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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

Aug 2, 2022

Putin’s entire Ukraine invasion hinges on the coming Battle of Kherson

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's much anticipated counter-offensive in the south of the country is now gathering momentum with many observers predicting that the looming Battle of Kherson will decide the fate of Vladimir Putin's entire invasion.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2022

Ukraine defies Russian invasion and advances European energy integration

By
Aura Sabadus

Ukraine has more than doubled the volume of cheap electricity it can export to EU markets as the country continues to advance its European energy integration despite Russia’s ongoing invasion.


Conflict


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2022

Vogue diplomacy: First Lady Olena Zelenska is Ukraine’s secret weapon

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has recently sparked debate by posing for a Vogue photo shoot with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz that some slammed as frivolous but others praised as a soft power masterstroke.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2022

Putin believed his own propaganda and fatally underestimated Ukraine

By
Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin likes to pose as an expert on all things Ukrainian but in reality his understanding of Ukraine is hopelessly distorted by propaganda that has led him to fatally underestimate Ukrainian resilience.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 27, 2022

Ukraine’s tech excellence is playing a vital role in the war against Russia

By
Valeriya Ionan

Ukraine's tech sector excellence is playing a key role in the war against Russia by providing rapid solutions to frontline challenges in ways that the more traditional top-down Russian military simply cannot match. 


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2022

More Russians must face personal sanctions over Ukraine invasion

By
Oleksandr Novikov

As the world seeks ways to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Oleksandr Novikov of Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention says dramatically expanded personal sanctions are the most effective available tool.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2022

Ukrainian footballers prepare to defy Putin with wartime premier league

By
Andrew Todos

The Ukrainian Premier League is preparing to begin the 2022-23 season in August despite Russia's ongoing invasion of the country as Ukrainians turn to football to demonstrate their determination to defy the Kremlin.


Central Europe


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 21, 2022

Russian gas attack: Europe must not give in to Putin’s energy blackmail

By
Diane Francis

The CEO of Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz has told European leaders to prepare for a complete Russian gas cut off and warned that any concessions to the Kremlin will only serve to encourage further energy blackmail.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2022

Ukraine can win

By
Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

If the West takes active measures to ensure Ukraine can't defeat Putin's Russia, it won't. But if it commits to supplying the range of capabilities required for modern, high intensity warfare, Ukraine can win, and it will win.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2022

Ukraine confronts Kremlin infiltration threat at unreformed state bodies

By
Andrew D’Anieri

Last week's dismissal by President Zelenskyy of two key figures from Ukraine's state security and prosecution services has highlighted the threat posed by Kremlin agents infiltrating unreformed Ukrainian state bodies.


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 13, 2018

Will Ukraine Be the Ultimate Loser of Putin’s World Cup?

By Peter Dickinson

Back in 2010 when world football governing body FIFA awarded Russia the right to host this year’s World Cup finals, few viewed Moscow as a threat. At the time, President Dmitry Medvedev seemed eager to portray himself as a Western-friendly reformer. In the diplomatic arena, the reset with the Obama White House had yet to […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2018

Why Ukrainians Are Betting On a Rock Star or Comedian to Turn Things Around

By Vera Zimmerman

No one knows how the Ukrainian presidential election next March will play out, but it’s fair to say that election season has already begun. Polls paint a worrying picture for candidates.  Despite perfect name recognition, the frontrunner Yulia Tymoshenko has only 9 to 13 percent support, according to recent polls (Rating, SOCIS, and Democratic Initiatives). […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2018

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The Saga of Hanna Solomatina

By Josh Cohen

Hanna Solomatina never set out to be a whistleblower. The former head of Ukraine’s National Agency for Corruption Prevention’s (NACP) Financial Control and Lifestyle Monitoring Department just wanted to use her background in finance and auditing to help the country fight endemic graft. The NACP manages Ukraine’s e-declaration system, which mandates that officials reveal their […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2018

The Epic Struggle of Crimean Tatars Captured in the Film Mustafa

By Viola Gienger

Crimean Tatars’ unending struggle for freedom has been nothing less than epic, and much of it is represented in the long life of Mustafa Dzhemilev. Finally, a film producer has recognized his story for what it is: a compelling tale of historic sweep featuring a legendary protagonist of distinguished bearing.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2018

Ukraine’s Next Reform Challenge May Be the Toughest One Yet

By Olena Halushka and Anastasia Krasnosilska

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) recently made headlines after masterminding a dramatic plot to spare the life of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko. On May 29, newspapers announced that Babchenko had been assassinated in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he had been living as a dissident Russian journalist. The next day at what many thought was an ordinary SBU […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2018

Ukraine Takes One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

By Melinda Haring

It’s only been six weeks since I was last in Kyiv, and yet the mood now feels completely different. When I was last in Kyiv, posters advertising rock star Slava Vakarchuk’s Independence Day concert were everywhere and he was the talk of the town. No longer. Now former prime minister and campaigner extraordinaire Yulia Tymoshenko’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2018

How to Keep the Kremlin and the Oligarchs Out of the Ukrainian White House

By Anders Åslund

The other night in Kyiv, one of Ukraine’s best political analysts came to see me. He asked me what the United States wants in the next Ukrainian presidential election slated for March 2019. I told him that the United States doesn’t have a favorite. Nor will it. My interlocutor was highly dissatisfied with the answer. […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 7, 2018

Ukraine’s Veterans Are a Powerful Constituency. Who Will Control Them?

By Lauren Van Metre

On February 27, Ukraine’s parliament voted to establish a new Ministry for Veterans, pending the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers. The parliament has been active on veterans’ issues, adopting more than thirty laws in the last three years to provide social services and protections. But more than twenty ministries and government departments handle veterans’ […]

NATO Security & Defense

UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2018

Ukraine’s Devastating Problem Is Only Getting Worse

By Diane Francis

Political disaffection is not unique to Ukraine, but the lack of optimism and new access to European jobs foretells more migration.

Macroeconomics Migration

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2018

Actually, the West’s Anticorruption Policy Is Spot On

By Daria Kaleniuk

In a recent Foreign Affairs column, Adrian Karatnycky and Alexander J. Motyl argue that the West’s anticorruption policies are failing in Ukraine. This is false. The West’s anticorruption policies are spot on, and the West needs to dig in and push even harder. Karatnycky and Motyl are right that Ukraine has changed for the better […]

Ukraine