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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 21, 2022

Fear of provoking Putin is leading the Western world toward disaster

By Ilya Timtchenko

Western policy toward Russia has long been shaped by fear of provoking Vladimir Putin but this caution has only served to encourage further acts of Russian aggression culminating in the current war in Ukraine.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Mar 20, 2022

Bold Ukrainians defy Putin’s invasion and join European electricity grid

By Aura Sabadus

Despite the existential challenges posed by Russia's full-scale invasion of the country, Ukraine has managed in recent weeks to complete the country's connection to the European electricity grid.

Conflict Energy & Environment

UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2022

Putin drank the Kremlin Kool-Aid

By Taras Kuzio

Russian President Vladimir Putin drank the Kremlin Kool-Aid and seems to have sincerely believed his disastrous Ukraine war would be an imperial triumph with minimal costs on the domestic and international fronts.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2022

Why Russia’s anti-war movement matters

By Dylan Myles-Primakoff

While opinion polls consistently indicate strong Russian public support for Putin's Ukraine War, the country's anti-war movement also matters and may actually be larger than it at first appears.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s war to crush Ukraine is part of a long Kremlin tradition

By Kristina Hook

Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine has stunned the world with its criminal brutality but the Russian invasion is actually very much in line with a long tradition of Kremlin policies aimed at crushing Ukraine.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2022

The EU needs Ukraine

By Paul Grod

The European Union needs to embrace Ukraine's membership aspirations in order to demonstrate its own commitment to European values and its opposition to Vladimir Putin's authoritarian alternative.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Mar 16, 2022

Vladimir Putin has almost no chance of successfully occupying Ukraine

By Ben Connable

Vladimir Putin is throwing Russia's full military might into the invasion of Ukraine but any attempt to occupy large parts of the country is almost certainly doomed to fail.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2022

Vladimir Putin has nothing but bad options in Ukraine

By Doug Klain

After three weeks of military setbacks Putin now faces the choice of escalating his Ukraine war further and risking his own downfall or seeking a face-saving exit from a conflict that has united the world against Russia.

Conflict Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2022

Ukraine’s exodus escalates as millions more prepare to flee Putin’s invasion

By Andrew D’Anieri

As Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine continues to escalate, millions more Ukrainians are expected to flee the country in the coming days to escape Russian war crimes and the horrors of occupation.

Conflict Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2022

Russia’s veto makes a mockery of the United Nations Security Council

By Shelby Magid, Yulia Shalomov

Putin’s Ukraine War has fundamentally transformed the geopolitical landscape. This new reality must be reflected in the way the United Nations Security Council functions. If not now, when?

Conflict International Organizations

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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 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

UkraineAlert

Dec 20, 2018

Why 2019 Will Be Year of Continued Growth for Business in Ukraine

By Andy Hunder

Ukraine is back on the front pages of the world’s top newspapers. Twice in the past three weeks Ukraine featured on the cover photo of the Financial Times. The headlines read: “US Backs Kyiv in Naval Clash with Kremlin” and “Kyiv Splits from Russian Church.” The news headings highlight the U-turn that Ukrainians have made shifting away […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 18, 2018

Best of the Best: Top 10 Articles of 2018

By Melinda Haring

As the year ends, I am invariably swamped with requests for our top 10 list. Without further ado, here are the best performing articles UkraineAlert published in 2018:

UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2018

Ukraine’s an IT Powerhouse. So Why Isn’t It Making More?

By Vitalii Rybak

Ukraine’s information technology sector has been among the country’s fastest growing industries, and IT experts from Ukraine have found international success. Its companies, however, have developed largely in service and outsourcing. IT in Ukraine may outgrow these market segments eventually, but it isn’t there yet.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2018

How to Speak about Ukraine’s Future and Tymoshenko in the West

By Andreas Umland

My recent article “What Would a Tymoshenko Presidency Mean?” caused indignation among numerous experts and journalists in Ukraine and indigestion among some in Washington. Obviously, there are a number of problems with Yulia Tymoshenko and her presidential bid, such as her leftish populist slogans and the financial sources behind her expensive campaign. Yet, the fact […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 13, 2018

Is Russia About to Invade Ukraine?

By Alexander J. Motyl

Vladimir Putin must be kicking himself. Four years ago, he could have invaded and seized most of Ukraine in a few weeks. Believing that Ukrainians were an “artificial” nation led by “fascists,” however, he figured an invasion was unnecessary and the state would collapse on its own. Now, Ukrainians are daily demonstrating their desire to […]

Russia Ukraine