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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

Jul 27, 2023

Russia’s mass abduction of Ukrainian children may qualify as genocide

By
Vladyslav Havrylov

Vladimir Putin has already been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court over the mass abduction of Ukrainian children. Many believe the deportations quality as genocide, writes Vladyslav Havrylov.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 27, 2023

Ukraine’s digital revolution is proving vital for the country’s war effort

By
Mykhailo Fedorov

Ukraine's remarkable resilience amid the biggest European war since World War II owes much to the country's ongoing digital revolution, writes Ukrainian Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2023

Rebuilding efforts should prioritize the key pillars of Ukraine’s democracy

By
Oleksii Antoniuk

International attention is currently focused on the physical reconstruction of postwar Ukraine's devastated infrastructure, but rebuilding the country's democratic institutions will be just as important, writes Oleksii Antoniuk.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2023

Ukraine’s gas storage facilities can play a key role in European energy security

By
Sergiy Makogon

Ukraine's underground gas storage facilities are the largest in Europe and offer considerable untapped opportunities to enhance the continent's energy security, writes Sergiy Makogon.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2023

“Pariah” Putin forced to cancel travel plans over fears of war crimes arrest

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's pariah status has been confirmed after he was forced to cancel plans to attend a summit of BRICS leaders in South Africa over fears that he may be arrested for war crimes, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2023

Ukraine’s tech sector is playing vital wartime economic and defense roles

By
David Kirichenko

The Ukrainian tech industry has been the standout performer of the country’s hard-hit economy following Russia’s full-scale invasion and continues to play vital economic and defense sector roles, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2023

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was never about NATO

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin's relaxed response to the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden proves that he knows NATO enlargement poses no security threat to Russia but has used the issue as a smokescreen for the invasion of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2023

Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

By
Roman Solchanyk

Vladimir Putin insists Ukrainians and Russians are "one people" and appears to have genuinely believed his invading army would be welcomed. It is now clear this was a catastrophic miscalculation, writes Roman Solchanyk.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2023

After Wagner: Could the Russian army now turn against Putin?

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

With dozens of senior Russian officers reportedly detained following the Wagner revolt and a senior commander dismissed this week for criticizing the conduct of the Ukraine invasion, could Putin face a mutiny within the Russian army?


Conflict


Crisis Management


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2023

Disappointed but not discouraged: Ukrainians react to NATO summit

By
Peter Dickinson

The 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius failed to produce a breakthrough toward Ukrainian membership but did underline international support for Ukraine in the fight against Russia's invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Policy

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

Jan 10, 2018

Ukraine: What to Expect in 2018

By Ruslan Minich

One should not have wild expectations for Ukraine this year. Although the country is more than a year away from the March 2019 presidential election, structural reforms won’t be a focus, international donors are getting impatient, and a large amount of debt is coming due.   What should we expect and follow in Ukraine this […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2018

This Time It Will Be Very, Very Different

By Diane Francis

In 2014, a 16-year-old Ukrainian, nicknamed Maley, watched the Euromaidan Revolution and Russian invasion on television and contacted his local army recruitment office to sign up. His calls went unanswered, so he took a train from the Carpathians to the front, armed with his grandfather’s hunting rifle and a brass plate bought by his mother […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2018

With Russia on the Sidelines, China Moves Aggressively into Ukraine

By James Brooke

On Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, the most active foreign actor is not Russia. It’s China. On the Danube, Chinese investors are mulling buying a Ukrainian river shipping company that could insert Chinese products deep into Eastern Europe. At the two big ports flanking Odesa, China Harbor Engineering Company just finished dredging Yuzhny and now is […]

China Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2018

How to Bring Peace to the Donbas. (Yes, It’s Possible)

By Alexander Vershbow

Last month Vladimir Putin reopened the door to the creation of a peacekeeping force in Eastern Ukraine. Deploying such a force, if done properly, could bring peace to a conflict that has dragged on for nearly four years. Without it, the conflict could return to a boil, jeopardizing Ukraine’s stability and destroying any basis for […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2018

Slain Lawyer Becomes an Icon of Unfinished Reforms in Ukraine

By Maxim Eristavi

The holiday season ended abruptly on January 1 as Ukrainians learned about the murder of lawyer and human rights activist Iryna Nozdrovska. This is a gruesome start for 2018, even for a country at war. We stopped having regular New Year’s holidays years ago. Not many felt like celebrating while soldiers were dying in the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2018

In Kyiv and Chisinau, Citizens Thirsty for Reform But the Governments Aren’t

By Dumitru Alaiba

On December 1, the European Union withheld payment of €600 million to Ukraine for falling short on four reforms. The deal is conditional, and this final tranche is on hold until Ukraine follows through on its commitments. Meanwhile, one week before, at the Eastern Partnership Summit, the EU agreed to provide Moldova with €100 million […]

Moldova Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2018

Why No Major Western Defense Company Will Invest in Ukraine

By Michael Carpenter

One of the biggest challenges facing Ukraine today is how to transform its inefficient, overcentralized, and opaque defense industry into a leading supplier of weapons and equipment for its frontline troops and an engine for economic growth and foreign currency revenues. Both of these goals are within reach, but only if Ukraine’s leaders can summon […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 3, 2018

President Trump One Year On: Better for Russia or Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

As Donald J. Trump took the oath of office in January 2017, there was a tangible sense of panic in Kyiv. Most analysts were extremely gloomy about the prospects for US-Ukrainian ties, with many predicting that Ukraine would be the primary victim of the Trump administration’s ambitious foreign policy. At the time, these grim forecasts […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 2, 2018

Nine Things Ukraine Should Do in 2018

By Olena Prokopenko and Christina Parandii

In September 2017, Parliamentary Speaker Andriy Parubiy branded the new political season “the autumn of reforms.” His prediction was partly right and partly wrong. Parliament did deliver on some overdue issues; however, the recent attacks on anticorruption institutions overshadowed a number of positive achievements. As Ukraine enters 2018, a year which precedes the presidential and […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 2, 2018

Which Will Be Europe’s Poorest Country? Ukraine or Moldova

By Anders Åslund

A year ago, I expressed my hope that “2017 should be the year when Ukraine’s economy takes off.” It should have been, but it was not. In the last quarter of 2016, Ukraine’s GDP grew by 4.8 percent. Alas, in each of the ensuing four quarters, the growth rate declined and GDP grew by only […]

Moldova Ukraine