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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

Dec 6, 2022

Russia must stop being an empire if it wishes to prosper as a nation

By Taras Kuzio

Post-Soviet Russia never shed the imperial identity inherited from the Soviet and Czarist past but Putin's disastrous invasion of Ukraine could now set the stage for the emergence of a post-imperial Russian identity.

Central Asia Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 5, 2022

Russia’s Ukraine invasion is fueling an energy crisis in neighboring Moldova

By Alexander St. Leger

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is helping to fuel an energy crisis in neighboring Moldova where an over-reliance on Kremlin energy imports has long served to make the country vulnerable to Russian political pressure.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Dec 1, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s Ukrainian Genocide: Nobody can claim they did not know

By Peter Dickinson

The overwhelming evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine together with the openly genocidal intent on display in Moscow mean nobody claim they did not know about Putin's Ukrainian Genocide, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2022

As Putin retreats in Ukraine, he is also losing Kazakhstan

By Kamila Auyezova

Putin's rapidly unraveling invasion of Ukraine is eroding Russian influence throughout the former Soviet Empire. This process of imperial retreat is nowhere more visible than in Kazakhstan, writes Kamila Auyezova.

Central Asia China

UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2022

Fueling Ukraine’s fight back against Russia’s blackout blitz

By Oleksiy Chernyshov

Russia's bombing campaign of civilian infrastructure means Ukraine faces the toughest winter season in the country's 31-year independent history, writes newly appointed Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov.

Conflict Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2022

Former moderate Dmitry Medvedev becomes Putin’s pro-war cheerleader

By Alexander Motyl, Dennis Soltys

Once seen in the West as a source of hope for better ties with Russia, former president Dmitry Medvedev has emerged since February 2022 as a pro-war cheerleader who regularly demonizes Ukraine on social media.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Nov 25, 2022

The West must urgently overcome its fear of provoking Putin

By Daniel Bilak

Western leaders insist they will stand with Ukraine until Russia's invasion is defeated but fear of provoking Putin continues to constrain the democratic world's response to a war that has already cost tens of thousands of lives.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Nov 23, 2022

Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis: Putin is no Khrushchev

By Harlan Ullman

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis may offer some useful insights as Western leaders seek the right response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent nuclear saber-rattling over Ukraine, writes Harlan Ullman.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2022

Putin’s peace ploy is a ruse to rearm

By Dennis Soltys

Russia is currently calling for a return to the negotiating table but Ukrainian leaders are convinced Vladimir Putin is merely seeking to buy time in order to regroup and rearm before the next phase of his invasion.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2022

Ukraine must be allowed to strike back against targets inside Russia

By Ira Straus

In order to defeat Putin and end the war, Ukraine must be allowed to strike back inside Russia. At present, this is not possible due to restrictions imposed by Ukraine's overly cautious international allies, writes Ira Straus.

Arms Control Conflict

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UkraineAlert

May 27, 2020

Ukrainians who fled Putin face new pandemic realities

By Iryna Matviyishyn

For the estimated 1.4 million Ukrainians internally displaced by Putin's war, the past six years have brought traumatic change. These IDPs are now facing the further challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

Conflict Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2020

Ukrainian local elections: Will Zelenskyy win again?

By Mykola Vorobiov

Ukraine will hold local elections in October 2020. This will be the first big test for President Zelenskyy and his Servant of the People party since landslide victories in 2019's presidential and parliamentary votes.

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2020

Statement by former US Ambassadors to Ukraine

By Atlantic Council Eurasia Center

Former US ambassadors to Ukraine emphasize the importance of the US-Ukraine relationship.

Politics & Diplomacy Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2020

Ukraine’s showbiz president shuns mainstream media

By Tetiana Gaiduk

Volodymyr Zelenskyy won the Ukrainian presidency with a campaign that positioned him as an everyman alternative to the country's discredited political elite, but a lack of media engagement now risks undermining his democratic credentials.

Democratic Transitions Internet

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2020

Russo-Ukrainian War: Zelenskyy unable to find path to peace with Putin

By Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy’s talk of a new approach to peace with Russia proved hugely attractive to the war-weary Ukrainian public in 2019. However, one year on, there is very little to show for this initial optimism.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2020

Ukraine’s novice president may yet live up to the hype

By Tetiana Popova

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has struggled to match the sky high expectations that accompanied his historic 2019 election win, but he has done enough during his first year to suggest he may yet live up to the hype, says Tetiana Popova.

Crisis Management Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

May 20, 2020

Ukraine’s road agency head: Vast infrastructure upgrade continues despite pandemic

By Oleksandr Kubrakov

The coronavirus crisis is creating huge challenges for the global economy and Ukraine is no exception. Nevertheless, the most ambitious construction undertaking in independent Ukraine’s history remains very much on track.

Coronavirus Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

May 20, 2020

Walking a tight rope, one year of Zelenskyy’s foreign policy

By Adair Appleton

One year ago, Zelenskyy promised to make Ukraine rich, slay corruption, and bring peace to eastern Ukraine. Skeptics will say that his moves amounted to nothing, but others are impressed that he’s putting in the work.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

May 18, 2020

Zelenskyy’s first year: New beginning or false dawn?

By Steven Pifer

Volodymyr Zelenskyy generated a wave of optimism when he became Ukraine’s sixth president on May 20, 2019. One year on, it is not clear whether his presidency will prove to be genuinely transformational or just another false dawn.

Democratic Transitions Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 18, 2020

Ukrainians reject modern Russia’s WWII victory cult as geopolitical divide deepens

By Victor Tregubov

A nationwide survey conducted on the eve of this year's WWII anniversary events found that a clear majority of Ukrainians now blame the USSR together with the Nazis for sparking the Second World War.

Conflict Democratic Transitions