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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

Mar 22, 2020

Ukraine urgently needs a new IMF agreement

By
Anders Åslund

Ukraine is facing major economic turmoil as a result of poor political decisions in the midst of an unfolding global crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. The country now urgently needs to secure a new IMF agreement, argues Anders Åslund.


Economy & Business


International Financial Institutions


UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2020

Saving Ukraine’s economy from the coronavirus crash

By
Yuriy Gorodnichenko

The Ukrainian economy is facing a perfect storm of coronavirus pressures as exports plummet and the domestic economy grinds to a halt. How can Ukraine mitigate the worst of the unfolding global crisis?


Coronavirus


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2020

The Azov Regiment has not depoliticized

By
Oleksiy Kuzmenko

The Azov Regiment began life in 2014 as part of Ukraine's makeshift volunteer army and soon earned a reputation for far-right ties. The regiment has since been incorporated into the National Guard, but has it really cut its political associations?


Nationalism


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2020

Living next door to a superpower: How Canada’s experience can help Ukraine

By
Roman Waschuk

As Ukraine struggles to find a route towards peaceful coexistence with its powerful Russian neighbor, Kyiv politicians could learn from Canada's own experience of living next door to a global superpower.


Politics & Diplomacy


Russia


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2020

Cruz vows to thwart Russian bid to save Putin’s pipeline

By
Diane Francis

Russia is attempting to sidestep American sanctions designed to block the completion of an important new energy pipeline that bypasses Ukraine, but US Senator Ted Cruz has said he remains committed to stopping the project permanently.


Energy & Environment


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2020

Ukraine’s horrible, no good, very bad month just got worse

By
Melinda Haring

Ukraine is having a bad month, and it only seems to be getting worse.


Democratic Transitions


Rule of Law


UkraineAlert

Mar 16, 2020

Ukraine’s pro-Russian MPs plot new front with Putin

By
Bohdan Nahaylo

Ukraine's pro-Russian political forces have been in retreat since 2014, but as the world focuses on the coronavirus crisis, Kremlin-friendly Ukrainian MPs are planning new initiatives with their Moscow colleagues.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Mar 14, 2020

Ukraine agrees to dialogue with Russian-led republics

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian officials this week agreed to begin talks with representatives of Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, marking a significant policy departure following six years of refusals to enter into direct dialogue with the breakaway regions.


Conflict


Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2020

Six years of war fail to cure Putin’s Ukraine delusions

By
Taras Kuzio

How do you make peace with an adversary who openly questions your right to exist? This is the challenge facing Ukraine as it seeks to end a war with Russia while confronting old imperial prejudices that continue to influence Russian policy-making.


Conflict


Nationalism


UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2020

Diaspora deputies: Should Ukraine’s global community have a voice in parliament?

By
Andrej Lushnycky

Ukraine's multi-million strong global diaspora has long been a vocal voice of support for the motherland – is it now time to offer the diaspora a greater role in the development of Ukraine through parliamentary representation?


Democratic Transitions


Ukraine

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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.

The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.

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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