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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 4, 2019

Danger ahead

By Willem Aldershoff

Although every Ukrainian understandably wishes a quick end to the war in the Donbas and a lasting settlement of the conflict, Ukraine is strongly advised to approach any Minsk Summit with the greatest care.

European Union International Norms

UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2019

So far, so good

By Oleh Havrylyshyn and Basil Kalymon

The Zelenskyy administration’s very positive statements, if translated into policies, would open a new era of economic growth and opportunity for Ukraine.

Macroeconomics Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2019

Want investors to take Ukraine seriously? The solution is obvious

By Mykhailo Zhernakov

Now is time to change Ukraine’s courts, and we can make it happen, so long as our Western friends speak out loudly and forcefully at the right moments.

Corruption Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2019

G7 leaders: the Kremlin is setting a trap. Don’t fall for it

By Arseniy Yatsenyuk

The Kremlin counts on using this goodwill to lead us into a trap of fatal mistakes.

Conflict International Norms

UkraineAlert

Aug 19, 2019

The West needs to act fast to help Ukraine

By Anders Åslund

This might be Ukraine’s greatest chance yet. The West needs to assist as well as it can.

European Union Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2019

Do something with state enterprises already

By Anders Åslund

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is right to emphasize the need to privatize state-owned enterprises.

Financial Regulation Fiscal and Structural Reform

UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2019

An open letter to Mrs. Zelenskyy

By Melinda Haring

When you come to Washington, we will welcome you with open arms.

Civil Society Elections

Uncategorized

Aug 14, 2019

Mr. Zelenskyy goes to Washington

By Yuri Polakiwsky

This new generation of leadership has rejected the psychological and emotional ties to Russia held by post-independence Ukrainian political leaders.

Political Reform Security & Defense

UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2019

How one man’s outsized philanthropy transformed a village and may inspire a new kind of giving

By Viola Gienger

“I hope this project will be an example for other entrepreneurs and for other communities in Ukraine," said Mykhaylo Veselskyy.

Inclusive Growth Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2019

Many ills for Ukraine’s veterans but one place to look for a cure

By Melinda Haring

When veterans return from eastern Ukraine, sleep deprivation, anxiety, and depression are common complaints.

Civil Society Conflict

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Content

UkraineAlert

May 31, 2018

Putin’s Bridge to Nowhere

By Askold Krushelnycky

Russia’s war in Ukraine has entered its fifth year. Skirmishes and killings continue every week but have faded from the headlines—perhaps because they have reached “an acceptable level of violence.” I was a teenager when I first heard that chilling term uttered by a British politician in 1971 referring to the low intensity war in […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 31, 2018

How Ukraine Can Seize the Moral High Ground in the Donbas

By Lauren Van Metre

Fighting in eastern Ukraine last week was the worst it’s been this year. The uptick in violence coincides with Ukraine’s transition of the command of the war from its security forces to its armed forces, which is part of the implementation of Ukraine’s new law on reintegration. While much of the new law has not […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 30, 2018

Q&A: “Dead” Russian Journalist Arkady Babchenko Is Alive and Well. Does Faking His Murder Help or Hinder Ukraine’s Credibility?

By Melinda Haring

On May 29, the media reported that Russian journalist and Putin critic Arkady Babchenko had been assassinated in Kyiv. He reportedly died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. On May 30, Babchenko appeared at a press conference, alongside the head of the Ukrainan Security Service (SBU) Vasily Gritsak and Prosecutor General Yuriy […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 29, 2018

Richard Pipes: An Appreciation

By Stephen Blank

I was not a student of the late Richard Pipes, and I only met him once briefly, so I cannot claim any special relationship or unique insight into his personality and character. Nevertheless, he was and remains a model for historians of Russia and those who aspire to understand Russia as it really is.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 29, 2018

Why I’m Still Doing Business in Ukraine

By Paul Niland

Ukraine is a challenging and confusing place to do business. At the same time, it’s also exciting and changing. I’ve been doing business in Ukraine for fifteen years, and while Ukraine has a bad reputation for international business, it deserves a second look.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 29, 2018

Time to Cut Out the Middlemen in Ukraine Gas Trade

By Diane Francis

Four years after Ukrainians protested in the streets against jaw-dropping corruption, the most odious scheme of all—the corrupt natural gas market—continues to siphon billions from Ukraine. These proceeds underwrite a sophisticated bribery scheme in Russia and Ukraine, and more recently help subsidize Russia’s war and occupation against Ukraine. The heist was devised years ago by […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 25, 2018

Russian Armed Forces Downed Civilian Airline Four Years Ago, Investigators Conclude

By Michael Bociurkiw

The noose is finally closing on the people and structures behind the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Almost four years after the Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur-bound flight was shot down by a BUK missile over Ukraine, a clearer picture is emerging on the origin of the missile, its route to the firing zone in […]

Russia Ukraine

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