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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 8, 2019

Legal Threats to Minister Imperil Ukraine’s Health Care

By Melinda Haring

Ulana Suprun just wants to get back to work turning around Ukraine’s feeble healthcare system. But she can’t focus on reforms now: the fifty-six-year-old radiologist turned health minister of Ukraine is under attack. Worst of all, she’s not sure who is behind it. On February 5, Kyiv’s Regional Administrative Court ruled to suspend Suprun’s authority […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2019

Is the Kremlin Really Afraid of a Farmer?

By Vitalii Rybak

Birthdays are typically lavish affairs in Ukraine. But not for Volodymyr Balukh, who will spend his third birthday in prison for the simple act of displaying a Ukrainian flag in Crimea. On February 8, the Ukrainian farmer turns 48. His case shows how Moscow harshly punishes Ukrainians in Crimea who have the temerity to protest […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2019

Q&A: Why Are Ukraine’s Last Reformers Being Kicked Out?

By Melinda Haring

Less than two months before Ukraine’s presidential election, two independent-minded officials are being forced out. On February 5, Kyiv’s Regional Administrative Court ruled to suspend Detroit born physician Ulana Suprun’s authority to make any decisions or sign any documents as the acting minister of health. The court pointed to a regulation that limits an acting […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 3, 2019

Rating Ukraine’s Presidential Candidates

By Alexander J. Motyl and Dennis Soltys

Three candidates have the most plausible chance of winning the first round in Ukraine’s March 31st presidential election: President Petro Poroshenko; former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko; and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a politically untested comedian whose popular television show, Servant of the People, portrays him as an intrepid corruption fighter. Zelenskiy’s popularity can be explained as a […]

Russia Ukraine
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UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2019

Two Big Problems with Ukraine’s Elections that No One Else Has Spotted

By Mykola Vorobiov

There are many reasons to worry about Ukraine’s elections this year. The 2019 elections may be as defining as those in 2014, when Ukraine left the Russian world for good. However, so far, most analysts have missed two factors that may play an outsized role. First, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is not only a sitting […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2019

Russia looks to strike at Ukraine’s south again?

By Andreas Umland

An escalation at the Azov Sea will threaten social stability in southeastern Ukraine.

Conflict Maritime Security

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2019

Poroshenko Runs on Stay the Course Platform

By Ruslan Minich and Vitalii Rybak

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko finally announced that he will seek reelection at a packed forum on January 29 in Kyiv. Held on the anniversary of the battle of Kruty when students and Cossacks died defending Kyiv from Bolshevik forces in 1918, organizers were hoping to stress the symbolism: Ukraine started to move away from Russia […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 31, 2019

The Right Person at the Right Time

By Carl Gershman

Editor’s note: Nadia Diuk died on January 23, 2019. She worked at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for thirty-two years. Carl Gershman, president of the NED, delivered this eulogy at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family in Washington on January 31, 2019  In the days since Nadia passed, the National Endowment […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 31, 2019

Ukraine Needs Carrots and Sticks to Fight Corruption

By Oleksandr Danylyuk

There is no silver bullet when it comes to defeating systemic corruption in any country. Despite many opportunities, Ukraine has failed to achieve economic success due to its entrenched corruption which offsets the positive effects from many of the hard-earned and difficult reforms we have implemented since independence.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 30, 2019

An Exemplary Life

By Tatiana Vorozhko

On January 23, Ukrainian-Briton Nadia Diuk passed away. This was reported on Facebook by her sister, who wrote that Nadia had died at home after a long battle with cancer. The previous day, President Petro Poroshenko bestowed the Order of Princess Olga (III degree), one of Ukraine’s highest honors to Diuk, who had dedicated her […]

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

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

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2020

Russian assassinations send chilling message of impunity

By Doug Klain

Kremlin-linked assassinations are being exposed on a regular basis across Europe. Is this a sign of Russian sloppiness, or does Moscow want the world to now that it acts with impunity on the global stage?

Non-Traditional Threats Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 10, 2020

Coronavirus crisis: Ukraine needs IMF support not political purges

By Anders Åslund

President Zelenskyy's sudden purge of his reformist cabinet has shaken confidence in the Ukrainian economy at a time when global markets are facing a mounting coronavirus crisis - could an IMF deal be the solution?

Coronavirus International Financial Institutions