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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

Feb 26, 2021

Why Ukraine sanctioned Putin’s ally Medvedchuk

By
Andriy Yermak

Ukraine has introduced a number of measures during February 2021 to restrict the influence of Vladimir Putin's closest Ukrainian ally, Viktor Medvedchuk.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2021

Russia’s collective punishment of the Crimean Tatars is a war crime

By
Wayne Jordash and Anna Mykytenko

As Ukraine seeks international justice over the Russian seizure and occupation of Crimea, Kyiv should consider holding the Kremlin to account for the collective punishment of the Crimean Tatars.


Conflict


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2021

Biden must freeze Putin’s pipeline and prevent this “bad deal for Europe”

By
Benjamin Schmitt

By taking steps to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, US President Joe Biden has a real opportunity to build a new transatlantic security consensus while revitalizing the US-German relationship.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Germany


UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2021

Ukrainians protest “political justice” over activist jailing

By
Solomiia Bobrovska

The jailing of a high-profile Ukrainian activist has sparked protests over fears that his conviction represents politicized justice and a victory for pro-Kremlin forces within the Ukrainian establishment.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 23, 2021

Rethinking Yushchenko

By
Brian Mefford

Ukraine's third president, Viktor Yushchenko, came to power on a tide of history but left office in humbling circumstances after a single term. Is it now time to reevaluate the transformative effect of his presidency?


Democratic Transitions


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2021

Ukraine’s booming IT sector defies the coronavirus crisis

By
Peter Dickinson

While businesses around the world are counting the cost of a year disrupted by the unprecedented challenges of the COVID crisis, Ukraine’s IT sector continues to go from strength to strength.


Coronavirus


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2021

Ukraine can play key role in Europe’s energy Green Deal

By
Aura Sabadus

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), World Bank, and EU have all argued that Ukraine could become a world leader in renewable production.


Energy Transitions


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2021

Alexei Navalny is a Russian nationalist but he may still be good news for Ukraine

By
Andreas Umland

Many Ukrainians remain skeptical of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny due to his Russian nationalist past, but Navalny's impact on Russian politics may eventually prove beneficial for Ukraine.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2021

Ukraine adopts new and improved referendum law

By
Alisa Shushkovska and Harald Jepsen

Ukraine's recently adopted National Referendum Law fulfills an election promise made by President Zelenskyy to give the people of Ukraine greater and more direct influence over national policies.


Democratic Transitions


Elections


UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2021

Putin the Poisoner

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin the Poisoner: Russian President Vladimir Putin has adopted a poisonous approach to international politics in a bid to defend his own authoritarian regime by dividing, discrediting, and destabilizing the democratic world.


Disinformation


European Union

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Content

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

UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2017

Ukrainians Are Protesting Again. Will It Amount to Anything?

By Melinda Haring

On October 19, several thousand protesters in Kyiv cheered as parliament passed a bill that will lift parliamentary immunity. It was not the only victory of the day; parliament approved major health care reform as well. This was the third day that thousands of Ukrainians have taken to the streets to demand that President Petro […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 18, 2017

Stanford Cultivates the Next Generation of Ukrainian Leaders

By Sasha Jason

Even within Ukraine’s embattled political sphere, a new generation of leaders is still inspiring change. Stanford University intends to harness this energy through its Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program, a new program for mid-career professionals to study at Stanford for an academic year. Olexandr Starodubtsev, Oleksandra Matviichuk, and Dmytro Romanovych were inducted as the first members […]

Ukraine