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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

Jan 13, 2023

Ukraine struggles to repair power grid as Russian airstrikes continue

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Efforts to repair damage to Ukraine's electricity system caused by Russia's strategic bombing campaign are being hampered by a shortage of critical transformers, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.


Conflict


Drones


UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2023

The West reaps multiple benefits from backing Ukraine against Russia

By
Taras Kuzio

Ukraine is often viewed as being heavily reliant on Western support but the relationship is mutually beneficial and provides the West with enhanced security along with valuable intelligence, writes Taras Kuzio.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2023

Post-war Ukraine needs a smart digital transformation strategy

By
Anatoly Motkin

The war with Russia is far from over but it is important to begin looking ahead and setting the stage for Ukraine's post-war digital transformation, writes StrategEast Center president Anatoly Motkin.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 10, 2023

Putin’s faltering Ukraine invasion exposes limits of Russian propaganda

By
Victor Tregubov

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was supposed to be a short and victorious war. Instead, it has transformed him into a pariah and shattered Russia’s reputation as a military superpower. How could he have got it so wrong?


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2023

Ukraine’s nation-building progress spells doom for Putin’s Russian Empire

By
Dennis Soltys

Many observers seek to blame Putin's Ukraine invasion on his imperial ambitions or Kremlin fears over NATO expansion, but in reality the war is a desperate Russian response to Ukraine's historic nation-building progress.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2023

Rebuilding Ukraine the right way

By
Stephen Blank

Ukraine's post-war reconstruction will be one of the largest international undertakings of the twenty-first century. The Ukrainian authorities must begin laying the foundations for future success before Putin is defeated.


Conflict


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2023

Ukraine’s growing veteran community will shape the country’s future

By
Aleksander Cwalina, Benton Coblentz

Ukraine's rapidly expanding veteran community can make a major contribution to the country's post-war future but will require a range of support measures in order to reintegrate into civilian life successfully.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 3, 2023

Putin is preparing for a long war

By
Alexander Motyl

Vladimir Putin used his traditional New Year address on December 31 to mobilize the Russian public for a long war in Ukraine while warning that the West is intent on "destroying Russia," writes Alexander Motyl.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jan 2, 2023

Digitalization and transparency are vital for Ukraine’s reconstruction

By
Oleksandra Azarkhina

Ukraine's reconstruction will depend on digitalization and the recruitment of motivated personnel from the military, writes Deputy Minister for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development Oleksandra Azarkhina.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Dec 26, 2022

Eight reasons for Ukrainian optimism in 2023

By
Brian Mefford

Ukrainians have experienced an incredibly traumatic year but the country enters 2023 with reason for cautious optimism that Vladimir Putin's criminal invasion can be decisively defeated, writes Brian Mefford.


European Union


NATO

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Content

UkraineAlert

Oct 9, 2018

Vakarchuk Says Ukraine Needs New Leaders, But Will He Be One?

By Melinda Haring

For months now, political junkies and ordinary Ukrainians have debated whether their beloved rock star Slava Vakarchuk will run for president in 2019. He’s got massive name recognition throughout the country. Even more, he’s one of the only reform-minded candidates who might be able to unify Ukraine’s fractious opposition. Last week I caught up with […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 8, 2018

Ukraine’s Anticorruption Fight Hits a Brick Wall, and the Wall Has a Name

By Olena Halushka

On September 11, Oleksandr Avakov turned thirty and received the best birthday present ever: the corruption charges hanging over his head were dropped permanently. Oleksandr, who is the son of Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov—was suspected by NABU of cooking up a scheme to rip off the state to the tune of more than $520,000 […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 4, 2018

Back to the Bad Old Days in Kyiv

By Josh Cohen

Today as reform politician Sergiy Gusovsky finished speaking at a rally on the steps of the Kyiv City Council, a crowd hurled green antiseptic at his eyes and tried to assault him. He is suffering from chemical burns in both eyes. As horrible as the attack on Gusovsky was, it represents just the tip of the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 4, 2018

Think Before You Invest in Ukraine

By Mohammad Zahoor

Ukraine is striving to attract foreign direct investment. Numerous roadshows showcasing the attractiveness of investments in Ukraine are being organized in different countries and pushed on the pages of some of the finest newspapers and magazines. On October 8, there will be a full Ukrainian Week in London, where the country’s leadership will attempt to […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2018

Does Poroshenko Have a Chance at a Second Term?

By Volodymyr Yermolenko

Purple posters with three words, “Army, language, faith” line the road to the airport in Kyiv, Ukraine. In smaller letters, they proclaim, “We are going our own way,” which means away from Russia. These posters are incumbent President Petro Poroshenko’s new campaign slogan, and they differ from his previous rhetoric in 2014.   Poroshenko’s language […]

Ukraine

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 […]