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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

Jul 25, 2023

Rebuilding efforts should prioritize the key pillars of Ukraine’s democracy

By
Oleksii Antoniuk

International attention is currently focused on the physical reconstruction of postwar Ukraine’s devastated infrastructure, but rebuilding the country’s democratic institutions will be just as important, writes Oleksii Antoniuk.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2023

Ukraine’s gas storage facilities can play a key role in European energy security

By
Sergiy Makogon

Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities are the largest in Europe and offer considerable untapped opportunities to enhance the continent’s energy security, writes Sergiy Makogon.

Conflict
Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2023

“Pariah” Putin forced to cancel travel plans over fears of war crimes arrest

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin’s pariah status has been confirmed after he was forced to cancel plans to attend a summit of BRICS leaders in South Africa over fears that he may be arrested for war crimes, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2023

Ukraine’s tech sector is playing vital wartime economic and defense roles

By
David Kirichenko

The Ukrainian tech industry has been the standout performer of the country’s hard-hit economy following Russia’s full-scale invasion and continues to play vital economic and defense sector roles, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2023

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was never about NATO

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin’s relaxed response to the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden proves that he knows NATO enlargement poses no security threat to Russia but has used the issue as a smokescreen for the invasion of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2023

Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

By
Roman Solchanyk

Vladimir Putin insists Ukrainians and Russians are “one people” and appears to have genuinely believed his invading army would be welcomed. It is now clear this was a catastrophic miscalculation, writes Roman Solchanyk.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2023

After Wagner: Could the Russian army now turn against Putin?

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

With dozens of senior Russian officers reportedly detained following the Wagner revolt and a senior commander dismissed this week for criticizing the conduct of the Ukraine invasion, could Putin face a mutiny within the Russian army?

Conflict
Crisis Management


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2023

Disappointed but not discouraged: Ukrainians react to NATO summit

By
Peter Dickinson

The 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius failed to produce a breakthrough toward Ukrainian membership but did underline international support for Ukraine in the fight against Russia’s invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jul 11, 2023

NATO summit leaves Ukrainians frustrated

By
Peter Dickinson

The 2023 NATO summit failed to deliver on hopes for a clear commitment on future Ukrainian membership, leaving many in Ukraine deeply frustrated by the apparent lack of urgency among the country’s allies, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Corruption


UkraineAlert

Jul 10, 2023

Moldova must seize opportunity to end energy dependence on Russia

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

With the Russian army struggling in Ukraine and Putin weakened on the domestic front, Moldova may never have a better opportunity to end its energy sector dependence on Russia, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.

Conflict
Energy Markets & Governance

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.

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

Dec 6, 2016

Trump, Brexit, and the Myth of Ukrainian Nationalism

By Peter Dickinson

The election of Donald Trump to the US presidency is the latest indication that the liberal globalist consensus of the post-Cold War era is finally over. The sanctity of political correctness has been shattered and we now find ourselves hurtling headlong into the uncharted territory of anti-establishment populism. Trump’s triumph is part of a broader […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 5, 2016

There’s More to DC Fashion than Gray Suits and More to Ukraine than War

By Melinda Haring

Vogue cannot get enough of Ukraine’s new designers and eye-catching traditional designs. Since the Euromaidan, the magazine has covered the country’s hot fashion scene half a dozen times. On November 30, seven of Ukraine’s designers were on display at a fashion show in Washington, DC, “to celebrate Ukraine’s creative culture,” said Alexa Chopivsky, executive director […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 5, 2016

“Ukraine Is Approaching the Turning Point: The Choice Is Reform or Chaos,” Saakashvili Warns

By Diane Francis

Former Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili’s opening remarks at the Kyiv Post’s Tiger Conference on November 29 were puzzling. “Thanks for a couple of cameras,” he said. He was referring to the fact that even though he is a national figure with a resonant message in Ukraine, he’s the victim of a news blackout by the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 2, 2016

Ukraine’s Most Overlooked Reform Could Bring in Billions

By Maxim Martynyuk and Alexei Sobchenko

Of the key battles fought in post-Maidan Ukraine, the one over land reform attracts little attention. That’s a shame, too. Parliament’s unwillingness to allow the sale of private farmland “is the biggest source of immediately available economic growth that the government has failed to utilize,” Swedish economist Anders Åslund has noted. The latest clash over […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 1, 2016

A New Approach to Reintegrating Eastern Ukraine and Crimea

By Oksana Bedratenko

Russian aggression is not likely to go away soon. As a result, Ukraine needs to revise the current framework guiding its economic disengagement from the occupied regions of the Donbas and Crimea. Economic disengagement limits the risks of financing terrorism with money coming from mainland Ukraine, and makes sure that the occupied areas of Donbas […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 1, 2016

Yatsenyuk at the European Parliament: It’s Time for Europe to Do Its Part

By Amanda Abrams

With respect to Ukraine and Russia’s aggression in the eastern part of the country, Europe needs to step up its game. That was the consensus at “The War in Ukraine’s East: The Military Conflict, Diplomacy, and the Humanitarian Crisis,” a discussion co-hosted by the Atlantic Council and Members of the European Parliament Anna Maria Corazza […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2016

Why Russia Can’t Get Over the West—Or Steven Seagal

By Andrew Kornbluth

It seemed like the international affairs version of clickbait: the president of the world’s leading nuclear state awarding citizenship to a foreign actor most famous for playing an ex-commando who must rescue an exotic dancer while foiling a plot to start World War III on the high seas. For most onlookers, Vladimir Putin’s gift of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2016

Here’s Why Ukraine Failed to Get More IMF Funding

By Anders Åslund

A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Ukraine November 3-17. The Ukrainian government had hoped that it would decide to give Ukraine another tranche of its four-year $17.5 billion loan package of March 2015, of which Ukraine has received $7.7 billion, but the answer was a resounding no. The IMF is normally very […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2016

Is It Prudent or Paranoid to Worry about Russia’s Influence in the Baltics?

By Jakub Janda

Russia has been busy spreading its influence in Europe and Eurasia. Alexander J. Motyl worries that the Baltic states are “the most vulnerable to a complete [Russian] takeover,” and security expert Paul D. Miller predicts that World War III could break out in Latvia. Last month Lithuania issued a manual on what to do if […]

Northern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 28, 2016

Has Putin Finally Stepped on His Own Rake in Syria?

By Stephen Blank

In October 2016 the Russian government made a significant announcement about its Syria policy that Western sources overlooked. Moscow announced that it supported the restoration of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s power throughout the country, something it had not stressed previously. This statement and its consequences merit serious scrutiny by the West because its implications are […]

Russia Turkey