Economy & Business
Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2020

IMF finally confirms new $5 billion program for Ukraine

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine's new $5 billion IMF program unleashes at least $2 billion of additional financing. This means Ukraine can feel quite safe regarding its external financial needs for 2020.

Coronavirus
Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2020

Crimea could become an expensive liability for Putin

By Andreas Umland

The annexation of Crimea is proving expensive for the Kremlin. With Russia now facing an economic crisis fueled by the coronavirus pandemic and falling global energy prices, Putin's crowning glory may become a political liability.

Conflict
Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2020

Minsk deadlock: West must reject Russian bid to limit Ukrainian sovereignty

By Duncan Allan

The Minsk agreements remain the only existing framework for ending the war in eastern Ukraine, but they rest on two irreconcilable interpretations: is Ukraine sovereign, as Ukrainians insist, or should its sovereignty be limited, as Russia demands?

Conflict
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2020

Farcical Putin referendum confirms Russia-Ukraine geopolitical divorce

By Victor Tregubov

Russia’s farcical Putin referendum in many ways confirms the country’s geopolitical divorce from democratic Ukraine and underlines the growing distance between two countries that were once widely seen as virtually indivisible.

Democratic Transitions
Russia

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2020

Ukraine needs a whole new approach to labor migration

By Lesia Dubenko

Millions of Ukrainians have sought employment abroad since 2014, creating one of the largest labor migrations in modern European history. This process is now reviving, creating new challenges for Ukraine.

Coronavirus
Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2020

Moderate Zelenskyy makes a mockery of the Kremlin’s anti-Ukraine propaganda

By Vitaliy Syzov

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has distanced himself from the national identity politics of his predecessor Petro Poroshenko. This has significantly complicated Russian efforts to demonize "nationalistic" Ukraine.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2020

Bringing startup culture to the Ukrainian parliament

By Diane Francis

Bringing startup culture to Ukrainian politics: 34-year-old Kira Rudik is a Ukrainian IT industry superstar who entered parliament last summer and now leads the country’s reformist Holos Party.

Democratic Transitions
Technology & Innovation

UkraineAlert

Jun 2, 2020

Trump’s G7 invite for Putin will encourage more war

By Yuliia Popyk

US President Donald Trump wants to invite Vladimir Putin to the next G7 summit, despite the Russian leader's refusal to end the aggression against Ukraine that led to his initial suspension from G8 in 2014.

Conflict
France