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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 19, 2023

Putin the Pariah: War crimes arrest warrant deepens Russia’s isolation

By
Anders Åslund

The ICC decision to indict Putin for war crimes is a highly consequential step that will deepen Russia’s international isolation while weakening Putin’s personal position both at home and abroad, writes Anders Åslund.


Conflict


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2023

ICC arrest warrant for Putin is a step toward ending Russian impunity

By
Danielle Johnson

The International Criminal Court decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin over his alleged role in the deportation of Ukrainian children has sparked a lively debate. Is the move truly historic or merely symbolic?


Conflict


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Mar 16, 2023

Poland defies Putin with landmark decision to give Ukraine fighter jets

By
Peter Dickinson

Poland is set to become the first Western nation to supply Ukraine with fighter jets, Polish President Andrzej Duda has confirmed. Duda said Ukraine would receive four Polish Soviet-era MiG-29 jets “in the next few days.”


Conflict


Missile Defense


UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2023

Taiwan supports Ukraine and studies country’s response to Russian invasion

By
Kira Rudik

Taiwan has emerged over the past year as one of Ukraine's strongest supporters in Asia with many Taiwanese viewing the Ukrainian wartime experience as a model for their own potential confrontation with China.


China


Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Mar 14, 2023

Ukraine must do more to counter Russian narratives in the Global South

By
Mitchell Polman

While Ukraine enjoys overwhelming support from the West, the Global South remains reluctant to oppose or even criticize Russia's ongoing invasion. Ukraine must do more to influence opinion in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.


Africa


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 14, 2023

Putin failed to freeze Europe but Russia’s energy war will continue

By
Aura Sabadus

Vladimir Putin's plan to freeze Europe into submission during the winter season failed but there is no room for complacency as Russia still sees gas and oil exports as key weapons in its campaign to isolate and destroy Ukraine.


China


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2023

Will morale prove the decisive factor in the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin is preparing for a long war in Ukraine and still believes he can outlast the West, but mounting signs of demoralization among mobilized Russian soldiers may pose a serious threat to the success of his invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2023

Calls to appease Putin in Ukraine ignore the lessons of history

By
Arman Mahmoudian

While the desire for peace in Ukraine is perfectly understandable, mounting calls to appease Putin by handing him a partial victory ignore the lessons of history and would almost certainly lead to more war.


Belarus


Central Asia


UkraineAlert

Mar 8, 2023

Ukrainians will never surrender. How long can they count on the West?

By
Serhiy Prytula

Ukraine's remarkable resistance during the first days of the Russian invasion convinced the democratic world to back the country but with Putin now preparing for a long war, continued Western resolve is vital writes Serhiy Prytula.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 6, 2023

How Putin’s fear of democracy convinced him to invade Ukraine

By
Michael John Williams

Putin's decision to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was rooted in his longstanding fear that the emergence of a democratic Ukraine could serve as a catalyst for the collapse of his own autocratic regime.


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

Jun 29, 2018

Forget Defense Spending Debates. Here’s What NATO Summit Should Focus On

By Stephen Blank

From the standpoint of defense spending, Russia’s navy might be thought of as the neglected stepchild of the Russian military. But that conclusion would be wrong. That’s especially true if one considers its recent deployments and activities; in the past year, Russia has actively and strategically utilized its navy to send clear signals to its […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 28, 2018

Is Putin Planning a Post-World Cup Surprise?

By James Brooke

A Russia-Ukraine water war may emerge after the World Cup final on July 15. Just as President Vladimir Putin made his move to invade Crimea immediately after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, he could decide that it is once again time for decisive action after the Russia-hosted World Cup wraps up. Currently, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 28, 2018

Ukraine Sacks Finance Minister. Will the New One Be Any Good?

By Oksana Bedratenko

Ukraine’s Finance Ministry doesn’t get enough credit. For four years it has been key to avoiding the worst of the economic downturn and attaining macroeconomic stability as the country continues to respond to Russian aggression. The Finance Ministry is in the spotlight again.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2018

What Ukraine Needs Now

By Diane Francis

A prominent Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gnap just threw his hat in the ring as a presidential candidate, and threw a spanner in the best laid plans of the country’s corrupt politicians and oligarchs. He has been an activist and a victim of the country’s corruption and is running because he’s fed up. He has exposed […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2018

Finally Some Good News from Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

It’s been six months since I’ve seen Ukraine’s most energetic minister, Dr. Ulana Suprun, and she’s been busy. Her comprehensive efforts to overhaul Ukraine’s dysfunctional health system are going well, she assures me. It’s the first time I’ve heard this statement about any reform anywhere in Kyiv.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2018

What Ukraine’s Anticorruption Warriors Forget, And Why It May Weaken the State

By Adrian Karatnycky and Alexander J. Motyl

Daria Kaleniuk’s rejoinder to our Foreign Affairs article, “How Western Anticorruption Policy Is Failing Ukraine,” misses our main point. We asserted that Western anticorruption policy was failing because it had been improperly sequenced, especially with regard to judicial reform. Kaleniuk indirectly admits this by pointing to the urgent need to create an anticorruption court three years […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2018

Democracy Is Under Major Attack in Moldova. Is Anyone Paying Attention?

By Dumitru Alaiba

Last week a court in Moldova’s capital of Chișinău annulled the popular vote in local elections, which were won by pro-European opposition leader Andrei Năstase. The formal grounds for canceling the results are absurd; on election day the candidate urged people to vote on social media. This is no reason to block an elected official […]

Moldova

UkraineAlert

Jun 25, 2018

Q&A: What’s Behind Moldova’s Massive Protests?

By Melinda Haring

Protesters are taking to the streets of Moldova’s capital of Chisinau again. On June 3, Andrei Nastase was elected mayor of Chisinau with 52.5% of the vote. Nastase, a pro-European prosecutor and anti-corruption activist, defeated Socialist Ion Ceban who favors closer ties to Moscow. On June 19, a Chisinau court struck down the election results, […]

Moldova Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 25, 2018

Hunger Strike Points to Missed PR Opportunity for Putin Regime

By Diane Francis

The World Cup in Russia is a Potemkin football extravaganza or a fancy façade designed to depict the country as advanced and civilized. In reality, it’s neither. Facts are that in recent international sporting events Russia’s athletes have been caught doping on a massive scale, or, alternatively, Putin has used festivities to camouflage the invasion […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 21, 2018

There’s More to Ukraine than Krieg, Krise, and Krim (War, Crisis, Crimea): How Germans See the Country

By Andreas Umland

Both Germany and Ukraine have special significance for the European project. Germany is Western Europe’s economically and demographically most significant country, while Ukraine is Eastern Europe’s largest and a geopolitical pivot point. The historical links between Ukrainians and Germans run deep. And yet little attention has been paid to the nature of the relationship between […]

Germany Ukraine