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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 15, 2021

Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s post-Maidan reform experience

By
Anton Yashchenko

Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s post-Maidan reform experience: the country's Reforms Delivery Office team has shared ten key insights based on the past five years at the heart of the country's ambitious reform agenda.


Civil Society


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Dec 11, 2021

Memo to the international media: Putin has already invaded Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

One depressing aspect of Russia's latest military build-up on the Ukrainian border has been the flurry of headlines posing the same question: will Putin invade Ukraine? In reality, Russia has already invaded Ukraine and the war is now in its eighth year.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2021

Biden and Putin hold virtual Ukraine summit amid Russian invasion fears

By
Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke via video link on December 7 to address growing concerns over a major Russian military build-up along the country’s border with Ukraine.


Conflict


NATO


UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2021

Independent Ukraine’s free speech gains are under threat

By
Kira Rudik

Allegations of state pressure on media have left many questioning President Zelenskyy's commitment to maintaining independent Ukraine's hard-fought free speech gains.


Democratic Transitions


Media


UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2021

Biden warns Putin of high costs if Russia launches new Ukraine invasion

By
Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that America and its European allies will impose a range of tough new sanctions if Moscow proceeds with its threatened invasion of Ukraine.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2021

Coal mine methane is key to Ukraine’s climate commitment

By
Conal Campbell

Ukraine joined the Global Methane Pledge at the November 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. The country’s approach towards the coal mining industry will be vital in making good on this pledge.


Climate Change & Climate Action


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Dec 6, 2021

Guerrilla tactics offer Ukraine’s best deterrent against Putin’s invasion force

By
T. X. Hammes

As Ukraine faces the prospect of a possible major escalation in the country's seven-year undeclared war with Russia, Kyiv's best chance of countering the Kremlin invasion force may be via the use of guerrilla tactics.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Dec 4, 2021

How anti-reform messages are replacing pro-Russian rhetoric on Ukrainian TV

By
Oleksandr Yermakov, Olena Halushka

With openly pro-Russian propaganda no longer effective in today's Ukraine, the country's remaining Kremlin supporters are now focusing their efforts on promoting anti-Western narratives in the Ukrainian media.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Dec 3, 2021

Europe’s future will be decided in Ukraine

By
Oleksii Reznikov

The international community must urgently demonstrate its resolve to punish Russia in order to deter a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that would plunge Europe into chaos, warns Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Dec 2, 2021

Russian threat should revive Ukraine’s stalled domestic reform efforts

By
Denis MacShane

The threat of a major escalation in Russian aggression should help revive Ukraine's stalled domestic reform efforts and push the country towards the transformation that Ukrainians have been demanding for decades.


Civil Society


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

Nov 13, 2018

Why Are Ukraine’s Honest Judges Being Blocked from the Supreme Court and Anticorruption Court?

By Oleg Sukhov

After the 2013-2014 Euromaidan Revolution, hopes were high for the introduction of the rule of law in Ukraine. But five years later the demand for justice is still unfulfilled. Judges implicated in corruption and political cases have tended to be promoted, and those few known for their integrity and independence have been demoted and fired. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2018

What a Little Girl and an Aging Pop Star Can Teach Us about Russian Propaganda

By Iuliia Mendel

Eight-year-old Nina never wanted to be a star on Russian state television. Nevertheless, the Kyiv native was the subject of a one-hour discussion on Russia’s First Channel, a popular national show. The topic was hot: a Ukrainian family wanted their daughter to be taught music in Ukrainian.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 12, 2018

A Counterintuitive Way Ukraine Can Impress the EU and Solve Its Own Migration Problem

By Andrej Novak and Andreas Umland

Ukrainians were granted the most residence permits of any non-EU nationals in the EU last year. Approximately 662,000 Ukrainians received such permission in 2017 alone. Ukrainians are now integrating into Europe at an annual number roughly equal to the population of Montenegro, an official EU accession candidate and new NATO member. For hundreds of thousands […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2018

Three Things Ukraine Must Do Now If It Wants Clean Elections Next Year

By Brian Mefford

The parliament renewed Ukraine’s highest election body, the Central Election Commission, ahead of the crucial 2019 general elections.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2018

Russia’s Dangerous New Front in Ukraine

By Vera Zimmerman

In response to Russia’s aggressive actions in the Sea of Azov, Ukraine has gone on high alert to boost its coastal defense positions and build up its naval presence. Since April 2018, under the pretext of protecting its illegally constructed Kerch Bridge and fighting what it calls Ukraine’s “state piracy,” Russia has been brazenly conducting […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2018

Q&A: Is This What It Looks Like to Be an Activist in Ukraine Today?

By Melinda Haring

On November 4, 33-year-old anticorruption activist Kateryna Handzyuk died from injuries caused by an acid attack. Handzyuk had been attacked three months earlier outside of her home in Kherson, Ukraine, and had undergone eleven surgeries to recover from the burns. Since 2017, at least 55 activists, journalists, and one opposition politician have been attacked. UkraineAlert […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2018

Ukraine’s Language Bill Misses the Point

By Josh Cohen

Media outlets everywhere face challenges ranging from shrinking advertising budgets to getting consumers to pay for content. In Ukraine, however, they may soon face a different kind of challenge. A draft law currently being considered by Ukraine’s parliament would require all media published in other languages to produce an identical Ukrainian version both online and […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2018

Russia Shows its Military Might in the Black Sea and Beyond

By Ruslan Minich

Since illegally annexing Crimea in 2014, Russia has drastically increased its military presence in the Black Sea region. The Kremlin’s dominance may be temporary given NATO’s greater capacities, but so far, NATO’s response has been limited. “Russia has practically covered all of the Black Sea region,” says Hryhorii Perepelytsia, the head of the Kyiv-based Foreign […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2018

Why Is the Sea of Azov So Important?

By Stephen Blank

Having illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, Moscow lost no time in seizing Ukrainian energy assets in and around the region. The Kremlin is now conducting another experiment in economic and military operations, but this one has profound implications beyond Ukraine. Before the seizure of Crimea, both Ukraine and Russia agreed to regard the Sea of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2018

Making Sense of Russia’s New Draconian Sanctions on Ukraine

By Anders Åslund

On November 1, the Russian government imposed severe economic sanctions on 322 Ukrainian individuals and 68 Ukrainian companies. These are the most extensive sanctions imposed by any country in the tit-for-tat confrontation between Russia and Western countries over Ukraine. Curiously, these sanctions are explicitly only economic, declaring that any assets on the territory of the […]

Russia Ukraine