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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

Mar 19, 2023

Putin the Pariah: War crimes arrest warrant deepens Russia’s isolation

By
Anders Åslund

The ICC decision to indict Putin for war crimes is a highly consequential step that will deepen Russia’s international isolation while weakening Putin’s personal position both at home and abroad, writes Anders Åslund.


Conflict


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2023

ICC arrest warrant for Putin is a step toward ending Russian impunity

By
Danielle Johnson

The International Criminal Court decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin over his alleged role in the deportation of Ukrainian children has sparked a lively debate. Is the move truly historic or merely symbolic?


Conflict


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Mar 16, 2023

Poland defies Putin with landmark decision to give Ukraine fighter jets

By
Peter Dickinson

Poland is set to become the first Western nation to supply Ukraine with fighter jets, Polish President Andrzej Duda has confirmed. Duda said Ukraine would receive four Polish Soviet-era MiG-29 jets “in the next few days.”


Conflict


Missile Defense


UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2023

Taiwan supports Ukraine and studies country’s response to Russian invasion

By
Kira Rudik

Taiwan has emerged over the past year as one of Ukraine's strongest supporters in Asia with many Taiwanese viewing the Ukrainian wartime experience as a model for their own potential confrontation with China.


China


Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Mar 14, 2023

Ukraine must do more to counter Russian narratives in the Global South

By
Mitchell Polman

While Ukraine enjoys overwhelming support from the West, the Global South remains reluctant to oppose or even criticize Russia's ongoing invasion. Ukraine must do more to influence opinion in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.


Africa


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 14, 2023

Putin failed to freeze Europe but Russia’s energy war will continue

By
Aura Sabadus

Vladimir Putin's plan to freeze Europe into submission during the winter season failed but there is no room for complacency as Russia still sees gas and oil exports as key weapons in its campaign to isolate and destroy Ukraine.


China


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2023

Will morale prove the decisive factor in the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin is preparing for a long war in Ukraine and still believes he can outlast the West, but mounting signs of demoralization among mobilized Russian soldiers may pose a serious threat to the success of his invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2023

Calls to appease Putin in Ukraine ignore the lessons of history

By
Arman Mahmoudian

While the desire for peace in Ukraine is perfectly understandable, mounting calls to appease Putin by handing him a partial victory ignore the lessons of history and would almost certainly lead to more war.


Belarus


Central Asia


UkraineAlert

Mar 8, 2023

Ukrainians will never surrender. How long can they count on the West?

By
Serhiy Prytula

Ukraine's remarkable resistance during the first days of the Russian invasion convinced the democratic world to back the country but with Putin now preparing for a long war, continued Western resolve is vital writes Serhiy Prytula.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 6, 2023

How Putin’s fear of democracy convinced him to invade Ukraine

By
Michael John Williams

Putin's decision to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was rooted in his longstanding fear that the emergence of a democratic Ukraine could serve as a catalyst for the collapse of his own autocratic regime.


Civil Society


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.

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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