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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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2018

Georgia, Where Everything Old Is Maybe New Again?

By Luis Navarro

On October 28, Georgians went to the polls to elect their fifth president, possibly for the last time. Neither candidate, both former foreign ministers, won outright. An unprecedented run-off is slated for December 2.    The United National Movement (UNM) presidential candidate Grigol Vashadze achieved an unexpectedly strong showing (37.7 percent) against the ruling Georgian […]

Russia The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2018

10 Names Russia Hopes You’ll Never Know

By Vitalii Rybak

Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Moscow and its proxies have put dozens of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar political prisoners behind bars. However, there are many other people in Russian prisons who have been incarcerated for their unwillingness to bow down to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime. The fabrication of these cases has been refined […]

Russia Ukraine

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