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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 4, 2018

Why the Bucharest Summit Still Matters Ten Years On

By Walter Zaryckyj

A decade ago, I received a four word message from a close German acquaintance who had accompanied Chancellor Angela Merkel to the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, that was tasked to decide whether to provide Georgia and Ukraine with a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). It read: “Yes, but not now!” Having just seen a […]

Moldova Russia

UkraineAlert

May 3, 2018

The Window for Reform May Be Closing in Ukraine, But It’s Still Wide Open in Kyiv

By Diane Francis

Countries like Ukraine, afflicted with systemic corruption, need new leaders at the top, but also those willing to engage in erecting bulwarks against graft at the local level. And while the president and parliament disappoint and foot drag on implementing major revolutionary reforms, real change at the Kyiv City Council, the biggest local government in […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 3, 2018

Ukrainians Are Totally Sick of Their Leaders. Here’s One Radical Way to Fix the Problem

By Melinda Haring

One could be forgiven for mistaking the campus of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy in Kyiv for a small liberal arts college in the United States. With its red-brick dormitory and modern glass facade, light-filled cafeteria that doubles as a disco, easy camaraderie, and never-ending intellectual discussions, it transported me back to my undergraduate days in […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 2, 2018

Russia Isn’t Just Interfering in Elections Around the World. It’s Doing Something Far Worse

By Maxim Eristavi

Russian President Vladimir Putin will stop at nothing in his hunt for dissidents abroad. In his determination, he has found some powerful allies within Western democracies—a practice that should alarm those who prize justice and the rule of law. In recent weeks, I’ve been collecting stories of Russian dissidents who say they fell victim to […]

Moldova Russia

UkraineAlert

May 2, 2018

The Forgotten Faces of Those Left Behind in the Donbas

By Ruslan Minich

“In the area of Avdiivka, you can hear 120 millimeter mortar shelling, while just 500 or 600 meters away, there is a bus stop with children waiting for a school bus,” remembers Vasyl Antoniak, a volunteer soldier who fought in the Donbas in 2014-15. For many Ukrainian soldiers, the line between war and normal life […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 1, 2018

Moscow’s Maritime Threats to Ukraine and the West

By Stephen Blank

Russia’s recent naval activity around Ukraine and the Baltic Sea is more than simply a threat to countries in the region. In fact, it represents a challenge to the international order, one that could be replicated by other rogue nations. Since invading Ukraine in 2014, Moscow has become significantly bolder.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 1, 2018

Why the Seven Arguments Used to Justify Nord Stream II Are Just Plain Wrong

By Aliona Osmolovska

Proponents of Russia’s Nord Stream II pipeline rely on at least seven arguments to explain their support for the politically motivated project. The trouble is, these justifications are based on incorrect assumptions or outright disinformation. We identified the seven myths and then used publicly available facts to set the record straight.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2018

Q&A: Ukraine’s Got Javelins Now. So What?

By Melinda Haring

On April 30, the US Department of State confirmed to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty the delivery of Javelin antitank missile systems to Ukraine. This issue has been long-standing: the Obama administration refused to send the weapons to Kyiv, while President Donald Trump changed course. Some experts warn that giving Ukraine lethal defensive weapons will only […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 26, 2018

Leak May Put Brakes on Putin’s European Pipeline Dominance

By Oleksandr Kharchenko

Gazprom has been making headlines in Europe lately. And not in a good way. The leaking of a 271-page report compiled by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, which describes violations of European legislation by the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, recently became a sensation. It’s not, however, because the report reveals any previously unknown facts. […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 25, 2018

What Happened to the Ships the US Tried to Give to Ukraine?

By Valeriya Yegoshyna

Editor’s note: On September 27, the United States officially transferred two former 110-foot Coast Guard cutters ships to Ukraine. However, the question remains: why did it take the Ukrainian government nearly four-and-a-half years to accept the US offer? We recommend the excellent RFE/RL “Schemes” investigation below.  Four years after Crimea’s annexation, Ukraine is still struggling to […]

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

Dec 17, 2020

International investigation into Ukraine war crimes is Kremlin’s worst nightmare

By Dmytro Kuleba

The International Criminal Court looks set to begin an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine since 2014, opening the way for a trial that could eventually hold Russia to account for its six-year war against Ukraine.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

Dec 14, 2020

The issue Ukraine’s first lady should champion vocally

By Laryssa Horodysky and Melinda Haring

A recent report by Amnesty International has highlighted the growing domestic violence crisis in war-torn eastern Ukraine. Coronavirus lockdown conditions are expected to add to the problem.

Coronavirus Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Dec 14, 2020

Reloading Ukraine’s privatization process

By Dmytro Sennychenko

The Ukrainian parliament is scheduled to consider a new bill in late December 2020 that aims to continue a radical reload of the country's privatization process begun in 2019.

Corruption Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Dec 12, 2020

National parties lose out to local candidates in Ukraine’s 2020 municipal elections

By Brian Mefford

The 2020 Ukrainian local elections were a victory for local over national politics. 11 of 24 oblast centers were won by candidates who were either self-nominated or representing their own regional party.

Elections Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 10, 2020

The EU must help resolve constitutional crisis in Kyiv

By Willem Aldershoff

Ukraine's Constitutional Court has plunged the country into a crisis that threatens its post-2014 progress. The EU can help Kyiv fight back by imposing sanctions on the MPs leading the attack on anti-corruption reforms.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Dec 9, 2020

Letter to the Editor: Recent Yulia Tymoshenko “Kremlin proxy” claims are nonsense

By Natasha Lysova

Letter to the Editor: The Press Secretary of Batkivshchyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko voices her objection to Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev's characterization of Tymoshenko as a "Kremlin proxy"

Energy Markets & Governance Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2020

Can privatization transform Ukraine’s alcohol industry?

By Sergey Bleskun

In 2019, President Zelenskyy initiated the privatization of Ukraine's state-owned alcohol producers in a bid to reform what is one of the most corrupt sectors of the Ukrainian economy and generate budget revenues.

Corruption Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Dec 7, 2020

Belarusian opposition leader’s message to the West: ‘Stay with us and we will win’

By David A. Wemer

Explicit support from Western governments for the Belarusian people and stronger pressure on Lukashenka and his allies will help oust the regime and allow for new elections, Tsikhanouskaya said. “Stay with us and we will win.”

Belarus Civil Society

UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2020

Ukraine’s community spirit on display as businesses rally to counter COVID crisis

By Andy Hunder

Ukraine's business community has demonstrated an admirable sense of corporate social responsibility during this year's COVID crisis, says American Chamber of Commerce President Andy Hunder

Coronavirus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2020

We will not let the old guard drag Ukraine backwards

By Dmytro Kuleba

The old guard wants to drag Ukraine back to the times when they could siphon public money off with impunity and play Russian-style politics. We will not let them succeed, says Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Corruption Democratic Transitions