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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

Apr 8, 2020

Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine is a ticking coronavirus time bomb

By
Mark Temnycky

With poor medical facilities, limited quarantine measures, and a large pension-age population, Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine has the potential to become a major coronavirus hotspot.


Coronavirus


Russia


UkraineAlert

Apr 8, 2020

Ukraine lacks leadership as coronavirus crisis escalates

By
Volodymyr Dubovyk

Ukraine is ill-prepared for a major coronavirus outbreak but the country has wasted precious weeks engaging in political drama as the scale of the pandemic threat become increasingly apparent.


Coronavirus


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2020

Коронавірусна криза відкриває можливість закінчити війну в Україні

By
Уільям Б. Тейлор, Стівен Пайфер & Джон Хербст

Цю статтю було вперше опубліковано на NPR Усі три автори є колишніми послами США в Україні. Уільям Б. Тейлор є віце-президентом з питань стратегічної стабільності та безпеки в Американському інституті миру (United States Institute of Peace). Стівен Пайфер є старшим науковим співробітником програми ім. Уільяма Перрі в Стенфордському університеті. Джон Хербст є директором Євразійського центру […]


Conflict


Coronavirus


UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2020

Коронавирусный кризис открывает возможность закончить войну в Украине

By
Уильям Б. Тейлор, Стивен Пайфер & Джон Хербст

Эта статья впервые была опубликована на NPR Все три автора — бывшие послы США в Украине. Уильям Б. Тейлор — вице-президент по вопросам стратегической стабильности и безопасности в Американском институте мира (United States Institute of Peace). Стивен Пайфер — старший научный сотрудник программы им. Уильяма Перри в Стэнфордском университете. Джон Хербст — директор Евразийского центра “Атлантического совета”. На фоне […]


Conflict


Coronavirus


UkraineAlert

Apr 4, 2020

Ukraine adds political drama to coronavirus crisis

By
Brian Mefford

Ukraine experienced a month of political turbulence in March 2020 as the country grappled with cabinet reshuffles amid an escalating coronavirus crisis. Who emerged as the political winners and losers?


Coronavirus


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Apr 4, 2020

Coronavirus crisis could spark authoritarian revival

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

The Western world has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus crisis while non-democratic regimes claim to have acted more decisively. Will the pandemic lead to greater support for authoritarian approaches?


Coronavirus


Eastern Europe


UkraineAlert

Apr 2, 2020

Ukrainian local authorities move online to beat coronavirus lockdown

By
Michael Druckman

With Ukraine under coronavirus lockdown, legislation has been rushed through allowing local authorities to operate online. The move is being greeted as another step in the right direction for Ukraine's fledgling democracy.


Coronavirus


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Apr 2, 2020

Will coronavirus cuts kill off Ukraine’s post-Maidan cultural renaissance?

By
Marina Pesenti

Ukraine is preparing major budget cuts to cultural institutions as part of efforts to fund the fight against coronavirus. This threatens to reverse the progress in the cultural sphere achieved since 2014.


Coronavirus


Resilience & Society


UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2020

Zelenskyy resurrects his reformist credentials as coronavirus crisis looms

By
Anders Åslund

March 30 was a big day for Ukraine with major changes in parliament that reversed the anti-reform backlash underway in the country since March 4 and provided President Zelenskyy with fresh political momentum as the coronavirus crisis escalates.


Coronavirus


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2020

Q&A: Where is President Zelenskyy leading Ukraine?

By
Adair Appleton and Adrian Hoefer

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's surprise decision to dismiss his reformist government in early March raised fundamental questions over the future direction of the country. Atlantic Council experts explore what it could mean for Ukraine.


Democratic Transitions


Ukraine

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.

The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2018

How to Lose a Presidential Election Before It Even Starts: Ukraine’s Top Reform Party Turns on Itself

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine’s Maidan reformers had a real shot at reaching a tipping point and changing the country once and for all. In 2014, the reform-oriented Samopomich party, led by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, performed far better than expected in the parliamentary elections just a few months after street protests ejected pro-Russian President Victor Yanukovych. The Lviv-based […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2018

Why Does the Press Still Take Moscow at Its Word?

By Paul Niland

Reporting on the recent killing of Alexander Zakharchenko in Donetsk, Ukraine, has enraged many, and with good reason. Far too many reports from top outlets included the phrase or something similar, “Moscow denies sending regular troops and heavy weaponry to Ukraine, the rebels, or separatists.” Of course, Moscow regularly issues such denials. However, the time […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2018

Forget Javelins. What Ukraine Needs to Get Putin’s Attention

By Stephen Blank

US Ambassador Kurt Volker recently toldThe Guardian that the United States was prepared to offer Ukraine new weapons to defend itself. There is no doubt that Ukraine needs these weapons; in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, Moscow is waging a simultaneous military and economic war against Kyiv. It has blockaded the Sea […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2018

The Past Comes Back to Haunt Putin’s Man in Ukraine

By Mykola Vorobiov

A current controversy brewing in Ukraine illustrates just how relevant the Soviet past is to Ukraine’s present and future—and just how powerful the forces are that aim to reconnect Ukraine and its former hegemon, Russia.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 5, 2018

Straight Talk: Odesa Businessman Says Foreign Investors Aren’t Worried About What You Think

By Oksana Bedratenko

Andrey Stavnitser is a second generation businessman with a clean reputation in Ukraine. He’s also young and ambitious. The bushy-bearded thirty-six-year old turned his father’s TiS company into the largest private port in Ukraine and the largest of all Ukraine’s ports by dry cargo turnover. By investing aggressively in infrastructure, Stavnitser is proving that the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 5, 2018

Mass detention of journalists exposes emerging shifts in Belarus

By Maxim Eristavi

The crackdown is the product of a transitioning Belarus, in which the forces of modernization are clashing with efforts to slow down or even halt the changes.

Belarus

UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2018

Why John McCain Scared Putin

By Stephen B. Nix

Many accolades will be written about Senator John McCain this week and deservedly so. He was a consistent champion for democracy and human rights throughout the world, and a man who always stood by his principles. In his role as chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI), McCain was considered a champion, particularly in the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 20, 2018

Ukraine’s Political Season Is about to Begin. Here’s What You Need to Know.

By Taras Berezovets

The hot summer of 2018 has been unusually calm in Ukraine, where in the absence of other news, a scandal or a crisis catches the media spotlight. This is a stark contrast to 2009, when the Ukrainian presidential campaign was in full swing, which on February 7, 2010, ended in victory for Viktor Yanukovych. In […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 16, 2018

How One Family Is Reviving Ukraine’s Pre-Soviet Tradition of Philanthropy

By Lauren Van Metre

Since the Euromaidan, we have seen extraordinary acts of volunteerism by Ukrainians. In the initial days of Russia’s invasion, citizen volunteers fought on the Donbas front to shore up the Ukrainian Army, which was on the verge of collapse. These citizen soldiers experienced high casualty rates. Volunteers organized supplies for the war and served as […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2018

How Corruption Actually Works in Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

It’s standard fare in any article about Ukraine to mention the country’s enormous, overwhelming, and everlasting corruption problem. It’s also incredibly boring, because hardly anyone has examples or knows how it actually works. In April, I sat down over coffee and sweets in Kyiv with investigative journalist Oleksa Shalayskiy, editor-in-chief of Nashi Groshi (Our Money), who […]

Ukraine