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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

Dec 22, 2022

Russia’s defeat is the top global priority for 2023

By Oleksii Reznikov

Ensuring that the Russian invasion of Ukraine ends in defeat is vital for the international security system and must be the strategic priority for 2023, writes Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2022

2022 REVIEW: Russia’s invasion has united Ukraine

By Taras Kuzio

The February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was meant to extinguish Ukrainian statehood but Putin's plan has backfired disastrously and united Ukraine as the country fights for its right to exist, writes Taras Kuzio.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 20, 2022

The partition of Ukraine would only encourage Putin’s imperial ambitions

By Benton Coblentz

Advocates of appeasement believe the best way to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine is by offering Ukrainian land in exchange for peace but this will only encourage Putin's imperial ambitions, writes Benton Coblentz.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Dec 19, 2022

2022 REVIEW: Why has Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion gone so badly wrong?

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin hoped his invasion of Ukraine would result in a quick and historic victory. Instead, he ends 2022 with Russia's reputation as a military superpower in tatters. Why has the invasion of Ukraine gone so badly wrong?

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 15, 2022

Memo to Macron: Russia doesn’t need security guarantees but Ukraine does

By Peter Dickinson

French President Emmanuel Macron has been widely criticized for calling on Europe to offer Russia security guarantees at a time when the Kremlin is using fake security concerns to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Dec 15, 2022

Individual Russians must be held accountable for war crimes in Ukraine

By Stanislav Aseyev

Unless steps are taken to hold individual Russians accountable for the war crimes they have committed in Ukraine we will witness similar atrocities elsewhere, warns Ukrainian author and journalist Stanislav Aseyev.

Conflict Freedom and Prosperity

UkraineAlert

Dec 14, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s failing invasion is fueling the rise of Russia’s far right

By Stanislav Shalunov

As Vladimir Putin's disastrous invasion continues to unravel, battlefield defeats in Ukraine are having a radicalizing effect on Russian domestic audiences and fueling the rise of the country's ultra-nationalist far right.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Dec 13, 2022

Vladimir Putin: 2022 Loser of the Year

By Peter Dickinson

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is the biggest loser of 2022. His disastrous decision to invade Ukraine has left Russia internationally isolated and shattered the country's reputation as a military superpower.

Belarus Central Asia

UkraineAlert

Dec 12, 2022

Fresh challenges threaten to reverse Ukraine’s judicial reform progress

By Mykhailo Zhernakov, Nestor Barchuk

Ukrainians are currently fighting against Russian invasion but far from the battlefield judicial reforms that hold the key to Ukraine’s transformation into a nation governed by the rule of law are at risk of unraveling.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 9, 2022

Zelenskyy urges special tribunal for Russian aggression against Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging the international community to establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression in order to prosecute Russia’s political and military leadership.

Conflict European Union

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Content

UkraineAlert

Apr 3, 2019

What Zelenskiy needs to do to next

By Basil Kalymon

On March 31, Ukrainians gave a first-round victory to Volodymyr Zelenskiy for president with an endorsement of just over 30 percent. The incumbent, Petro Poroshenko, obtained around 16 percent, entering the runoff over third placed Yulia Tymoshenko. The voters clearly expressed their disillusionment with the existing political establishment and have chosen as frontrunner an outsider […]

Conflict Elections

UkraineAlert

Apr 2, 2019

What the business community wants from Ukraine’s next president

By Andy Hunder

Sending law enforcement officers in balaclavas armed with Kalashnikovs kicking down a company’s office door in a frantic search for financial records or tax documents is quite possibly the worst message a government can send to business owners, shareholders or executives. This is what I told President Petro Poroshenko a couple of years ago in […]

Elections Fiscal and Structural Reform

UkraineAlert

Apr 2, 2019

What does comedian’s big win mean for Ukraine?

By Volodymyr Yermolenko

Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy won the first round of Ukraine’s presidential election on March 31 and has a strong chance of winning the run-off on April 21. Zelenskiy will face incumbent Petro Poroshenko, who won just under 16 percent. Zelenskiy’s strong performance caught some off-guard, but the results of the election says at least seven important […]

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2019

Whoever wins Ukraine’s presidential race, Russia has already lost

By Peter Dickinson

It’s election season on Kremlin TV, but the presidential campaign receiving wall-to-wall coverage from Russia’s federal channels is taking place across the border in Ukraine. This is hardly surprising. Moscow’s obsession with all things Ukrainian is well-documented and reflects the centrality of information operations to Vladimir Putin’s five-year hybrid war against Ukraine. What’s interesting about […]

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2019

Who gains from using the far-right in Ukraine’s elections?

By Taras Kuzio

The G-7 wrote to Minister of Interior Arsen Avakov about the threat to Ukraine’s presidential election from the far-right National Corps political party and National Militia civic organization, both led by Andriy Biletsky with whom he has had a long relationship. The G-7 warned, “They intimidate Ukrainian citizens, try to usurp the role of the […]

Elections Extremism

UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2019

Time to play hardball on reforming Ukraine’s security service

By Oleksandra Ustinova and Steven Pifer

In June 2018, Ukraine’s parliament adopted the Law on National Security, with the help of the United States and other international partners, including NATO and the European Union. Among other things, the law set the frame for the functions of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and opened the door for comprehensive reform of that […]

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2019

The Kremlin’s top eight lies about Ukraine’s presidential race

By Tetyana Matychak

On March 31, Ukrainians go to the polls to elect their sixth president. An openly pro-Russian candidate is unlikely to win. However, Moscow is watching closely and cares about the outcome. What is it saying about the election? We analyzed the most widespread Kremlin manipulations about Ukraine’s presidential election on Russian state-controlled media in March. […]

Civil Society Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2019

What to expect from Ukraine’s completely unpredictable presidential election

By Brian Mefford

On March 31, Ukrainians will select their sixth president. The election is seen a referendum on the incumbent Poroshenko administration and his record since the watershed Euromaidan Revolution that decisively moved Ukraine onto a pro-Western path. Polls put political newcomer Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the lead, with Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko fighting for […]

Elections Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2019

Some things never change

By Andreas Umland

Ukraine’s presidential election is less than a week away, and no candidate will win outright with fifty percent. Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy leads in the polls and will certainly be in the run-off election on April 21. The big question is whether he will face incumbent President Petro Poroshenko or former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Poroshenko […]

Elections Eurozone

UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2019

The real Russian candidate in Ukraine’s presidential race

By Anders Åslund

On March 22, nine days before the Ukrainian presidential election, Ukraine’s pro-Russian presidential candidate Yuriy Boyko went to Moscow to meet Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev without prior announcement. It’s strange for a presidential candidate to visit a leader of a country with which it is at war, but that was only the beginning of […]

Corruption Elections