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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

Mar 22, 2020

Ukraine urgently needs a new IMF agreement

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine is facing major economic turmoil as a result of poor political decisions in the midst of an unfolding global crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. The country now urgently needs to secure a new IMF agreement, argues Anders Åslund.

Economy & Business International Financial Institutions

UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2020

Saving Ukraine’s economy from the coronavirus crash

By Yuriy Gorodnichenko

The Ukrainian economy is facing a perfect storm of coronavirus pressures as exports plummet and the domestic economy grinds to a halt. How can Ukraine mitigate the worst of the unfolding global crisis?

Coronavirus Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2020

The Azov Regiment has not depoliticized

By Oleksiy Kuzmenko

The Azov Regiment began life in 2014 as part of Ukraine's makeshift volunteer army and soon earned a reputation for far-right ties. The regiment has since been incorporated into the National Guard, but has it really cut its political associations?

Nationalism Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2020

Living next door to a superpower: How Canada’s experience can help Ukraine

By Roman Waschuk

As Ukraine struggles to find a route towards peaceful coexistence with its powerful Russian neighbor, Kyiv politicians could learn from Canada's own experience of living next door to a global superpower.

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2020

Cruz vows to thwart Russian bid to save Putin’s pipeline

By Diane Francis

Russia is attempting to sidestep American sanctions designed to block the completion of an important new energy pipeline that bypasses Ukraine, but US Senator Ted Cruz has said he remains committed to stopping the project permanently.

Energy & Environment Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2020

Ukraine’s horrible, no good, very bad month just got worse

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine is having a bad month, and it only seems to be getting worse.

Democratic Transitions Rule of Law

UkraineAlert

Mar 16, 2020

Ukraine’s pro-Russian MPs plot new front with Putin

By Bohdan Nahaylo

Ukraine's pro-Russian political forces have been in retreat since 2014, but as the world focuses on the coronavirus crisis, Kremlin-friendly Ukrainian MPs are planning new initiatives with their Moscow colleagues.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 14, 2020

Ukraine agrees to dialogue with Russian-led republics

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian officials this week agreed to begin talks with representatives of Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, marking a significant policy departure following six years of refusals to enter into direct dialogue with the breakaway regions.

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2020

Six years of war fail to cure Putin’s Ukraine delusions

By Taras Kuzio

How do you make peace with an adversary who openly questions your right to exist? This is the challenge facing Ukraine as it seeks to end a war with Russia while confronting old imperial prejudices that continue to influence Russian policy-making.

Conflict Nationalism

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2020

Diaspora deputies: Should Ukraine’s global community have a voice in parliament?

By Andrej Lushnycky

Ukraine's multi-million strong global diaspora has long been a vocal voice of support for the motherland – is it now time to offer the diaspora a greater role in the development of Ukraine through parliamentary representation?

Democratic Transitions 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

Aug 13, 2020

Ukraine must address the legal ambiguity enabling Putin’s not-so-secret war

By Wayne Jordash

Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is one of the world's worst-kept secrets, but a failure to end the legal ambiguity shrouding Russia's role in the ongoing conflict makes progress towards peace impossible.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2020

Zelenskyy’s old new faces

By Adrian Karatnycky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to power in 2019 promising a new era in Ukrainian politics but the recent appointment of figures from the discredited past raises questions about this fresh start.

Democratic Transitions Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Aug 6, 2020

Can new legislation revive Ukraine’s defense reforms?

By Serhiy Piontkovsky

Ukraine's defense industry has become a major source of state spending since the onset of hostilities with Russia in 2014, but corruption allegations have been a problem. Can new legislation revive reform efforts?

Defense Policy Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2020

From Russian war to European opportunity: Reinventing eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region

By Oleksii Reznikov

Putin has place eastern Ukraine's Donbas region at the heart of his "Russian World" mythology, but in reality the region has a cosmopolitan heritage that could help to inspire a new era of European investment.

Conflict Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2020

How to overcome Ukraine’s IT industry brain drain

By Bill Brown

Ukraine’s booming IT industry is fueling the country's economic growth. The future of the sector depends on creating a professional climate that will convince talented young Ukrainian IT professionals to stay.

Entrepreneurship Internet

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2020

For Ukraine, endless Putin means endless hybrid war

By Mark Temnycky

Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent constitutional amendments will allow him to extend his reign until 2036. This undermines faint hopes for an end to the six-year Russo-Ukrainian War.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Aug 1, 2020

Kyiv names street in honor of journalist who exposed Stalin’s Ukrainian genocide

By Peter Dickinson

Kyiv City Council has confirmed plans to name a street in the Ukrainian capital in honor of British journalist Gareth Jones, who first brought news of Stalin's 1933 Ukrainian genocide to international audiences.

Disinformation Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2020

The coronavirus crisis and statelessness in Ukraine

By Andrew D’Anieri

For the estimated 35,000 stateless people living in Ukraine, access to even the most basic resources like food, medicine, and hygienic products, has been all but cut off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Jul 29, 2020

Hard political realities threaten Ukraine’s soft power ambitions

By Marina Pesenti

The Ukrainian Institute was established in 2018 in order to make the most of the country's untapped soft power potential, but this cultural diplomacy initiative faces numerous political and bureaucratic obstacles.

Civil Society Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2020

Zelenskyy’s bad economics: Inflation and devaluation will not help Ukraine grow

By Anders Åslund

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s policymakers are causing concern by flirting with the dangerous idea that high inflation and substantial currency devaluation can boost economic growth.

Democratic Transitions Economy & Business