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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 29, 2021

Energy sanctions can prevent a new Russian offensive in Ukraine

By
Ariel Cohen and David Pasmanik

Expanding US sanctions policy to target Russia’s energy industry remains one of the most powerful remaining tools available to the democratic world as it seeks to deter further Russian aggression in Ukraine.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2021

Dismissal of Naftogaz CEO raises doubts over Ukraine’s corporate governance reforms

By
Aura Sabadus

The Ukrainian government has dismissed Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev and the company’s supervisory board, raising serious questions over corporate governance reforms at the country's state-owned enterprises.


Oil and Gas


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2021

Putin’s imperialism turns neighbors into enemies

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin has instructed Kremlin officials to draw up a list of “unfriendly countries.” Although the identity of these countries is unconfirmed, media reports suggest the list will be dominated by Russia’s neighbors.


Conflict


Eastern Europe


UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2021

Ukraine must prepare for Putin’s next escalation now

By
Vadym Denysenko, Ihor Popov, Ihor Tyshkevych, Ilya Kusa

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently ordered the withdrawal of Russian forces from positions close to the Ukrainian border, but this saber-rattling display highlights the need for Ukraine to prepare for the worst.


Conflict


National Security


UkraineAlert

Apr 26, 2021

Battle over Putin’s pipeline continues in Washington DC

By
Diane Francis

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline issue must be addressed by US officials as a priority. Time is running out. The Russians hope to finish the pipeline by June, thereby putting pressure on Germany to make it operational.


European Union


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Apr 22, 2021

Putin withdraws troops but Russo-Ukrainian War continues

By
Peter Dickinson

Russia appears to have ended weeks of tension by ordering the withdrawal of troops concentrated on the Ukrainian border, but the seven-year Russo-Ukrainian War remains far from over.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Apr 22, 2021

Ukraine moves closer to large-scale privatization breakthrough

By
Dmytro Sennychenko

Ukraine is currently on the verge of a large-scale privatization program that could dramatically reduce the country's vast portfolio of corrupt and under-performing state-owned enterprises.


Corruption


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Apr 22, 2021

Nord Stream 2 threat: Ukraine and EU neighbors must expand border infrastructure

By
Aura Sabadus

Working with Ukraine now to expand capacities on the country’s borders with the EU, irrespective of the Nord Stream 2 project’s fate, should be a priority not only for Kyiv, but also for Europe as a whole.


European Union


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2021

Ukraine’s nation-building journey and the legacy of the Euromaidan Revolution

By
Sofiya Kominko

Ukrainian MPs recently passed a resolution recognizing the country's 2013-14 Euromaidan Revolution as a "key moment" in Ukraine's nation-building process, but the final verdict of history is still to come.


Civil Society


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2021

Putin’s Ukraine War: Can the West prevent a new Russian offensive?

By
Peter Dickinson

The West has responded to a major Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border by voicing its support for Ukraine, but critics say the international community must do more to deter Vladimir Putin from a new offensive.


Conflict


Russia

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 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

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2017

It’s the Holiday Season Again. Will Ukraine Be Ready for the Next Cyberattack?

By Vera Zimmerman

Experts anticipate a new cyberattack on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure this month; they have observed increased activity from the same hackers involved in a previous cyberattack. In the last two years, cyberattacks on Ukraine’s power grid coincided with the winter holidays, a sensitive time with a high demand for critical infrastructure. A cyberattack may target civilians […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2017

People Are Wrong about the War in the Donbas, Says US Envoy

By Melinda Haring

2017 has been the most violent year of the conflict in eastern Ukraine since it began, according to Kurt Volker, US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations. “A lot of people think that this has somehow turned into a sleepy, frozen conflict and it’s stable and now we have…a ceasefire,” Volker said on December 19 during […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2017

Why Yegor Soboliev is Still Optimistic and Even Joyful about Ukraine’s Future

By Diane Francis

The claw back of reforms in Ukraine is alarming, and the latest blow was the dismissal on December 7 of hardworking Yegor Soboliev as chairman of parliament’s anti-corruption committee. A former investigative journalist and Maidan activist turned politician, he has been at the forefront of reforms such as electronic asset declarations for state officials, the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 20, 2017

Backsliding on Democracy Imperils Security in Ukraine and Poland

By Stephen Blank

Poland and Ukraine are frontline states for European security. That fact alone makes their mutual backsliding away from democratic reform—the indispensable precondition for their revival and security—so dangerous. The Polish government seems to want to return to its interwar model; at that time, it repressed its minorities and ultimately failed, ending up bereft of friends […]

Poland Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 19, 2017

Ukraine’s Oligarchs Still Control the Media. Will Anyone Ever Challenge Them?

By Vitalii Rybak

The oligarchs still control the airwaves in Ukraine. Ten of eleven national television channels are directly or indirectly connected to politicians and oligarchs. More than 75 percent of Ukrainians regularly watch TV channels owned by Ukrainian oligarchs Viktor Pinchuk, Ihor Kolomoisky, Dmytro Firtash, and Rinat Akhmetov. In radio, the situation is even worse: the top […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 18, 2017

What Ukraine Urgently Needs Isn’t What You Think

By Adrian Karatnycky

In a recent article the talented journalist Vitaliy Sych, editor of Ukraine’s reformist weekly Novoe Vremya, posits the emergence of a war between old Ukraine and new Ukraine. He is right. Recent months have seen the escalation of a fight that pits anticorruption institutions and activists against segments of the state and ruling elite. But […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 18, 2017

Maybe We Were Wrong about Gas Reform

By Melinda Haring

It’s no secret that the Atlantic Council has been bullish on Ukraine’s reforms. In particular, we often cite gas reform as the one that massively curbed corruption in Ukraine since the Euromaidan. But after an hour-long conversation with Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev on December 8, I came away with a different picture. Since the thirty-nine-year-old […]

Ukraine