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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 4, 2019

Danger ahead

By
Willem Aldershoff

Although every Ukrainian understandably wishes a quick end to the war in the Donbas and a lasting settlement of the conflict, Ukraine is strongly advised to approach any Minsk Summit with the greatest care.


European Union


International Norms


UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2019

So far, so good

By
Oleh Havrylyshyn and Basil Kalymon

The Zelenskyy administration’s very positive statements, if translated into policies, would open a new era of economic growth and opportunity for Ukraine.


Macroeconomics


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2019

Want investors to take Ukraine seriously? The solution is obvious

By
Mykhailo Zhernakov

Now is time to change Ukraine’s courts, and we can make it happen, so long as our Western friends speak out loudly and forcefully at the right moments.


Corruption


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2019

G7 leaders: the Kremlin is setting a trap. Don’t fall for it

By
Arseniy Yatsenyuk

The Kremlin counts on using this goodwill to lead us into a trap of fatal mistakes.


Conflict


International Norms


UkraineAlert

Aug 19, 2019

The West needs to act fast to help Ukraine

By
Anders Åslund

This might be Ukraine’s greatest chance yet. The West needs to assist as well as it can.


European Union


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2019

Do something with state enterprises already

By
Anders Åslund

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is right to emphasize the need to privatize state-owned enterprises.


Financial Regulation


Fiscal and Structural Reform


UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2019

An open letter to Mrs. Zelenskyy

By
Melinda Haring

When you come to Washington, we will welcome you with open arms.


Civil Society


Elections


Uncategorized

Aug 14, 2019

Mr. Zelenskyy goes to Washington

By
Yuri Polakiwsky

This new generation of leadership has rejected the psychological and emotional ties to Russia held by post-independence Ukrainian political leaders.


Political Reform


Security & Defense


UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2019

How one man’s outsized philanthropy transformed a village and may inspire a new kind of giving

By
Viola Gienger

“I hope this project will be an example for other entrepreneurs and for other communities in Ukraine," said Mykhaylo Veselskyy.


Inclusive Growth


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2019

Many ills for Ukraine’s veterans but one place to look for a cure

By
Melinda Haring

When veterans return from eastern Ukraine, sleep deprivation, anxiety, and depression are common complaints.


Civil Society


Conflict

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

Nov 13, 2017

The Best Way to Improve Kyiv’s Military Odds Isn’t What You Think It Is

By Josh Cohen

As Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russian aggression in the east, there is one thing Kyiv can do to improve its odds for military success: reform its corruption-riddled defense sector. Transparency International’s most recent Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index gives Ukraine a D grade, indicating a high risk of corruption. It’s not difficult to see […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2017

Here’s One Way Ukraine Can Hold Russia Accountable Now

By Lauren Van Metre

Ukraine’s internally displaced persons (IDPs) have struggled. After having fled their houses due to military conflict and living with the uncertainty of whether they will ever regain that property, some have been poorly regarded in their new host communities. How the displaced were received often depended on where they came from. In general Ukrainians have […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 12, 2017

Why Putin Cannot Risk Peace in Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Imagine the scene: a patch of overgrown wasteland on the outskirts of an east Ukrainian rust belt town. Emergency services personnel are methodically excavating a large plot of earth while a huddle of journalists and aid workers look on. The date is October 2019. Another mass grave has just been uncovered. This grim but all-too-conceivable […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2017

Why There’s More to Alex Ovechkin’s Team Putin Movement than Meets the Eye

By Adrian Karatnycky

Hockey superstar Alex Ovechkin’s November 2 announcement that he is creating a social movement to support Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be an ill-considered PR move by the Washington Capitals captain. In the capital of a country awash in anti-Putin sentiment, Ovechkin is defiantly flaunting his loyalty to a leader who has supported military […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2017

Unfreezing Eurasia’s Frozen Conflicts May Not Be as Hard as You Think

By Laura Linderman

It was nearly impossible to find an empty seat on the twice-weekly WizzAir flight from Berlin to Kutaisi this summer. The budget airline carries mostly German hikers to Georgia’s second largest city. From there, the hikers transfer in Zugdidi to reach their final destination, the remote and breathtaking Svaneti region, high in the Greater Caucasus. […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2017

Why Russia’s War against Ukraine May Never End

By Kornely Kakachia and Joseph Larsen

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently requested a UN peacekeeping mission for eastern Ukraine. While at home this looks like a peace overture, Putin is not motivated by the desire for amity. The proposal is similar to Russian actions in Georgia prior to 2008, when it supported a UN observer mission in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone […]

Russia The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2017

Why Are Prestigious Institutions Sponsoring a Russian Propaganda Concert in Washington?

By Diane Francis

In April 2015, Ukrainian-born pianist Valentina Lisitsa was to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. But the concert was abruptly canceled because she expressed, to her huge online following, hurtful anti-Ukrainian messages and support for pro-Russia separatists who had invaded and occupied eastern Ukraine. “As one of Canada’s most important […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2017

What the Odesa Port Saga Means for Reform in Ukraine

By Peter J. Marzalik

In an interview last October, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman revealed that not a single x-ray scanner was operational at customs checkpoints in Ukraine, suggesting that corrupt customs officers had deliberately damaged the equipment to facilitate criminal activity. The accusation speaks to the severity of entrenched corruption in the customs services of Ukraine, even amid […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2017

Q&A: How Can Ukraine Get a Better Grade on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index?

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine just received a marginally better grade on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, moving from 80th place in 2017 to 76th place in 2018. Kyiv reduced the cost of construction permits, strengthened minority investor protections, and reduced labor taxes. To put things in perspective, it’s easier to do business in Azerbaijan, Belarus, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2017

Why We Don’t Live Like Britain

By Sergey Fursa

Having admitted to a decade-old sexual harassment incident in which he touched a journalist’s knee at a party conference, British Defense Minister Michael Fallon resigned, stating, “I accept that in the past I have fallen below the high standards that we require of the Armed Forces that I have the honor to represent…I am therefore […]

Ukraine