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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 20, 2023

‘You cannot outlast us’: Biden’s Kyiv visit sends strong message to Moscow

By Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden's bold surprise visit to wartime Kyiv sent a strong message to Moscow that time is not on Putin's side and Russia should not pin its hopes on a weakening of Western resolve to stand with Ukraine.

Conflict Freedom and Prosperity

UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2023

Putin’s invasion shatters the myth of Russian-Ukrainian brotherhood

By Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin's genocidal invasion of Ukraine has shattered the myth of Russian-Ukrainian brotherhood and represents the point of no return in the relationship between the post-Soviet neighbors, writes Taras Kuzio.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2023

Rebuilding Ukraine: Private sector role can help counter corruption concerns

By Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Recent corruption allegations have shaken international confidence in the Ukrainian authorities but Ukraine's vibrant private sector benefits from broadly positive perceptions and should play a leading role in rebuilding efforts.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 14, 2023

Russia’s new offensive will test the morale of Putin’s mobilized masses

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's desperation to regain the military initiative in Ukraine is leading to suicidal tactics that are undermining morale among hundreds of thousands of recently mobilized Russian troops, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 14, 2023

ECHR ruling confirms Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2014

By Zakhar Tropin

A recent ECHR ruling recognizing Russian control over so-called separatist republics in eastern Ukraine since 2014 is an important step forward in the quest to hold Moscow accountable for aggression against Ukraine.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 14, 2023

The path to peace in Ukraine runs directly through Putin’s red lines

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches the one-year mark, the Western response is still being undermined by exaggerated fears of escalation and misplaced concerns over the dangers of “provoking Putin," writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 9, 2023

Is Putin’s Russia heading for collapse like its Czarist and Soviet predecessors?

By Taras Byk

Vladimir Putin's disastrous invasion of Ukraine is sparking debate over the possibility of a new Russian collapse. Could today's Russian Federation be facing the same fate as its Czarist and Soviet predecessors?

Central Asia Civil Society

UkraineAlert

Feb 9, 2023

Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to bankrupt the Ukrainian breadbasket

By Andriy Vadaturskyy

Ukraine's strategically crucial agricultural sector has been hard hit by the full-scale Russian invasion of the country and desperately needs international support in order to survive in wartime conditions, writes Andriy Vadaturskyy.

Conflict Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Feb 9, 2023

Countering Russian threats to global financial security

By Benton Coblentz

Russia and its proxies have long exploited the rules-based global financial system for their personal gain and in service of Moscow’s geopolitical strategy, but the invasion of Ukraine has sparked calls for counter measures.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2023

The Belarusian opposition can help defeat Putin in Ukraine

By Stephen Nix, Mark Dietzen

Belarus has played a key supporting role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine but the democratic Belarusian opposition recognizes that defeating Putin can lead to the downfall of their own dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Belarus Conflict

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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.

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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

May 16, 2019

Ukraine needs all the friends it can get. So why did it boot the American ambassador early?

By Mykola Vorobiov

Last week the Trump administration recalled US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch two months earlier than expected. Various forces within Ukraine’s presidential administration, including the attorney general, had been calling for her head after she gave a speech that pointed out Ukraine’s lackluster commitment to reform on Poroshenko’s watch. The lack of an ambassador puts […]

Elections Political Reform

UkraineAlert

May 14, 2019

Ukraine’s most urgent need

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainians have considerable experience of the hope that comes with new beginnings and the disillusionment that often follows. The country has lived through repeated false dawns over the past three decades, only for the same old bad habits to come creeping out of the shadows and reassert their debilitating grip on the nation. The arrival […]

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

May 14, 2019

Even if Ukraine’s reformers unify, so what?

By Melinda Haring

Five years after the Euromaidan street protests, Ukrainians are still waiting for transformative leaders and justice. On May 20, political newcomer Volodymyr Zelenskiy will be sworn in as president. But that won’t necessarily result in a significant change for the country: Ukraine’s next president is inexperienced and his links to oligarchs are troubling. Its parliament, […]

Civil Society Elections

UkraineAlert

May 13, 2019

Will Ukraine become a giant Moldova?

By James Brooke

Without a red-tape slashing revolution, Ukraine will become a big Moldova—a bedroom country for migrant workers building the dynamic economies of eastern Europe.

Migration Moldova

UkraineAlert

May 8, 2019

Zelenskyy’s first big test

By Basil Kalymon

A key issue has emerged in the post-election drama in Ukraine. In a disturbing interview given by Andrij Bohdan, lawyer, confidant, and political advisor to President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy, he reveals that he continues to act as a lawyer for oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskiy with regard to the nationalization of PrivatBank. This assertion, if accepted by the […]

Corruption Financial Regulation

UkraineAlert

May 8, 2019

Reality check

By Bohdan Nahaylo

Ukraine’s presidential election was a veritable political earthquake. The fault line between the old and the new, the real and the illusory, and pseudo-nationalism and grassroots patriotism, has been dramatically exposed. The old political establishment was shaken to its very foundations, and the strong tremors and shockwaves continue to be felt. The shifting political tectonic […]

Elections Nationalism

UkraineAlert

May 6, 2019

Why we can’t get enough of Ukraine

By Francis Fukuyama

The impact one can have on building institutions like the modern state, the rule of law, and democracy is limited. The area where it’s easiest is the third category, building democracy. The first two, building the modern state and building a real rule of law, are much harder, and those are the areas that have been […]

Corruption Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

May 6, 2019

The illusions of Putin’s Russia

By Anders Åslund

The best defense of the West against Putin’s authoritarian and kleptocratic regime is transparency, shining light on this anonymous wealth.

Corruption Financial Regulation

UkraineAlert

May 3, 2019

Children as a tool: how Russia militarizes kids in the Donbas and Crimea

By Iryna Matviyishyn

With an eye to the future, officials in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine are waging a campaign of “patriotic education” aimed at reaching the hearts and minds of those most susceptible to ideological persuasion: children. Russia has always used the militarization of public life to indoctrinate local populations and continues that practice today. Currently, thousands […]

Conflict Human Rights

UkraineAlert

May 2, 2019

Time for Ukraine to compete with Russia

By Grigory Frolov

Showman Volodymyr Zelenskiy will soon be sworn in as president of Ukraine. Last month he crushed incumbent President Petro Poroshenko in a remarkable landslide. Zelenskiy’s victory was noteworthy in Ukraine, but it’s also making headlines across the former Soviet Union. While Zelenskiy is inexperienced and his policies aren’t well defined, he knows how to engage […]

European Union Inclusive Growth