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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

Jul 27, 2020

“Mr. Jones” film exposes the fake news campaign behind Stalin’s Ukrainian genocide

By Serhii Plokhii

"Mr. Jones" is an important historical drama that sheds long overdue light on Stalin's man-made famine in 1930's Ukraine. The famine killed millions but remains relatively unknown among international audiences.

Disinformation Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2020

Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts go up in smoke

By Peter Dickinson

A July 23 arson attack on the home of leading Ukrainian anti-corruption activist Vitaliy Shabunin has sparked concerns over the country's continued commitment to reforms under President Zelenskyy.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jul 22, 2020

Russia’s MH17 web of lies looks set to unravel in court

By Georgiy Kent

Ever since flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine in summer 2014, Russia has denied responsibility. However, international efforts to prove Moscow's guilt have gained momentum in 2020.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jul 22, 2020

How to win Ukraine’s long fight for good governance

By Anders Åslund

Ever since 1991, Ukraine has been described as a land of huge potential, but it remains among Europe's poorest nations. Can President Zelenskyy provide the good governance Ukraine requires to succeed?

Corruption Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jul 21, 2020

Ukraine’s healthcare system is in critical condition again

By Judy Twigg

After a few years in remission, Ukraine’s health sector is in critical condition once again, with efforts underway to reverse the reform progress achieved in the sector since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity.

Democratic Transitions Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2020

Belarus presidential vote: Ukrainian MPs join calls for democratic breakthrough

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

The August 9 presidential election in Belarus promises to have major geopolitical ramifications for the entire region. A cross-party group of Ukrainian MPs has formed an association to support democracy in Belarus ahead of the vote.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2020

Statelessness in Ukraine: New law offers fresh hope

By Eric Fritz and Kseniia Karahiaur

Almost thirty years since the collapse of the USSR, statelessness remains a significant issue in independent Ukraine, but new legislation aims to make it easier for residents to gain legal status.

Human Rights International Norms

UkraineAlert

Jul 17, 2020

Israeli-Ukrainian artist offers window on late Soviet realities

By Jacob Heilbrunn

Artist Zoya Cherkassky stands for something permanent and enduring, drawing on the deep traditions that she encountered both in Ukraine and in Judaism.

Civil Society Israel

UkraineAlert

Jul 16, 2020

Will Ukraine’s new central bank chief be independent?

By David Clark

President Zelenskyy has appointed Kyrylo Shevchenko as Governor of Ukraine's National Bank but questions remain over whether the new NBU chief will be able to remain truly independent.

Democratic Transitions Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Jul 15, 2020

New US sanctions block Putin’s pipeline despite Danish breakthrough

By Diane Francis

Russia has recently secured approval from Denmark to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but new US sanctions reflect America's resolve to make sure the strategically important project remains unfinished.

European Union Geopolitics & Energy Security

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UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2019

What Ukraine’s new parties bring to the table

By Vitalii Rybak

June has been challenging month to keep up with Ukraine’s vibrant politics. Numerous new political parties—Servant of the People, Holos, Might and Honor, Ukrainian Strategy, and others—held party conventions and presented their candidates and programs for snap parliamentary elections slated for July 21. Let’s take a look at the three most important newcomers to the […]

Corruption Elections

UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2019

Zelenskyy starts off on the right foot with the business community

By Andy Hunder

“I obviously mistook the dress code,” confessed Viacheslav Klymov standing tieless onstage where Ukraine’s president sat clad in his Sunday-best in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 20. The newly-elected president replied to the head of the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs not to fret and instantly removed his own tie in front of the audience of seven […]

Inclusive Growth Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Jun 20, 2019

An incomplete end to the MH17 tragedy

By Michael Bociurkiw

Aside from the blowback from Russia and its refusal to cooperate, there are a couple of storm clouds on the horizon for the resolution of the MH17 tragedy.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2019

One month into the Zelenskyy presidency and Ukraine’s still here

By Steven Pifer

Volodymyr Zelenskyy became Ukraine’s sixth president on May 20. The political neophyte’s election raised a host of questions about lack of governing experience, connections to oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, the composition of his inner circle, and his priorities once in office. One month into Zelenskyy’s presidency, those questions still require answers, and we have yet to […]

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2019

What Zelenskyy should say in Berlin

By Diane Francis

Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union broke up the empire and its people have paid a monstrous price for generations. It’s time that Europe finally recognized its responsibility to this worthy nation, yearning to be free from Russian tyranny.

Energy Markets & Governance Eurozone

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