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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 2, 2021

Ukrainian parliament finally moves to end multi-voting

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine scored a small but significant victory in the battle against political corruption on March 2 with the launch of a new voting system in the country’s parliament that should put an end to the practice of MPs voting on behalf of absent colleagues.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Mar 1, 2021

Getting Ukraine’s security service reform right

By Oleksandra Ustinova and Steven Pifer

Ukrainian MPs are currently preparing a long-awaited bill to reform the country's security service. The initiative is encouraging but numerous measures are still required to distance Ukraine from the KGB past.

Democratic Transitions Intelligence

UkraineAlert

Feb 26, 2021

Why Ukraine sanctioned Putin’s ally Medvedchuk

By Andriy Yermak

Ukraine has introduced a number of measures during February 2021 to restrict the influence of Vladimir Putin's closest Ukrainian ally, Viktor Medvedchuk.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2021

Russia’s collective punishment of the Crimean Tatars is a war crime

By Wayne Jordash and Anna Mykytenko

As Ukraine seeks international justice over the Russian seizure and occupation of Crimea, Kyiv should consider holding the Kremlin to account for the collective punishment of the Crimean Tatars.

Conflict Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2021

Biden must freeze Putin’s pipeline and prevent this “bad deal for Europe”

By Benjamin Schmitt

By taking steps to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, US President Joe Biden has a real opportunity to build a new transatlantic security consensus while revitalizing the US-German relationship.

Geopolitics & Energy Security Germany

UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2021

Ukrainians protest “political justice” over activist jailing

By Solomiia Bobrovska

The jailing of a high-profile Ukrainian activist has sparked protests over fears that his conviction represents politicized justice and a victory for pro-Kremlin forces within the Ukrainian establishment.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 23, 2021

Rethinking Yushchenko

By Brian Mefford

Ukraine's third president, Viktor Yushchenko, came to power on a tide of history but left office in humbling circumstances after a single term. Is it now time to reevaluate the transformative effect of his presidency?

Democratic Transitions Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2021

Ukraine’s booming IT sector defies the coronavirus crisis

By Peter Dickinson

While businesses around the world are counting the cost of a year disrupted by the unprecedented challenges of the COVID crisis, Ukraine’s IT sector continues to go from strength to strength.

Coronavirus Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2021

Ukraine can play key role in Europe’s energy Green Deal

By Aura Sabadus

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), World Bank, and EU have all argued that Ukraine could become a world leader in renewable production.

Energy Transitions Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2021

Alexei Navalny is a Russian nationalist but he may still be good news for Ukraine

By Andreas Umland

Many Ukrainians remain skeptical of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny due to his Russian nationalist past, but Navalny's impact on Russian politics may eventually prove beneficial for Ukraine.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

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UkraineAlert

Mar 1, 2019

No good deed goes unpunished in Ukraine

By Olena Halushka and Olena Shcherban

Ukraine is in danger of backsliding, big time, and few people realize just how serious it is. This week, the Constitutional Court eliminated a law which made corrupt officials liable for illicit enrichment. This will immediately result in the closure of sixty-five high-profile criminal cases. The court decision may jeopardize Ukraine’s relations with international institutions. […]

Corruption Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2019

Why Poroshenko doesn’t deserve a second term

By Diane Francis

Ukraine needs a change. The latest scandal, involving allegations of massive profiteering from the war against Russia by well-connected Ukrainians, proves the need for a new leader in the upcoming presidential election. Allegations are that the son of a close business partner of President Petro Poroshenko sold smuggled Russian parts to Ukrainian defense factories at […]

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2019

Q&A: Will scandal sink Poroshenko’s second term chances?

By Melinda Haring

On February 25, investigative journalists accused President Petro Poroshenko’s close associates of getting rich by smuggling spare parts for military equipment from Russia. The Bihus.Info report claims that the son of Oleh Hladkovskiy, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, was the mastermind behind a scheme to buy spare parts from Russia in 2015. […]

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2019

Which Ukrainians will lose most if Zelenskiy becomes president?

By Alexander J. Motyl

It goes without saying that all Ukrainians will be losers if and when a dreadfully inexperienced and politically ignorant comedian takes charge of Ukraine’s ship of state. As the economy goes into a tailspin, corruption flourishes, and Russian President Vladimir Putin bares his teeth, all Ukrainians will be far worse off than they are today. […]

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2019

Ukraine’s athletes shine through national gloom

By Mark Temnycky

Five years after the Euromaidan, most analysis of Ukraine is grim. It tends to focus on the patchy reforms that have been put in place, the country’s endemic corruption, the ongoing war in its east, and the current unpredictable presidential election campaign. Hardly any of the coverage is positive. But that’s not the full picture. […]

Civil Society Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Feb 27, 2019

The Eurovision guide to modern Ukrainian history

By Peter Dickinson

Anyone who feels that Eurovision has become too politicized need look no further than Ukraine for confirmation. Nobody takes the song contest quite as seriously as the Ukrainians, who treat it as an extension of foreign policy complete with furious nationwide debates and heavy-handed government interventions. The latest scandal, which has seen the winner of […]

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 26, 2019

The Audacity of Ulana Suprun

By Yuri Polakiwsky

There was a distinct sense of the theatrical inside and outside Kyiv’s Administrative Court #2 earlier this month as it decided the fate of Dr. Ulana Suprun, Ukraine’s acting minister of health. Leaving the proceedings, one was left with at least two seemingly absurd questions: what was this showdown all about and why was an […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2019

Is the Ukrainian Army Worthy of Greater Investment?

By Dennis Soltys

Last year Washington finally gave Kyiv the javelin missiles it had been begging for. But the javelins are mostly symbolic and won’t change much on the frontlines. For more than six months, Washington has been talking about giving Ukraine additional arms to improve its air and naval defenses. These arms are more likely after Russian […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2019

Let’s Make a Deal, Vladimir

By Johnny Herbst

The ongoing political standoff in Venezuela offers an opportunity for Washington to get something it wants: a democratically elected president in Venezuela and one less vocal Russian ally in its backyard. The Trump Administration recently announced that it plans to leave Syria without any conditions. Russia is involved in both Venezuela and Syria, so if […]

Russia Syria

UkraineAlert

Feb 21, 2019

Ukraine’s Leading Presidential Candidates (Minus Poroshenko) Promise to Fight Corruption

By Olena Haluskha

In Ukraine, demand for a genuine fight against corruption is still extremely high. According to recent surveys, voters name corruption as one of the three biggest problems in Ukraine. Nine out of ten Ukrainians consider grand political corruption the greatest threat to the country, while 80 percent are convinced that the main reason for corruption […]

Ukraine