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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

Apr 4, 2023

Russia’s Wagner Group is a feature not a bug of the Putin regime

By
Allen Maggard

Russian private paramilitaries like the Wagner Group are a symptom of the institutionalized corruption at the heart of Putin’s regime and not just another instrument in Russia’s hybrid warfare toolbox, writes Allen Maggard.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Apr 4, 2023

How to keep Western tech out of Russian weapons

By
Aleksander Cwalina

The Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center convened a panel of experts for a virtual event in March to discuss how to prevent the use of Western technologies in Russian weapons, reports Aleksander Cwalina.


Arms Control


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Apr 3, 2023

Pressuring Ukraine into a premature peace would only encourage Putin

By
Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Efforts to pressure Ukraine into accepting a land-for-peace deal in order to end the war misunderstand Putin's imperial ambitions and will only encourage further Russian aggression, writes Andriy Zagorodnyuk.


Conflict


Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2023

Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling is a sign of dangerous Russian desperation

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's latest bout of nuclear saber-rattling is a clear indication of Russia's growing desperation as the invasion of Ukraine continues to unravel amid mounting military losses, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2023

Russia faces long economic decline as isolated Putin turns to China

By
Diane Francis

With most avenues for Western partnership indefinitely closed and Russian economic dependency on China growing rapidly, Putin’s talk of “economic sovereignty” is starting to sound very hollow, writes Diane Francis.


China


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2023

Putin’s plan for a new Russian Empire includes both Ukraine and Belarus

By
Taras Kuzio

A leaked document detailing Russia's plans to absorb Belarus highlights the scale of Vladimir Putin's imperial ambitions and provides insights into the true objectives behind the invasion of Ukraine, writes Taras Kuzio.


Belarus


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2023

Russia’s Ukraine invasion is eroding Kremlin influence in Kazakhstan

By
Kamila Auyezova

The invasion of Ukraine was meant to advance Vladimir Putin’s vision of a revived Russian Empire. Instead, it is forcing other neighboring countries like Kazakhstan to urgently reassess their own relationships with Moscow.


Central Asia


Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2023

The real definition of victory for Ukraine

By
Victor Pinchuk

Genuine Ukrainian independence will only come with the country as a member of the European Union and NATO, writes Victor Pinchuk.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2023

Child abductions reveal the genocidal intent behind Putin’s Ukraine invasion

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin hoped his Ukraine invasion would secure his place among Russia’s greatest rulers. Instead, he looks destined to enter history as a genocidal dictator forever linked with the mass abduction of Ukrainian children, writes Peter Dickinson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2023

Russia’s Black Sea blockade is part of Putin’s war on international law

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

By preventing the free passage of merchant shipping in the Black Sea, Russia deprives world markets of vital Ukrainian agricultural produce while also challenging the core principles of international maritime law.


Africa


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

Jan 11, 2019

Two More Ways to Make Ukraine Independent

By Olga Bielkova

Ukraine’s Orthodox Church just broke with Moscow, and it’s time for us to move farther away from Russia in the energy sector as well. Even though it is an election year, Kyiv must deliver on the country’s two strategic priorities: increasing gas production in Ukraine and jointly operating Ukraine’s transmission system. After all, energy independence […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 10, 2019

Why a Comedian’s Bid for Ukraine’s Presidency Is No Laughing Matter

By Andreas Umland

Most experts have reacted negatively to the announcement that Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy will stand in the presidential election in spring 2019. Indeed, Zelenskiy’s candidacy is problematic for at least three reasons. Still, for all the skepticism, Zelenskiy’s participation in the race may also have a bright side.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 9, 2019

Ukraine’s 2019 elections may be completely unpredictable but five things are certain

By Brian Mefford

2019 is election year in Ukraine. Ukrainians will select a new president this spring and a new parliament in the fall. Even though the outcome of the presidential race is unpredictable, there are five things about this political cycle that are not. First, no openly pro-Russian candidate can win and this is a major change […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2019

Dispatch from the road: Ukraine’s most impressive civil society project is where?

By Melinda Haring

One could be forgiven for mistaking thirty-six-year-old Yuriy Fylyuk as just another of the bearded foodie entrepreneurs who dominate Ukraine’s culinary scene. But the soft spoken Fylyuk is far more.  

Civil Society Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2019

Even Out of Government, Former Finance Minister Danyliuk Has Big Plans for Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

It was June 5 and Ukraine’s ebullient and energetic finance minister was under tremendous strain. The Economist had just reported that forty-three-year-old Oleksandr Danyliuk was about to be sacked after speaking out too many times about corruption at the highest levels. He’d made too many enemies, including the president and prime minister.   But Danyliuk is […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2019

How Ukraine’s Next President Can Turn the Country Around

By Anders Åslund

On March 31, Ukraine will hold the first round of its presidential election. This is a tremendous opportunity to restart Ukraine’s reforms. The election debate needs to focus on the most important issue, namely the enforcement of property rights. Five years after the Revolution of Dignity and Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s situation remains precarious. The rule […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 6, 2019

Ukraine’s new Orthodox Church free from Moscow but fight isn’t over

By John E. Herbst

Even with limitations, the tomos is a very good thing for Ukraine and a victory for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who has worked hard, along with Patriarch Filaret of the now-defunct Kyiv Patriarchate.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 6, 2019

How Putin lost Ukraine for good

By Taras Kuzio

Ukraine’s independence from Russia is Kyiv’s ultimate answer to Putin’s unprovoked imperialism and military aggression.

Civil Society Nationalism

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2019

Cheap ways to make Putin pay in Ukraine

By John E. Herbst

Six weeks ago, Russia attacked Ukraine in the Straits of Kerch and it made international news. US President Donald Trump canceled a high-level meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in response. Other governments denounced the Kremlin’s actions. Then the news faded. Right now, the weak Western response means that Putin has gained a tactical advantage, […]

Conflict Elections

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2019

Putin’s Grand Energy Strategy Is More Ambitious than You Think

By Stephen Blank

Energy politics are critical in Russia’s long war on the West and Ukraine. Indeed, energy functions as a Swiss army knife for Moscow, cutting simultaneously in several directions. Energy provides the basis for the revenue stream that enables all government operations, comprises a ready source of constant corruption of European elites and institutions, and furnishes […]

Hungary Russia