Stay Updated

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 31, 2020

Zelenskyy resurrects his reformist credentials as coronavirus crisis looms

By Anders Åslund

March 30 was a big day for Ukraine with major changes in parliament that reversed the anti-reform backlash underway in the country since March 4 and provided President Zelenskyy with fresh political momentum as the coronavirus crisis escalates.

Coronavirus Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2020

Q&A: Where is President Zelenskyy leading Ukraine?

By Adair Appleton and Adrian Hoefer

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's surprise decision to dismiss his reformist government in early March raised fundamental questions over the future direction of the country. Atlantic Council experts explore what it could mean for Ukraine.

Democratic Transitions Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2020

Two historic votes for Ukraine

By Iuliia Mendel

In an emergency session as the country grapples with the coronavirus crisis, Ukraine's parliament has voted for two bills that will open the way to new financing from the IMF and other international partners.

Democratic Transitions International Financial Institutions

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2020

Coronavirus must not distract the world from Russia’s war in Ukraine

By Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze

The coronavirus crisis is creating unprecedented challenges for the international community, but existing security threats like the Russian attack on Ukraine must not disappear from the diplomatic agenda, argues Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.

Conflict Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2020

Time for Ukraine to exit Russia’s energy empire

By Bohdan Klid

Energy supplies have helped Russia exert political influence over Ukraine. With Russia's energy sector hit by short-term coronavirus woes and facing long-term decline, now is a good time for Ukraine to reduce dependency.

Geopolitics & Energy Security Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 26, 2020

Russo-Ukrainian War: Putin must be held accountable

By Olena Zerkal

Russia is seeking to legitimize the Kremlin-created separatist republics in eastern Ukraine as a way of distancing itself from the ongoing conflict, but if Putin is not held accountable, other countries may share Ukraine's fate.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2020

After coronavirus: how to get Ukraine working again

By Ilya Timtchenko

Ukraine is bracing for a major coronavirus economic downturn, but the country must also look to the post-pandemic future. Ilya Timtchenko offers some tips on how to get the Ukrainian economy working once again.

Coronavirus Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Mar 24, 2020

Could coronavirus become Putin’s Chernobyl?

By Peter Dickinson

Official Russian coronavirus infection rates far lower than elsewhere in Europe, sparking accusations of a Kremlin cover-up. Could the pandemic become a new Chernobyl for Vladimir Putin?

Coronavirus Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2020

Why Ukraine cannot risk recognizing Putin’s proxies

By Lisa Yasko

Many Ukrainians are alarmed by plans to create an Advisory Council together with representatives from Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Critics say the move will allow Russia to distance itself from the war.

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2020

Mr. and Mrs. Zelenskyy trip up on gender roles again

By Melinda Haring

Why does everything in the private sphere depend on Ukraine’s amazing women yet again?

Democratic Transitions Ukraine

spotlight

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.

The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.

Follow us on social media
and support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2020

One million passports: Putin has weaponized citizenship in occupied eastern Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Moscow plans to issue one million Russian passports to residents of Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine by the end of 2020 in a bid to prolong the six-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine indefinitely.

Conflict National Security

UkraineAlert

Jun 16, 2020

NATO upgrades Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

NATO recognized Ukraine as an Enhanced Opportunities Partner on June 12 in a status upgrade that reflected deepening cooperation and boosted Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration ambitions.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2020

Zelenskyy keeps Ukraine on Euro-Atlantic course set by predecessor Poroshenko

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has been highly critical of his predecessor Petro Poroshenko, but the ongoing war with Russia mean Zelenskyy has little option but to maintain Poroshenko's policies of Euro-Atlantic integration.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2020

Mission accomplished? Vakarchuk quits but his political party lives on

By Melinda Haring

Ukrainian rock legend Slava Vakarchuk has resigned as an MP less than one year after leading his reformist party into parliament for the first time. He claims it is "mission accomplished" - but will his party survive?

Democratic Transitions Ukraine

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