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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

Jun 10, 2021

Ukraine must do more to regain the West’s trust

By
Kira Rudik

The coming week will underline the shortcomings of President Zelenskyy’s foreign policy, with Ukraine left on the sidelines as a series of crucial international summits take place that will directly impact the country’s future.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2021

Ukraine poised for historic land market breakthrough

By
AJ Skiera

On July 1, 2021, Ukraine's new farmland market legislation will come into force, leading to real land ownership for around six million Ukrainians.


Corruption


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2021

Can Shevchenko bring Euro 2020 glory to Ukraine?

By
Andrew Todos

The scandal over Ukraine’s Euro 2020 national football team shirt has energized the Ukrainian public at a time when the increasingly self-confident country is enjoying a prolonged period of nation-building progress.


Ukraine


BelarusAlert

Jun 9, 2021

Axis of autocrats: Belarus dictator Lukashenka backs Putin’s Ukraine war

By
Brian Whitmore

The axis of autocrats in Eastern Europe continues to solidify as Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka bends over backwards to please Moscow by showing his support for Russia's war against Ukraine.


Belarus


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2021

Ukrainians fear betrayal over Putin’s pipeline

By
Diane Francis

The prospect of NATO and US-Russia summits in mid-June is creating anxiety in Ukraine, which finds itself in the role of bystander despite the nation’s prominent position on the agendas for both meetings.


European Union


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2021

Ukraine’s post-2014 public procurement progress is under threat

By
Max Nefyodov

An amendment adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on June 3 sets an awful precedent that could pave the way for further exemptions of major construction projects from Ukraine’s public procurement laws and regulations.


Corruption


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jun 7, 2021

Ukraine’s new football shirt leaves Russia furious

By
Peter Dickinson

Russia has reacted with fury to Ukraine's new national football team jersey featuring a map of Ukraine. Kremlin anger is focused on the inclusion of Crimea, which is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine but has been under Russian occupation since 2014.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2021

Ukraine’s energy future is tied to European integration

By
Olga Bielkova

Energy transformation is possible in Ukraine. In order to make this vision a reality, Ukrainians must first define it and commit to consistent implementation, election cycles notwithstanding.


Energy Markets & Governance


Energy Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2021

US vaccine diplomacy: Ukraine should be a priority

By
Geoffrey Berlin

With US President Joe Biden preparing to send 80 million Covid vaccine doses abroad, Ukraine is a strong candidate to become a priority beneficiary in this first wave of America’s “vaccine diplomacy.”


Coronavirus


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 1, 2021

Why Eurovision is Ukraine’s soft power secret weapon

By
Peter Dickinson

Since the dawn of Ukrainian independence in 1991, no single event has done as much to promote Brand Ukraine internationally or showcase the country’s creativity as the annual Eurovision Song Contest.


Resilience & Society


Ukraine

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Content

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2017

Pragmatism Prevails over Populism in Ukraine

By Brian Mefford

Successful politics is about getting things done. By that standard, October was a successful month. Not only did the government pass sweeping healthcare reform, pension reform, and judiciary reform, it also staved off populist protests. In short, pragmatism prevailed over populism. Each of the reforms passed was significant, but healthcare reform was the most far-reaching. […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2017

Groisman Tells Investors that Shakedowns and Harassment Will End

By Diane Francis

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman welcomes the creation of an independent anticorruption court in Ukraine and says it will be operating in 2018. “The debate was whether this court should be independent or a chamber. This was a waste of time,” he said in an extensive interview in Toronto. “From day one, I was in support […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2017

In Lviv, World-Class Learning Center Opens Where Soviets Wanted Drab Building

By Melinda Haring

On September 10, Ukrainian Catholic University opened a 64,874 square foot world-class library and educational center in Lviv, Ukraine. Ukrainian Catholic University, the first Catholic university in the former Soviet Union, strives to provide an open, progressive, and democratic learning environment for its students and the community. Canadian businessman and philanthropist James Temerty was the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2017

What Manafort’s Indictment Means for the US and Ukraine

By Anders Åslund

The most surprising thing about the thirty-one-page indictment of Paul J. Manafort, Jr. and his business partner Richard W. Gates III by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is that it hardly contains anything that was not known to people who have observed Ukraine. Manafort was the all-dominant political advisor to former President Viktor Yanukovych from the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2017

How to End the War in Eastern Ukraine

By Alexander Vershbow

The recent US debate about Russia has focused mainly on Moscow’s disinformation, propaganda, and interference in our elections. But Russia’s aggression against Ukraine remains the original sin and the biggest threat. It’s not just Ukraine’s survival as an independent, democratic state that is on the line, but the future of an international order based on […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2017

The High Stakes of Ukraine’s Reform Struggle

By Stephen Blank

It is easy to despair about Ukraine ever reforming and becoming a normal European state. Nevertheless, such despair would be a mistaken response to the flood of stories depicting obstructions to reform—even if they are true. While anyone who has dealt with Ukraine in the last twenty-five years has experienced the frustrations of trying to […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2017

Ukraine Is Really Changing: A Business Can Register in Twenty Minutes or Less

By Victor Liakh and Olexiy Zelivyanskyi

It now takes only twenty minutes to register a business in Ukraine. Since March 2017, entrepreneurs have been able to open and close businesses through a new online portal that the Ministry of Justice and the State Agency for E-Governance are behind. The new service proved popular: in its first six months, it was used […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2017

Why Ukraine’s Next Revolution Won’t Be on the Streets

By Diane Francis

Deposed President Viktor Yanukovych and the Kremlin continue to create mayhem inside Ukraine but have lost the hearts and minds of most Ukrainians, said security expert Andriy Levus. “Confiscation of assets in the Donbas finances the military war for Yanukovych and Russia, and it’s a cover for smuggling, but only for another year or so,” […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2017

Will Austria’s New Government End Sanctions on Russia?

By Péter Krekó, Berhard Weidinger, Fabian Schmid, and Lóránt Győri

The far-right Austrian Freedom Party will likely become part of the next Austrian federal government following the October 15 parliamentary elections. For the first time since the introduction of sanctions on Russia in 2014, a member of a vehemently pro-Russian and anti-sanctions party would become a governmental force. Will this mean the end of the […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2017

Why Ukraine’s Week of Protests Quickly Fizzled

By Adrian Karatnycky

A week of protests on behalf of needed reforms in Ukraine have rapidly fizzled having made limited headway in pressing for legislative action while discrediting a segment of liberal reformers with its populist rhetoric and aggressive tactics. The protest outside parliament, which some organizers had expected would bring at least 10,000 to the streets, peaked […]

Ukraine