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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 6, 2023

Hero Ukrainian medic: “Russia will not stop until it is stopped”

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian military medic Yulia Paievska has a simple message for anyone who still believes in the possibility of a compromise peace with Putin’s Russia. “They will not stop until they are stopped,” she says.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2023

Ukrainians are united in rejection of any compromise with the Kremlin

By Mariia Zolkina

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches the one-year mark, an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians have faith in their country's victory and reject the idea of a compromise peace with the Kremlin, writes Mariia Zolkina.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 2, 2023

Russian presence at Paris Olympics risks normalizing Ukraine invasion

By Mark Temnycky

The International Olympic Committee's decision to allow Russian athletes to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics under a neutral flag has sparked outrage from critics who say it risks normalizing the genocidal invasion of Ukraine.

Conflict France

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2023

Ukrainian SMEs hold the key to the country’s economic revival

By Seba Salim, Sarah Page

There is still no end in sight to the Russian invasion of Ukraine but the international community must not delay efforts to revive Ukraine's economy by supporting the country's vibrant SME sector.

Conflict Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2023

Europe’s last empire: Putin’s Ukraine war exposes Russia’s imperial identity

By Botakoz Kassymbekova

Vladimir Putin's genocidal invasion of Ukraine has exposed modern Russia's unapologetically imperial identity but could yet lead to the collapse of the Kremlin's broader imperial ambitions, writes Botakoz Kassymbekova.

Belarus Central Asia

UkraineAlert

Jan 31, 2023

Russia’s cyberwar against Ukraine offers vital lessons for the West

By Yurii Shchyhol

Ukraine’s experience in countering Russian cyber warfare can provide valuable lessons while offering a glimpse into a future where wars will be waged both by conventional means and increasingly in the borderless realm of cyberspace.

Conflict Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Jan 28, 2023

Poland is leading Europe’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

By Diane Francis

Poland was the unsung hero of the recent landmark decision by Berlin and Washington to provide Ukraine with tanks as Polish leadership continues to shape the European response to Russia's genocidal invasion.

Conflict Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

UkraineAlert

Jan 27, 2023

Russia is losing the energy war as Putin’s winter gas attack backfires

By Aura Sabadus

Putin expected to use gas exports to blackmail Europe and weaken Western support for Ukraine. Instead, this tactic has backfired disastrously and undermined Russia’s position on European energy markets.

Conflict Energy Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2023

Tanks are vital but Ukraine will need much more to defeat Putin’s Russia

By Jeffrey Cimmino, Shelby Magid

The decision by Germany and the United States to supply Ukraine with main battle tanks is an important landmark in international efforts to counter Putin's invasion but much more is required to defeat Russia.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2023

Scholz tank drama casts unflattering light on Germany’s Russia problem

By Diane Francis

After months of debates and delays, Germany finally succumbed to international pressure on January 25 and announced that it would be delivering German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine and allowing others to do so.

Conflict Defense Industry

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Content

UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2019

Why are donors afraid of the prosecutor’s office?

By Yuri Polakiwsky

It’s no secret that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has failed to be transformed in the post-Maidan period. But who is to blame? A high-level diplomat representing a G-7 country recently lamented that Ukraine’s major western partners deserve a large share of the blame for not providing direct assistance to the office. “You don’t […]

Corruption Elections

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2019

One Ukraine? Think again.

By Roman Solchanyk

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election over incumbent Petro Poroshenko has spawned intense speculation. The most intriguing is the assertion that we are witnessing the long-awaited emergence of a “new” Ukraine that is no longer divided along overlapping regional, ethnic, and linguistic fault lines because Zelenskyy won in all of the country’s […]

Elections Nationalism

UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2019

Zelensky, Zelenskiy, Zelenskyy: spelling confusion doesn’t help Ukraine  

By Peter Dickinson

It would be unfair to expect Ukraine’s novice president to take over the reins of Europe’s largest country seamlessly. However, knowing how to spell his own name in English would seem a more realistic expectation. This did not appear to be the case during the first days of his administration, or at least that was […]

Disinformation Media

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2019

How Kolomoisky does business in the United States

By Anders Åslund

The PrivatBank case shows that dirty money is not necessarily concentrated in the big cities and in real estate but can penetrate the real economy.

Corruption Financial Regulation

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2019

Seven dangers of engaging with the occupied Donbas—and opportunities for the new Ukrainian president

By Petro Burkovskyi

Ukraine’s new president says he wants to end the Russian-backed war in the country’s east. However, it won’t be easy. There are at least seven dangers of engaging with the occupied territories of the Donbas. The first danger is that a class of highly educated and trained leaders is completely absent. All key positions, whether […]

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2019

Cheap gas is too costly

By Oleh Havrylyshyn

On May 20, Volodymyr Zelenskiy was inaugurated Ukraine’s seventh president. In his inaugural address, he demonstrated a resoluteness that should put an end to the annoying journalistic cliché of a “comedian-president.” Taking such firm actions as dissolving parliament and requesting the resignations of key officials within minutes of taking office in front of the very […]

Central Europe Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2019

Zelenskyy’s golden opportunity to challenge the oligarchs and bring real news to Ukraine’s airwaves

By Janek Lasocki

Over the past five years, the foundations have been laid for a quality public service broadcaster. If successful, it could make a profound difference to public debate in Ukraine.

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2019

The right man for the right time  

By Andy Hunder

“God probably has a great sense of humor,” reckons Borys Gudziak, president of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv. The US-born archbishop transformed what was designed to be the Soviet communist party’s atheist ideology center in western Ukraine into a thriving catholic university. The irony of this transformation is not lost on him. Only […]

Civil Society Nationalism

UkraineAlert

May 31, 2019

What Ukraine’s new president cannot afford to overlook

By Bohdan Nahaylo

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s resounding victory in April underscored Ukrainians’ desire for change. Proclaiming his commitment to overhauling the entire system, the new president has announced five short-term priorities: change the electoral law, restore criminal liability for unlawful enrichment, and remove the parliamentary immunity of deputies, as well as reform the legal system and eradicate corruption. […]

Conflict Human Rights

UkraineAlert

May 30, 2019

A tale of two bridges

By Andrii Osadchuk

On May 25, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko and his brother jumped up and down on a smart, new glass bridge in Kyiv, Ukraine. The video went viral and thousands crowded the pedestrian bridge that connects Volodymyr Hill with Khreschatyk Park. Destined to become one of the most popular attractions in the city as a result […]

Corruption Political Reform