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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, 2022

Ukraine’s female soldiers reflect country’s strong feminist tradition

By
Iryna Slavinska

The prominent role being played by Ukrainian women in the current war effort reflects longstanding traditions of feminism and notions of gender equality that have deep roots in Ukrainian society.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2022

Putin admits Ukraine invasion is an imperial war to “return” Russian land

By
Peter Dickinson

By abandoning all pretense and comparing himself to Peter the Great, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has confirmed that he is waging an old-fashioned imperial war of conquest with the goal of annexing Ukrainian land.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 7, 2022

Only total defeat in Ukraine can cure Russia of its imperialism

By
Dennis Soltys

Despite collapsing in 1917 and 1991, today's Russia remains an unapologetically imperialistic power. Unless Putin's invasion of Ukraine ends in unambiguous defeat, we will soon witness a new round on imperial aggression.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2022

More than three-quarters of Russians still support Putin’s Ukraine War

By
Peter Dickinson

The latest polling data from Russia indicates that public support for the invasion of Ukraine remains strong despite higher than expected Russian casualties and widespread accusations of war crimes.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2022

Russia has not abandoned its goal of crushing Ukrainian statehood

By
Melinda Haring

Ukraine has achieved a number of striking successes during the first phase of the Russian invasion but there is no room for complacency as Vladimir Putin's goal of crushing Ukrainian statehood remains unchanged.


Central Europe


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2022

Imperial myths and genocidal realities: 100 days of Putin’s Ukraine War

By
Nestor Barchuk

Putin’s Ukraine war relies on a series of propaganda myths that reflect modern Russia’s failure to break with its imperialistic past. If Europe wants to achieve a lasting peace, it must work toward a post-imperial Russia.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 31, 2022

Memo to Henry Kissinger: Appeasing Putin means enabling genocide

By
Stephen Blank

Appeasing Russia will not end the war in Ukraine or secure peace in our time. On the contrary, it will embolden Putin, prolong Ukraine’s pain, weaken the West, and destabilize the entire world, writes Stephen Blank.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

May 30, 2022

Now is the right time to launch a Digital Marshall Plan for Ukraine 

By
Anatoly Motkin

As the world explores the challenges of rebuilding Ukraine, one smart option may be to initiate a Digital Marshall Plan that will play to Ukraine's existing tech strengths while securing the country's modernization.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

May 27, 2022

South Ukraine holds the key to Putin’s dreams of a new Russian Empire

By
Taras Kuzio

The biggest European battles since WWII are currently raging in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region but the ultimate outcome of the Russo-Ukrainian War is likely to be decided hundreds of miles to the south.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 27, 2022

Ukraine’s sports stars aim to provide nation with a wartime morale boost

By
Mark Temnycky

Ukraine's national football team will take on Scotland in a 2022 World Cup playoff match on June 1 in Glasgow as they seek to provide their compatriots back home with a much-needed wartime morale boost.


Conflict


Resilience & Society

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

Aug 3, 2017

Germany’s Key Role in Fighting Kremlin Subversion in Europe

By Jakub Janda and Veronika Víchová

What does the German government plan to do about the Kremlin’s creeping disinformation operations? Germany became interested in Russia’s subversive disinformation campaign only recently, particularly after the infamous “Lisa case” in 2016. The German government has started to implement some new security measures, especially in the area of cybersecurity. Russian interference in Germany’s September elections […]

Germany Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 1, 2017

Washington’s Got a New Tool to Counter Putin, and It’s Not What You Think It Is

By Mari Dugas

Washington’s got a new way to counter Russian influence in Europe, and it’s not what you might expect. Thanks to new technology, the United States has experienced a boom in natural gas production and is set to become the world’s third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2020. The United States has recognized this […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 1, 2017

The Russia Sanctions Bill Is a Decisive Moment for US Policy—Now What?

By Edward Fishman

On August 2, President Donald Trump signed the Russia sanctions bill that passed the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities. Trump had little choice; had he rejected the bill, it would have become law anyway. Despite concerns that House Republicans would water down the bill after it initially sailed through the Senate on June 15, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 31, 2017

Why Trump is Wrong about Ukrainian Interference in US Elections

By Adrian Karatnycky

President Donald Trump’s July 25 tweet sent shockwaves through Ukraine, a country that relies on US support to resist an ongoing Russian military attack and occupation of large chunks of its territory. It is understandable why Trump and his media cheerleaders like Sean Hannity might be scrambling to find examples of other countries interfering in […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2017

How Healthy Is Ukrainian Democracy?

By Diane Francis

Hours after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stripped Mikheil Saakashvili of his citizenship to silence him, the former president of Georgia was on CNN in New York City badmouthing the oligarchy. Poroshenko’s latest attack on the anti-corruption movement will backfire as Saakashvili becomes a megaphone to the world. He already is a media darling—and speaks five […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2017

Setting the Record Straight about Reform in Ukraine

By John E. Herbst

Evaluating reform in Ukraine is akin to taking a Rorschach test. For Kremlin propagandists and their witting or unwitting acolytes in the West, Ukraine is an irredeemably corrupt place. To young reformers in Ukraine and some of the country’s well-wishers, progress in transforming the country is agonizingly slow and always in danger of reversal. And […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2017

Ukraine Does It Again: Judicial Reform Focuses on Process, Not Results

By Anastasia Krasnosilska

Sergiy Koziakov, the head of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ), calls the selection process for Ukraine’s new Supreme Court a model process but overlooks the actual results. Ukrainians, tired of assessing never-ending processes, are judging the competition by its results. The hours of interviews with the candidates, the fact that interviews were broadcasted […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2017

Unexpected Industry: Dozens of New Enterprises Signal Ukraine’s Economic Recovery

By Vitalii Rybak

Ukraine’s industrial sector has had a difficult spell. The production of heavy coal, steel, and machinery, inherited from the Soviet past, have traditionally been linked to technologically obsolete post-Soviet markets and until recently were declining. The war in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s closure of its markets as a punishment for Ukraine’s pro-Western course only accelerated […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2017

How to Hold Facebook and Google Responsible for Fake News

By Klára Votavová and Jakub Janda

Online platforms have become the world’s most influential editors-in-chief. According to a 2016 Reuters Digital News Report, 51 percent of people access online news through social media, allowing these platforms to curate their news intake through personalized algorithms. These platforms have simultaneously gained significant economic leverage: experts estimate that in 2016, the two most influential […]

UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2017

Why the US Keeps Losing the Fight against Disinformation

By Maxim Eristavi

Journalists and activists in Eastern Europe have been fighting modern propaganda for years. It is time to deploy the lessons of those battles to newsrooms in Washington and beyond. I’ve been exposing organized lies professionally for years now. It started when propaganda took over the Russian-state newsroom in Moscow I was managing in 2013. When […]

Russia Ukraine