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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

Jun 17, 2022

Why fear of provoking Putin is the most provocative policy of all

By Alyona Getmanchuk

It is now abundantly clear that cautious policies toward Russia driven by a misguided fear of provoking Putin have in fact provoked Europe’s biggest war since the days of Hitler and Stalin, argues Alyona Getmanchuk.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion is the world’s first full-scale cyberwar

By Yurii Shchyhol

The current Russo-Ukrainian War is a major milestone in our developing understanding of cyber security. It is now clear that the invasion unleashed by Vladimir Putin on February 24 is the world’s first full-scale cyberwar.

Conflict Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Jun 14, 2022

The future of global security will be decided in Ukraine

By Oleksii Reznikov

Western leaders must use the forthcoming NATO Summit in Madrid to regain the initiative from Putin's Russia and define Ukraine's role in the future of European security, writes Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s dark journey from economic reformer to war criminal

By Anders Åslund

Vladimir Putin's recent boasts of waging war in Ukraine to "reclaim" historic Russian land mark a new low in his journey from would-be economic reformer to unapologetic authoritarian and enthusiastic imperialist.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2022

Russia accused of deliberately targeting Ukraine’s medical facilities

By Pete Shmigel

Russia has been accused of deliberately targeting Ukrainian hospitals and healthcare facilities as part of a campaign to destroy the country's basic medical infrastructure and force millions to flee their homes.

Conflict Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2022

Ukraine’s female soldiers reflect country’s strong feminist tradition

By Iryna Slavinska

The prominent role being played by Ukrainian women in the current war effort reflects longstanding traditions of feminism and notions of gender equality that have deep roots in Ukrainian society.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2022

Putin admits Ukraine invasion is an imperial war to “return” Russian land

By Peter Dickinson

By abandoning all pretense and comparing himself to Peter the Great, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has confirmed that he is waging an old-fashioned imperial war of conquest with the goal of annexing Ukrainian land.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 7, 2022

Only total defeat in Ukraine can cure Russia of its imperialism

By Dennis Soltys

Despite collapsing in 1917 and 1991, today's Russia remains an unapologetically imperialistic power. Unless Putin's invasion of Ukraine ends in unambiguous defeat, we will soon witness a new round on imperial aggression.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2022

More than three-quarters of Russians still support Putin’s Ukraine War

By Peter Dickinson

The latest polling data from Russia indicates that public support for the invasion of Ukraine remains strong despite higher than expected Russian casualties and widespread accusations of war crimes.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2022

Russia has not abandoned its goal of crushing Ukrainian statehood

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine has achieved a number of striking successes during the first phase of the Russian invasion but there is no room for complacency as Vladimir Putin's goal of crushing Ukrainian statehood remains unchanged.

Central Europe Conflict

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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

UkraineAlert

Jan 2, 2019

Ukraine’s Top Comedian Is Running for President. And No, This Isn’t a Bad Joke

By Mykola Vorobiov

On New Year’s Eve, Ukraine’s top comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that he will run for president.   The timing of the announcement was curious: Zelenskiy’s short spot aired before President Petro Poroshenko’s annual address on the second most popular TV channel “1+1,” which belongs to Ihor Kolomoisky. The order caused many to speculate that the Ukrainian oligarch Kolomoisky […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2018

Why No One Is Right about Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Reforms

By John Lough and Vladimir Dubrovskiy

The experience of the past four years shows that in Ukraine, it is far easier and more effective to shrink the space for corrupt practices than to deter corruption by punishing guilty individuals. To this extent, Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms have been working.

Ukraine