Stay Updated

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 22, 2021

Land reform can make Ukraine an agricultural superpower

By
Roman Leshchenko

Ukraine stands today on the threshold of historic change. The country will launch its agricultural land market on July 1. This is one of the most significant landmarks in the 30 years of Ukrainian independence.


Corruption


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2021

Business community seeks to boost Ukraine’s market infrastructure

By
Andy Hunder

Ukrainian officials and representatives of the business community signed a memorandum of understanding on June 8 for the NEXT-UA initiative, which aims to help buttress Ukraine’s market infrastructure.


Economy & Business


Fiscal and Structural Reform


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2021

The dangers of echoing Russian disinformation on Ukraine

By
Andreas Umland

Disinformation has been central to Russia's seven-year hybrid war against Ukraine. By echoing Kremlin narratives, Western commentators risk enabling Russian aggression and undermining international security.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2021

Ukraine’s choice: corruption or growth

By
Willem Buiter

As Ukraine prepares to mark 30 years of independence, it is clear that until corruption is confronted in a comprehensive and decisive manner, it will continue to prevent the country from achieving economic growth.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2021

Armenian voters offered false choice between security and democracy

By
Lusine Hakobyan

Armenians will go to the polls on June 20 in snap parliamentary elections that the opposition seeks to position as a straight choice between democracy and security following the country's 2020 military defeat.


Democratic Transitions


Elections


UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2021

Biden-Putin summit review: Good news for Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

Few countries were as anxious as Ukraine ahead of Wednesday’s summit in Geneva between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but can Kyiv regard the outcome as favorable?


Conflict


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2021

Putin’s Ukraine War: Will Russia attempt a Black Sea blockade?

By
Andriy Zagorodnyuk

The international community spent much of April 2021 nervously watching the Ukrainian border for signs of a new Kremlin offensive, but Russia's next escalation may come in the Black Sea.


Conflict


Maritime Security


UkraineAlert

Jun 14, 2021

Geopolitical weapon: Putin’s pipeline nears completion

By
Benjamin Schmitt

This week's summit meeting between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin may be one of the last opportunities for the US to take a stand against the Kremlin's controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Russia


UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2021

NATO must stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression

By
Paul Grod

NATO's 2008 decision to deny Ukraine a Membership Action Plan paved the way for Putin's 2014 attack. NATO leaders must now back Ukraine to prevent a further escalation in Russia's war on the post-1991 settlement.


Conflict


NATO Partnerships


UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2021

Pro-Kremlin propaganda in Ukraine changes tone

By
Peter Pomerantsev, Inna Nelles, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Angelina Kariakina

Pro-Kremlin propaganda in Ukraine is changing. Praising Putin is a harder sell since the 2014 invasion, so now the focus is less on boosting Russia and more about making the West look just as bad.


Disinformation


Media

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.

Follow us on social media
and support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Jun 30, 2017

Ukraine’s Trashy Politics

By Diane Francis

Lviv is Ukraine’s most beautiful city, an exquisite UNESCO World Heritage site that has survived attacks and changed hands for seven centuries. The city is a successful IT hub and its hotels, restaurants, and architecture attract 2.5 million visitors a year. Since 2006, its reform-minded mayor and city council have upgraded infrastructure and enticed industry […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2017

War in Ukraine 2.0

By Melinda Haring

Russia is targeting the most capable and dedicated parts of the Ukrainian military. On June 27, Colonel Maksim Shapoval, commander of an elite Ukrainian military intelligence unit, was killed when his car exploded during his morning commute in downtown Kyiv. A few hours later, a massive cyberattack took out computer systems across the city. The […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 28, 2017

Ukraine’s Least Sexy Reform Is Transforming Villages with New Roads, Police, and Even a Telescope

By Ruslan Minich

It used to be dark, and children had to jump from stone to stone to get to school. Now, the roads are smooth and brightly lit. Water flows from the mountains by gravity, and thus is free of charge and available to everyone. This is what the residents of southwestern Ukraine’s Poliana village say decentralization […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2017

What Happens if Russia Turns Up the Heat Again in Ukraine?

By Andreas Umland

Will the low-intensity war in the Donbas continue its current course in the coming years, or will Moscow turn up the heat there, as it occasionally does? It’s hard to say. “It all comes down to geopolitics and what Putin wants to do,” said Ihor Kozak, an independent Canadian defense and security expert who visited […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2017

How History Will Remember Vladimir Putin

By Stephen Blank

To paraphrase Pravda in 1929, Putin is the Stalin of today. Nobody since Stalin’s death has achieved such longevity or uncontested power over Russia as Putin has. Nevertheless, tomorrow he may be remembered as the Brezhnev of today, for he has presided over a galloping stagnation of the economy and public morality. At the same […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2017

In Ukraine, Health Security Is National Security

By Olena Kucheruk and Alex T. Johnson

Three years after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues to pummel the country with cyberattacks, ruthless propaganda, and Grad missiles. But Ukraine’s dysfunctional institutions, especially its health care system, undermine Ukraine’s national security as well. Policies to reduce the enormous stress on Ukraine’s military and government alone ignore the delivery of core services. Without those […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 23, 2017

Memo to President Trump: It’s Not “The Ukraine” Anymore

By Peter Dickinson

The first meeting between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and US President Donald Trump on June 20 was widely hailed as a small but significant victory for Ukraine, signaling continued American support at a time when many fear Ukraine’s struggle with Russia is in danger of becoming a forgotten war. The only fly in the ointment […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2017

Experts Urge Congress and Trump to Arm Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

A bipartisan task force made up of former US defense officials, ambassadors, and security experts renewed calls for the United States to give lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. On June 21, the National Security Task Force of the Friends of Ukraine Network urged the United States to provide a range of weapons, intelligence, and training. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 21, 2017

Russia, Not Ukraine, Is Serial Violator of Ceasefire Agreement

By John E. Herbst

Like many articles and analyses of the Minsk process, “Ukrainian Military Progress Could Violate Minsk Peace Process” requires additional analysis on the geopolitical underpinnings and implications of the issue at hand. Without this context, it is difficult to make sense of any facts presented. The context is this: Moscow is conducting the war in Ukraine’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 20, 2017

Will Ukraine Finally Pass Land Reform?

By Oksana Bedratenko

Ukraine still needs a powerful push to finally shrug off the 2014-2015 crisis, which caused its economy to contract by 16.5 percent. The IMF prescribed anticorruption reform, privatization, pension reform, and allowing private sales of land to give Ukraine that boost. It is important to move fast with these reforms for two reasons: first, elections […]

Ukraine