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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

Dec 6, 2022

Russia must stop being an empire if it wishes to prosper as a nation

By
Taras Kuzio

Post-Soviet Russia never shed the imperial identity inherited from the Soviet and Czarist past but Putin's disastrous invasion of Ukraine could now set the stage for the emergence of a post-imperial Russian identity.


Central Asia


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Dec 5, 2022

Russia’s Ukraine invasion is fueling an energy crisis in neighboring Moldova

By
Alexander St. Leger

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is helping to fuel an energy crisis in neighboring Moldova where an over-reliance on Kremlin energy imports has long served to make the country vulnerable to Russian political pressure.


Conflict


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Dec 1, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s Ukrainian Genocide: Nobody can claim they did not know

By
Peter Dickinson

The overwhelming evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine together with the openly genocidal intent on display in Moscow mean nobody claim they did not know about Putin's Ukrainian Genocide, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2022

As Putin retreats in Ukraine, he is also losing Kazakhstan

By
Kamila Auyezova

Putin's rapidly unraveling invasion of Ukraine is eroding Russian influence throughout the former Soviet Empire. This process of imperial retreat is nowhere more visible than in Kazakhstan, writes Kamila Auyezova.


Central Asia


China


UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2022

Fueling Ukraine’s fight back against Russia’s blackout blitz

By
Oleksiy Chernyshov

Russia's bombing campaign of civilian infrastructure means Ukraine faces the toughest winter season in the country's 31-year independent history, writes newly appointed Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2022

Former moderate Dmitry Medvedev becomes Putin’s pro-war cheerleader

By
Alexander Motyl, Dennis Soltys

Once seen in the West as a source of hope for better ties with Russia, former president Dmitry Medvedev has emerged since February 2022 as a pro-war cheerleader who regularly demonizes Ukraine on social media.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 25, 2022

The West must urgently overcome its fear of provoking Putin

By
Daniel Bilak

Western leaders insist they will stand with Ukraine until Russia's invasion is defeated but fear of provoking Putin continues to constrain the democratic world's response to a war that has already cost tens of thousands of lives.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Nov 23, 2022

Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis: Putin is no Khrushchev

By
Harlan Ullman

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis may offer some useful insights as Western leaders seek the right response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent nuclear saber-rattling over Ukraine, writes Harlan Ullman.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2022

Putin’s peace ploy is a ruse to rearm

By
Dennis Soltys

Russia is currently calling for a return to the negotiating table but Ukrainian leaders are convinced Vladimir Putin is merely seeking to buy time in order to regroup and rearm before the next phase of his invasion.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2022

Ukraine must be allowed to strike back against targets inside Russia

By
Ira Straus

In order to defeat Putin and end the war, Ukraine must be allowed to strike back inside Russia. At present, this is not possible due to restrictions imposed by Ukraine's overly cautious international allies, writes Ira Straus.


Arms Control


Conflict

spotlight

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

Sep 29, 2018

Why Pro-Russian Forces in Ukraine Have Got a Tiny Shot at Victory

By Taras Kuzio

There will be no pro-Russian revenge in Ukraine next year. The Russians will undoubtedly interfere, and we should watch and expose their shenanigans, but the threat of a pro-Russian party coming to power in Ukraine is miniscule for two factors. First, opinion polls show large majorities against the election rhetoric of the Opposition Bloc, which […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 28, 2018

Ukraine Is Finally Ready to Memorialize its Holocaust Past

By Josh Cohen

When it comes to the history of the Holocaust, an accurate memory can be a dangerous thing. That’s doubly true in Ukraine. While many associate the Holocaust with German concentration camps like Auschwitz, in Ukraine the killing was more personalized, with 1.5 million Jews being shot en masse and dumped in graves across the country. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 27, 2018

Why Are Ukraine’s Authorities Trying to Intimidate a Top Investigative Journalist?

By Melinda Haring

This month, the European Court of Human Rights prevented Ukraine from backsliding in a major way. On September 18, it ordered the Ukrainian government to halt its efforts to access data from the cell phone of investigative journalist Natalia Sedletska for a month to give her an opportunity to file a full complaint to the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2018

Ukraine’s Golden Opportunity to Integrate with Europe That Everyone Has Overlooked

By Stephen Blank

Ukraine’s European aspirations are irreversible. A majority of the public supports NATO membership, and EU membership has long enjoyed popular support. However, wishing for integration does not make it happen. In both instances, Ukraine’s passage toward eligibility will be long and arduous. Nevertheless, opportunities are currently opening up for Ukraine to integrate with its European […]

Central Europe Hungary

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2018

Serhiy Taruta: Yet Another Champion of “Painful Compromises”

By Vitalii Rybak

At the end of 2016, Victor Pinchuk—one of Ukraine’s wealthiest oligarchs and sponsor of the recent YES 2018 conference—published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal calling for “painful compromises” to establish peace with Russia. In particular, he urged Ukraine to table its NATO and EU hopes and put the Crimean issue on hold for […]

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2018

US and EU Need to Take on Crimea Sanction Sneaks

By Maria Shagina

Despite a comprehensive sanctions regime established by Western governments barring foreign investment in Crimea, many foreign companies nonetheless maintain operations there. Recent reports reveal that a number of companies such as Visa, MasterCard, Volkswagen, Auchan, Metro Cash & Carry, DHL, and Adidas are still willing to continue business as usual despite the reputational risk. The […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 24, 2018

How Pro-Russian Forces Will Take Revenge on Ukraine

By Mykola Vorobiov

On September 12, the leaders of two key pro-Russian parties made important public statements that should not be overlooked. Sergei Lyovochkin, deputy head of the Opposition Bloc and a former leader in President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration, and Vadym Rabinovich of the For Life political party, both spoke about the “active consolidation” of the two political […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 20, 2018

Will Ukraine’s Presidential Candidates Ever Get Real?

By Melinda Haring

This year’s Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference, known as the Ukrainian Davos, did not disappoint. Held in Kyiv on September 13-15, the meeting featured the obligatory celebrities and A-list dazzle. Bono turned up in purple-tinted glasses. Host Victor Pinchuk unveiled a silver spaceship-like creation by Japanese artist Marico Mori urging everyone to focus on the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 20, 2018

Meet the young talent that will outlast and might outdo Ukraine’s old guard

By Marta Sydoryak

Ukrainian Leadership Academy seeks to raise up a generation of talented young people who are already taking responsibility for their country in order to influence Ukraine’s reform process and politics. Its strategy is long-term.  

Ukraine Youth

UkraineAlert

Sep 18, 2018

The Geopolitical Divorce of the Century: Why Putin Cannot Afford to Let Ukraine Go

By Peter Dickinson

Next month, Europe’s leading budget airline will begin regular flights from Ukraine to a host of EU destinations. This is the latest milestone in a Ukrainian aviation boom that is seeing additional routes announced on a weekly basis and record passenger numbers at airports across the country. Each new flight serves to broaden Ukrainian horizons […]

Russia Ukraine