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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 17, 2019

Ukrainian business leaders want better economic policy and rule of law

By
Anders Åslund

The fifteen principles reflect a broad reform consensus in Ukraine, aiming at creating well-functioning markets and strong private property rights.


Fiscal and Structural Reform


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2019

Zelenskyy’s greatest challenge ahead

By
Mykola Vorobiov

Despite enormous enthusiasm along with a strong readiness to fix things, many challenges lie ahead for Zelenskyy and his Servant of the People party. But the most serious one undoubtedly comes from Moscow.


Conflict


Crisis Management


UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2019

Slow down already

By
Melinda Haring

Zelenskyy is consolidating power. Ukraine is rapidly switching to a presidential republic from the parliamentary-presidential system its constitution prescribes. And the worst part is that there’s little to stop him.


Civil Society


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2019

What Zelenskyy’s perfect picture is missing

By
Olena Prokopenko

The future of Ukraine’s key reform driver, its vibrant civil society, is missing and seriously threatened both by internal and external challenges.


Civil Society


Elections


UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2019

Ukraine’s libertarian revolution

By
James Brooke

Many Ukrainian free marketers are sulking in the sidelines because they misread the Zelenskyy movement last spring.


Elections


Macroeconomics


UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2019

Removing the stigma: Ukraine launches suicide prevention hotline for veterans

By
Peter Dickinson

Mental health issues remain largely taboo in Ukrainian society, where the prevalence of traditional machismo culture has long fueled a “boys don’t cry” mentality


Conflict


Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


UkraineAlert

Sep 8, 2019

It was worth it

By
Alexander Khrebet

The whole world watched his first steps in this direction today on the tarmac of the Boryspil airport, and this success may give the new president greater confidence as well.


Conflict


Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


UkraineAlert

Sep 8, 2019

What price did Ukraine pay for prisoner exchange?

By
Iryna Matviyishyn

The long-awaited return brought tears not only to the eyes of their loved ones but also to many Ukrainians who rooted for their liberation.


Conflict


Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


UkraineAlert

Sep 8, 2019

Q&A: What does Ukraine-Russia prisoner swap mean?

By
Melinda Haring

"Putin may hope that Western praise for his 'humanitarian gesture' will reduce the pressure on Moscow to end its undeclared war in the Donbas and place the onus on Zelenskyy to make all of the concessions."


Conflict


Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2019

The saga of David and Goliath on the outskirts of Kyiv

By
Yuri Polakiwsky

As a newly elected president and parliament have been sworn in, and a new government formed, the new political class must be ready to radically transform the values of Ukraine’s business culture.


Economy & Business


Political Reform

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

Jan 26, 2018

Lethal Weapons to Ukraine: A Primer

By Peter J. Marzalik and Aric Toler

On December 22, 2017, the Trump administration approved supplying Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, capping a nearly three-year debate in Washington over whether the United States should provide lethal defensive weapons to counter further Russian aggression in Europe. A few days prior the US Department of State announced that senior officials had authorized a sizeable […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2018

Will the Kremlin’s Most Important Ally in Europe Be Reelected?

By Veronika Víchová, Markéta Krejčí, and Klára Veverka

One day remains until the second round of the Czech presidential election, and polls show a tie with 10 percent of voters undecided. The race pits the current president, Miloš Zeman, against the former chairman of the Academy of Sciences, Jiří Drahoš. New reports allege that there’s a hidden scheme to support pro-Russian president Zeman—at […]

Central Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 24, 2018

What Lavrov’s Lies Mean for Ukraine

By Stephen Blank

Voltaire reportedly said that those who can persuade one to believe absurdities will lead one to commit atrocities. In contemporary politics Russia’s stance on Ukraine represents a cardinal example of the enduring validity of his remark. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently restated three lies: there are no Russian troops in the Donbas, the conflict […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2018

Russia Cannot Acknowledge MH17 Role without Exposing Secret Ukraine War

By Peter Dickinson

The shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine on July 17, 2014, transformed a localized post-Soviet conflict into a major global crisis. With victims from eleven different countries including 189 Dutch citizens, the international backlash was prompt and marked a clear escalation in the confrontation between Russia and the West over the war […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2018

Justice Deferred but Not Yet Denied

By Mykhailo Zhernakov

2017 was a pivotal year in Ukraine, but not the way we expected. We were supposed to get a brand new Supreme Court to replace four old cassation courts that were synonymous with corruption and abuse. Instead, it was new only on paper.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2018

Ukraine: Where Watchdogs Need Safeguards

By Luke Drabyn and Samantha Feinstein

It is ironic but fitting that in Ukraine, the agency tasked with protecting whistleblowers has instead fostered so much corruption that its own employees, after speaking out, have become victims of retaliation. In mid-November, Hanna Solomatina, the former head of the financial control department within the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP), alleged that she […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2018

When Will We See a Breakthrough in Ukraine?

By Pavlo Sheremeta

When asked what the exchange rate will be in 2018, I answer a question with a question: when will elections in Ukraine take place? A definite answer  is hard to come by in our country. Only one thing is certain: the fight in Ukraine will continue. Anders Åslund, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2018

Ukraine’s Making Real Progress in the Energy Sector

By Olga Bielkova

Energy independence is a question of national security for Ukraine, and one that we worked on assiduously in 2017. Most observers know that Naftogaz emerged victorious in an $80 billion arbitration case in Stockholm, but that’s only part of the story. Here are the big five milestones that really mattered for the energy sector last […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2018

Why Russia’s Soft Power Is Here to Stay (At Least for Now)

By Matthew Finkel

Hydrocarbon exports remain the centerpiece of Russia’s national revival strategy, despite the negative impact of developmental and investment setbacks, OPEC price dumping in traditional Russian export markets, Western sanctions, and a growing push toward energy independence in Eastern Europe. Russia continues to suffer from many of the classic symptoms of Dutch disease: a number of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2018

Why Poroshenko’s Anti-Corruption Court Is a Sham Proposal

By Anastasia Krasnosilska

Ukrainians want corrupt public officials to go to jail. It didn’t happen in 2014, 2015, 2016, or 2017. In July, a Kyiv court released Roman Tymkiv, the head of a state-owned military plant, on bail. Tymkiv was accused of embezzling $1 million by supplying the Ukrainian army with used tank engines for the price of […]

Ukraine