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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

Feb 18, 2021

Ukraine adopts new and improved referendum law

By Alisa Shushkovska and Harald Jepsen

Ukraine's recently adopted National Referendum Law fulfills an election promise made by President Zelenskyy to give the people of Ukraine greater and more direct influence over national policies.

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2021

Putin the Poisoner

By Peter Dickinson

Putin the Poisoner: Russian President Vladimir Putin has adopted a poisonous approach to international politics in a bid to defend his own authoritarian regime by dividing, discrediting, and destabilizing the democratic world.

Disinformation European Union

UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2021

Why is Ukraine still not in NATO?

By Dmytro Kuleba

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said recently that he'd like to ask US President Joe Biden, "Why is Ukraine still not in NATO?" Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba agrees that this question has never been more pertinent.

Conflict NATO

UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2021

IMF puts Ukraine on pause over corruption concerns

By Anders Åslund

A recent IMF mission to Ukraine ended without reaching any decision on a new tranche. IMF concerns over Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts will increase the pressure on President Zelenskyy.

Corruption International Financial Institutions

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2021

Rising EU-Russia tensions are good news for Ukraine

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's disastrous recent visit to Moscow has sparked a crisis in Russia-EU relations that could end up being to Ukraine's advantage.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Feb 10, 2021

Covid crisis accelerates Ukraine’s digital revolution

By Mykhailo Fedorov

The unique challenges of the Covid crisis have helped to accelerate Ukraine's digital revolution, says the country's Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.

Coronavirus Digital Policy

UkraineAlert

Feb 9, 2021

Kremlin TV chief: Russia must annex east Ukraine

By Alvydas Medalinskas

Kremlin TV chief Margarita Simonyan called on Russia to annex eastern Ukraine's Donbas region during a recent high-profile forum that signaled an escalation in Moscow's seven-year hybrid war against Ukraine.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 9, 2021

Ukraine signs vaccine deal but delays highlight urgent need for healthcare reform

By Pavlo Kovtoniuk

Ukraine has finally secured the country's first sizable COVID-19 vaccine contract, but the fact that this depended on the role of Britain's Crown Agents has underlined Ukraine's procurement dysfunction.

Coronavirus Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2021

Can Putin’s pet pipeline still be saved from sanctions?

By Diane Francis

Russia continues to defy US attempts to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but with the new administration of President Biden committed to stopping the project, can it still be saved?

Geopolitics & Energy Security Russia

UkraineAlert

Feb 5, 2021

Analysis: Ukraine bans Kremlin-linked TV channels

By Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy shut down three Kremlin-linked TV channels on February 2 in a move portrayed as a major blow to Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine. The step has sparked debate over the balance between national security and free speech.

Conflict Disinformation

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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