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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 21, 2020

Ban on farmland sales to foreigners risks starving Ukraine of investment

By
Bate Toms

Ukraine has recently moved to end a two-decade ban on the sale of farmland, but restrictions on purchases by foreigners will remain in place and threaten to block a key source of international investment.


Economy & Business


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2020

Ukraine cannot stay neutral in Putin’s history war

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has sought to enforce his version of history on Ukraine as part of efforts to dominate the country. It is time for Ukraine to fight back and establish its own national narratives.


Russia


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2020

Coronavirus proves what Ukrainians already knew—the UN doesn’t work

By
Pavlo Klimkin and Andreas Umland

The coronavirus crisis has left the United Nations badly exposed. This has not come as a surprise to many in Ukraine, where distrust of the UN has been strong since the start of Russian aggression in 2014.


Coronavirus


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic: Ukraine flies to the rescue

By
Alyona Getmanchuk

Ukrainian cargo planes are currently delivering vital anti-coronavirus medical supplies from China to NATO member countries, underlining Ukraine's value as a strategic partner of the Euro-Atlantic community.


Coronavirus


NATO


UkraineAlert

Apr 15, 2020

Russian Church in Ukraine fuels coronavirus outbreak

By
Victor Tregubov

The Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine has emerged as a key source of coronavirus infection in the country over the past week after church officials refused to follow government lock down guidelines.


Coronavirus


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Apr 14, 2020

Zelenskyy puts Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution on trial

By
Adrian Karatnycky

Criminal charges against prominent Ukrainian activist Tetyana Chornovol represent a watershed moment in the country's modern history that risks putting Ukraine's entire Maidan Revolution on trial.


Democratic Transitions


Rule of Law


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2020

Why appeasing Putin in Ukraine won’t work

By
Paul D’Anieri

Western leaders are eager for a deal to end the undeclared war between Russia and Ukraine, but any attempt to appease Putin risks encouraging further imperial aggression, writes Paul D’Anieri.


Conflict


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2020

Does Zelenskyy’s Ukraine still want to join NATO?

By
Tetiana Gaiduk

Since the onset of Russian aggression in 2014, Ukraine has pursued closer ties with NATO. However, recent changes at the Ministry of Defense have raised concerns over Ukraine's continued commitment to NATO integration.


NATO


NATO Partnerships


UkraineAlert

Apr 10, 2020

Breadbasket Ukraine must not prohibit grain exports

By
Anders Åslund

Ukrainian policymakers are reportedly discussing the prohibition of grain exports. This could have a disastrous impact on the economy while also damaging ties with Ukraine's international partners.


International Financial Institutions


Trade and tariffs


UkraineAlert

Apr 8, 2020

Beyond east versus west: Ukraine must go global

By
Viktor Karvatskyy

The coronavirus crisis is a globally disruptive event that gives Ukraine an opportunity to rethink the country's geopolitical trajectory and move beyond the traditional foreign policy of east versus west.


Politics & Diplomacy


Ukraine

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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.

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

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

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