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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

Sep 28, 2021

American author’s timely love letter to Odesa

By
Anthony Bartaway

American author Vladislav Davidzon's new book "From Odessa With Love" takes readers on an entertaining and enlightening tour of Ukraine's famously colorful and cosmopolitan Black Sea port city.


Resilience & Society


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2021

How village cheese is bringing Ukraine closer to Europe

By
Dmytro Tuzhanskyi

A village cheese-making initiative in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast is bringing a taste of Western Europe to the Ukrainian countryside and highlighting the possibilities of agricultural entrepreneurship.


Economy & Business


Resilience & Society


UkraineAlert

Sep 23, 2021

Zelenskyy slams UN inaction over Putin’s Ukraine war

By
Peter Dickinson

In a strongly worded address at the UN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that failure to confront Russian aggression in Ukraine will have grave consequences for international security.


Conflict


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Sep 21, 2021

Rigged vote highlights growing gulf between Putin’s Russia and democratic Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Russia's deeply flawed recent parliamentary election was a reminder of the growing gulf between the increasingly authoritarian country and the fledgling democratic political culture taking root in neighboring Ukraine.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 20, 2021

Ukraine’s infrastructure upgrade set to continue

By
Peter Byrne

President Zelenskyy's Big Construction program, which aims to transform Ukraine's transport infrastructure through massive road construction works, is set to receive major funding in Ukraine's 2022 state budget.


Economy & Business


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 20, 2021

Why we must not recognize Russia’s fraudulent election

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

Russia's parliamentary elections failed to meet even the most basic democratic standards and served to illustrate the country's slide into dictatorship under Vladimir Putin, says Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko


Corruption


Elections


UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2021

Reloading Ukraine’s corporate governance reforms

By
Iaroslav Zhelezniak, Andriy Boytsun, Oleksandr Lysenko

Ukraine's corporate governance reforms have come under scrutiny this year following controversial developments at Naftogaz. Can new legislation get this important reform initiative back on track?


Economy & Business


Fiscal and Structural Reform


UkraineAlert

Sep 16, 2021

Why Ukraine’s Olympic bid could be a very smart move

By
Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy has set his sights on bringing the Winter Olympics to Ukraine. For a country seeking to emerge from international obscurity, hosting the Olympics offers a range of exciting opportunities.


Resilience & Society


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 16, 2021

America must lead the international response to Russia’s human rights crisis

By
Dave Elseroad

US President Joe Biden took an important step in Geneva towards supporting Russian human rights defenders. America must now follow this up with concrete action to punish Moscow's abuses.


Human Rights


Russia


UkraineAlert

Sep 15, 2021

Vladimir Putin accused of weaponizing Russian gas

By
Diane Francis

With construction work on Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline now complete, critics say Moscow is weaponizing gas deliveries to Europe in a bid to speed up the lengthy certification process.


European Union


Geopolitics & Energy Security

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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

May 24, 2018

Poroshenko’s Game to Avoid Anti-Corruption Court Continues

By Josh Cohen

Anyone who claims Ukraine’s reforms have failed ignores the type of cases the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has been able to pursue. NABU represents Ukraine’s first government agency truly devoted to ending the impunity of corrupt, high-level officials. NABU continues to investigate and arrest senior officials previously considered untouchable. NABU faces one huge […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2018

Q&A: Why Are Things Heating Up in Ukraine Again?

By Melinda Haring

Violence is on the rise in eastern Ukraine again. There have been a number of civilian casualties and a massive number of ceasefire violations. Some have said that last week was the worst of all the fighting in 2018. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s army took control over the Donbas operation in April and the talks between US […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2018

Remembering Roman Kupchinsky on Memorial Day

By Melinda Haring

Of all the stories that I’ve written about Ukraine, none has provoked and continues to provoke choruses of thank yous than this piece I wrote three years ago about the life and legacy of Roman Kupchinsky. Each time I go to Kyiv, I meet another young journalist who Roman quietly mentored. On Monday, as the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 22, 2018

Five Steps Ukraine Should Take Now to Free Their Hostages in Russia

By Josh Cohen

Perhaps no one in Kyiv faces a more difficult task than First Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Herashchenko. Herashchenko is Ukraine’s lead negotiator tasked with freeing Ukrainians held captive in the Donbas. The Ukrainian government and Russia’s separatist proxies in eastern Ukraine exchanged nearly 400 prisoners in late 2017—a notable achievement for which Herashchenko […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2018

Former Defense Minister Hrytsenko Is Finally Having His Moment in the Sun

By Vitalii Rybak

Anatoliy Hrytsenko, Ukraine’s defense minister from 2005 to 2007, is finally having his moment in the sun. The latest poll shows that 12.7 percent of Ukrainians who have made up their minds would vote for Hrytsenko in the first round of the 2019 presidential election. This is progress compared to his previous results. The 2019 […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 17, 2018

Ukraine’s New Populists: Who They Are and Why They’re Dangerous

By Volodymyr Yermolenko

Populists are flourishing almost everywhere. The demand for simple solutions in a complicated world makes their messages resonate. Ukraine is no exception. The country’s situation with numerous security and economic hardships provides fertile ground for populists. Over the last four years, Ukraine has embraced a number of painful structural reforms that have been partially successful. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 17, 2018

How to Make Sense of Japan’s Delicate Balance Between Russia and Ukraine

By Maria Shagina

Showing solidarity with other G7 countries following Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, Japan imposed sanctions on Russia—albeit reluctantly. The Ukraine crisis occurred amid Japan’s efforts to reinvigorate Japan-Russia relations in the hope of solving the long-standing territorial dispute over the Northern territories (the Kuril Islands in Russian). Subsequently, maintaining Japan’s balance between other G7 countries […]

China Japan

UkraineAlert

May 16, 2018

Do Ukraine’s Reformers Have a Real Shot at the Presidency?

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine’s opposition is a mess—but this is hardly news. Through Ukraine’s nearly three decades of independence, its opposition has never gotten its act together. Consequently, the same corrupt elite continues to govern the country of 45 million to its detriment. Ukraine managed to squander the gains of its street revolution in 2004, and as the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2018

What Does Ukraine’s New Military Approach Toward the Donbas Mean?

By Vera Zimmerman

Ukraine wants to reframe its approach to resolving the ongoing conflict with Russia. Beginning last month, the military is now in charge of ground operations. The launch of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) replaced the four-year Anti-Terrorism Operation (ATO) and marks Ukraine’s shift to a more active defense. President Petro Poroshenko thinks that the new […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2018

The Only Way to Improve Ukraine’s Courts

By Mykhailo Zhernakov

No state can function without justice, and Ukraine is no exception.  For years, corruption and the absence of justice, together with Russian military aggression, have held back the country. After four years of struggle and numerous pieces of legislation, there has been little progress. Ukraine started out with a good idea: reformers wanted to create […]

Ukraine