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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 25, 2023

Rebuilding efforts should prioritize the key pillars of Ukraine’s democracy

By Oleksii Antoniuk

International attention is currently focused on the physical reconstruction of postwar Ukraine’s devastated infrastructure, but rebuilding the country’s democratic institutions will be just as important, writes Oleksii Antoniuk.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2023

Ukraine’s gas storage facilities can play a key role in European energy security

By Sergiy Makogon

Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities are the largest in Europe and offer considerable untapped opportunities to enhance the continent’s energy security, writes Sergiy Makogon.

Conflict
Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2023

“Pariah” Putin forced to cancel travel plans over fears of war crimes arrest

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin’s pariah status has been confirmed after he was forced to cancel plans to attend a summit of BRICS leaders in South Africa over fears that he may be arrested for war crimes, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2023

Ukraine’s tech sector is playing vital wartime economic and defense roles

By David Kirichenko

The Ukrainian tech industry has been the standout performer of the country’s hard-hit economy following Russia’s full-scale invasion and continues to play vital economic and defense sector roles, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2023

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was never about NATO

By Peter Dickinson

Putin’s relaxed response to the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden proves that he knows NATO enlargement poses no security threat to Russia but has used the issue as a smokescreen for the invasion of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2023

Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

By Roman Solchanyk

Vladimir Putin insists Ukrainians and Russians are “one people” and appears to have genuinely believed his invading army would be welcomed. It is now clear this was a catastrophic miscalculation, writes Roman Solchanyk.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2023

After Wagner: Could the Russian army now turn against Putin?

By Mercedes Sapuppo

With dozens of senior Russian officers reportedly detained following the Wagner revolt and a senior commander dismissed this week for criticizing the conduct of the Ukraine invasion, could Putin face a mutiny within the Russian army?

Conflict
Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2023

Disappointed but not discouraged: Ukrainians react to NATO summit

By Peter Dickinson

The 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius failed to produce a breakthrough toward Ukrainian membership but did underline international support for Ukraine in the fight against Russia’s invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Jul 11, 2023

NATO summit leaves Ukrainians frustrated

By Peter Dickinson

The 2023 NATO summit failed to deliver on hopes for a clear commitment on future Ukrainian membership, leaving many in Ukraine deeply frustrated by the apparent lack of urgency among the country’s allies, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Jul 10, 2023

Moldova must seize opportunity to end energy dependence on Russia

By Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

With the Russian army struggling in Ukraine and Putin weakened on the domestic front, Moldova may never have a better opportunity to end its energy sector dependence on Russia, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.

Conflict
Energy Markets & Governance

spotlight

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

Oct 30, 2018

Five ways to entice Ukrainians to come home

By Andy Hunder

Approximately five million Ukrainians, roughly 25 percent of the country’s economically active population, work abroad.

Macroeconomics
Migration

UkraineAlert

Oct 29, 2018

How Ukraine’s Presidential Race Is Shaping Up

By Mykola Vorobiov

Ukraine’s presidential race is in full swing, even though the official campaign period has not yet begun. At this point, incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko may make the second round; no candidate is expected to take 50 percent in the first round. If elections were held now, Tymoshenko would take […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2018

Three More Reasons to Be Bullish on Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine’s civil society is realizing an unfortunate fact: reforming the country is going to be more of a marathon than a sprint. Consequently, pro-reform advocates have had to adjust their expectations. Describing her hopes for the speed of change in Ukraine, Anticorruption Action Center executive director Daria Kaleniuk said that she and her colleagues now […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2018

Ukraine Can Succeed But It Won’t Happen Overnight

By Andrii Osadchuk

With every new election cycle, Ukrainians freeze in hope and despondency. Each time, we face an inner conflict between the desire for fair and systemic change and the fear and distrust acquired from experience. We’ve been trying to break out of this vicious cycle for twenty-seven years, and each time we try, the enthusiasm subsides […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2018

How Ukraine’s Cities Are Sharing Their Good Ideas

By Iryna Ozymok

Today, 54 percent of the world’s population lives in cities, and by 2030, two-thirds likely will. Mayors are city managers, responsible not only for quality of life issues like access to water, roads, and infrastructure; they’re also facing global challenges like climate change, security, and migration.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2018

How Ukraine’s Never Ending Transition Makes the Rich Richer and Everyone Else Poorer

By Tymofiy Mylovanov and Richard van Weelden

After twenty-seven years of independence, the Ukrainian economy continues to struggle. The country appears to be stuck in partial transition from the command to market economy. Many state-owned companies have been privatized, but many more remain in the custody of the state and are mismanaged. There is corporate governance and independent boards, but the assets […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2018

Good News: Ukraine Finally Gets New IMF Agreement

By Anders Åslund

On October 19, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it had finally reached a staff-level agreement with Ukraine on renewed lending. Ukraine hasn’t received any IMF funds since April 2017. Experts had warned that without an IMF tranche, Ukraine’s economy might face a serious financial crisis this fall.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 18, 2018

Church Splits, and Putin Loses Big

By Stephen Blank

Ukraine has just won a tremendous victory by obtaining the right of autocephaly, or the right to constitute the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as fully independent and free of any subservience to Moscow. This victory represents a shattering blow to Vladimir Putin’s pretenses of a Russian world (Russkii Mir) and the entire arcana imperii (Imperial relics) […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 17, 2018

The New Cold War Could Learn a Lot from the Old One

By John E. Herbst

Territories between great powers—borderlands—have always been areas of strife. So it is with the countries caught between Russia and the West, those that were once part of the Soviet Union or firmly within its sphere of influence. Much of Europe has consolidated and, with the United States, established a lasting liberal democratic order, but Russia […]

Moldova
The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Oct 17, 2018

How Ukraine Can Avoid Disaster in 2019

By Taras Kuzio

Ukraine’s 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections are the most important since the country became independent nearly three decades ago. If next year’s elections follow those held in 2014 when five pro-reform political forces won a constitutional majority, Ukraine’s European integration and withdrawal from the Russian world will be assured by the next election cycle in […]

Russia
Ukraine