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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

May 18, 2021

Naftogaz drama highlights Ukraine’s politics of personal destruction

By
Adrian Karatnycky

In Ukraine, it seems, no public leader leaves office without being subjected to a wave of invective, criticism, and scorn. This negative culture was on display recently during a turbulent leadership change at Naftogaz.


Energy Markets & Governance


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

May 13, 2021

Putin’s key Ukraine ally charged with treason

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s leading pro-Kremlin politician, Viktor Medvedchuk, has been charged with treason this week as the Zelenskyy administration escalates its efforts to counter Russian influence in the country.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 13, 2021

Putin’s Ukraine War: EU warns Russia is “de facto integrating” occupied east

By
Peter Dickinson

The European Union has warned that Russia is seeking to “de facto integrate” the Kremlin-controlled separatist republics of east Ukraine. The EU raised the alarm in a note to member states, Bloomberg reported on May 12.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

May 13, 2021

A new vision for Ukraine’s Prosecution Service

By
Iryna Venediktova

Since Ukraine regained independence in 1991, successive attempts to reform the country’s prosecution service have met with only limited success. Efforts are now underway to change this disappointing picture.


Democratic Transitions


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

May 11, 2021

Blinken Kyiv visit analysis: What next for US-Ukraine ties?

By
Peter Dickinson

What can US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent visit to Kyiv tell us about the current state and future prospects for bilateral relations between America and Ukraine?


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 11, 2021

The only way to deter Putin is to arm Ukraine

By
Yelyzaveta Yasko

Vladimir Putin continues to menace Ukraine with border region troop buildups and the threat of a major escalation in the seven-year war between the two countries. The best way for the West to deter Russia is to arm Ukraine.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 10, 2021

Is Ukraine about to cut the Gordian knot of judicial reform?

By
John Lough

Under pressure from its international partners, the Zelenskyy administration is again pushing to overhaul the procedures for appointing members of Ukraine’s 21-member High Council of Justice.


Democratic Transitions


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2021

Blinken in Kyiv: US “stands strongly” with Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Kyiv on May 6 for a high-profile visit as Ukraine continues to face the threat of a major Russian escalation in the simmering seven-year war between the two countries.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2021

Naftogaz fiasco risks undermining Ukraine

By
Alan Riley and Suriya Jayanti

The recent decision to suspend the Naftogaz Supervisory Board and fire CEO Andriy Kobolyev risks undermining Ukraine’s security and exposing the country to greater dependence on Russian gas.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2021

Ukraine’s inaccessible cities

By
Iryna Ozymok

Ukraine's cities remain highly inaccessible for people with physical disabilities or limited mobility, but a growing number of civil society initiatives are helping to boost efforts to improve accessibility.


Civil Society


Inclusive Growth

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

Mar 13, 2018

From Crimea to Salisbury: Time to Acknowledge Putin’s Global Hybrid War

By Peter Dickinson

Since Russian troops began seizing government buildings in Crimea four years ago, the international community has become accustomed to encountering new acts of Russian aggression on an almost daily basis. Whether it is masked men in eastern Ukraine, a chemical weapons attack in the English countryside, or an attempted coup in the Balkans, the process […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2018

Q&A: Tillerson Out, Pompeo In. What Does It Mean for Russia and Ukraine?

By Melinda Haring

On March 13, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was sacked. US President Donald Trump plans to replace him with former CIA director Mike Pompeo. UkraineAlert asked its experts the following: What does Pompeo think about Russian President Vladimir Putin and his aggressive foreign policy? What does the leadership change mean for US policy toward Ukraine […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2018

The Truth Behind Ukraine’s Language Policy

By Tetyana Ogarkova

On February 28, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court ruled the bill “On the principles of the state language policy” unconstitutional and rendered it invalid. The law in question, adopted back in 2012 and known as the “Kivalov-Kolesnichenko language law,” granted Russian the status of a “regional language.” It was precisely the abolition of this law by the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2018

Ukraine’s Six Teams of Reformers to Watch

By Aivaras Abromavičius

Ukraine has changed in recent years. But, as is often the case, it’s two steps forward, one step back. At numerous meetings with international partners and journalists, I’m often asked where the latest positive dynamic in government reforms is and which groups of reformers are likely to produce positive results. Having worked in the government […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2018

Poroshenko’s Last Chance

By Diane Francis

An Anti-Corruption Court is the capstone that will complete an infrastructure to eliminate Ukraine’s systemic corruption and to attract massive investments.President Petro Poroshenko’s current proposal misses the mark, and fails to meet the criteria stipulated by the International Monetary Fund and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. Under Poroshenko’s bill, international experts will play only […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 8, 2018

The Right to Protest, Extremism, and the State Order

By Victor Andrusiv

On Sunday, March 3, Ukraine’s police dispersed more than one hundred protesters and disbanded their tent camps outside of the Ukrainian parliament amid significant criticism. Several dozen tents had stood for more than four months, blocking a major thoroughfare in Kyiv, Ukraine. Behind the protests were former opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili and former soldiers who […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 6, 2018

Torture in Eastern Ukraine—and What Comes After It

By Iuliia Mendel

Oleksiy Kanarskyy, a twenty-five-year old Ukrainian, never thought he would celebrate January 1 in freedom. His hopes had faded during three years of detention in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, after endless promises of a prisoners’ exchange between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists. But on December 27, 2017, the largest prisoner swap since […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2018

Why Ukrainians Are So Upset about New Electricity Tariffs

By Anders Åslund

Energy tariffs are a serious concern in Ukraine. Before the 2014 Euromaidan, gas prices were too low and cost the government 8 percent of GDP in subsidies. Worse, most of that went to a few privileged gas traders. Low electricity tariffs left the owners of generation and distribution companies no incentive to invest. From 2014-17, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 1, 2018

Ukraine Scores Major Win over Russia and Gazprom

By Timothy Ash

Ukraine received a useful fillip on February 28 when the Stockholm Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the state gas supply and transit company, Naftogaz, and against its Russian counterpart, Gazprom, in a four-year dispute over gas transit. The court awarded Naftogaz $4.63 billion in damages, finding that Gazprom failed to pump agreed upon […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 1, 2018

Inconvenient Facts: Putin’s War Is Killing Russian Speakers

By Taras Kuzio

Russia has downplayed its military support for its proxies in eastern Ukraine by portraying the conflict as a “civil war” between Russian and Ukrainian language speakers. Western media often mistakenly portray the war in eastern Ukraine as a cultural war between Ukrainian and Russian speakers, drawing on the deeply held stereotype of a country divided […]

Russia Ukraine