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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

Oct 4, 2019

Expert Q&A: Will the Steinmeier Formula bring peace to Ukraine?

By
Mattia Nelles

What does the Steinmeier Formula mean for Ukraine and could this be the first step in a peaceful settlement of the Donbas war?


Conflict


Crisis Management


UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2019

Early warning signs in Ukraine

By
Bohdan Nahaylo

The recent resignation of Oleksandr Danyliuk is a blow to all those who have expected better from the new Ukrainian president and his team.


Democratic Transitions


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2019

Rebuilding Ukraine one house at a time

By
Yurko Didula

Five years after Kramatorsk, our volunteer initiative has become the largest volunteer movement in Ukraine with a network of more than 2,500 volunteers. Together, we have restored housing for 220 families and helped 17 cities create their own youth centers.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 2, 2019

Will Ukraine make a deal with Kolomoisky? Three things to watch

By
Oksana Bedratenko

There are only three things to watch to determine whether rumors about a possible deal with Kolomoisky are true: changes in NBU leadership, developments in PrivatBank-related cases in Ukrainian courts, and how the cases in international courts play out.


Financial Regulation


International Financial Institutions


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2019

Hard questions for Mr. Zelenskyy

By
Bohdan Nahaylo

Is Ukraine about to be sold out and further weakened by internal splits?


Elections


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2019

Leave Ukraine out of the Ukraine scandal

By
Oleksii Honcharenko

I have one request for American political elites: stop making Ukraine a political football in the internal affairs of the United States. Nothing less than our security and Europe’s security depends on it.


Crisis Management


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2019

Ukraine is having a very bad month

By
Melinda Haring

Only three weeks ago, diplomats, the international finance community, and Ukraine boosters were so upbeat.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 27, 2019

Why Zelenskyy needs a new chief of staff now

By
Melinda Haring

A new investigation may shed light on the views of Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Bohdan toward Russia and the West.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2019

Expert Q&A: How’s the US-Ukraine relationship after New York?

By
Melinda Haring

How’s the US-Ukraine relationship after New York? What should Zelenskyy do next? How could Russian President Vladimir Putin exploit this?


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2019

Will Zelenskyy make the same fatal mistake as Poroshenko?

By
Kateryna Butko

Judicial reform is one of the most anticipated promises made by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his unorthodox campaign.


Civil Society


Political Reform

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

May 24, 2017

The Obvious Mistake We Make in Fighting Russian Disinformation

By Geysha Gonzalez

“The person who tells their story best, wins,” said Jed Willard of the FDR Center for Global Engagement at Harvard University in Prague on May 17, succinctly explaining the challenges of fighting disinformation. Willard and 330 other experts from twenty-nine countries gathered in Prague for a strategic communications summit (STRATCOM) hosted by European Values, a […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2017

Will Facebook Finally Fight Disinformation or Just Make Things Worse?

By Nina Jankowicz

For years, Facebook has quietly and very intentionally inserted itself into the daily lives of its users. It has succeeded wildly, becoming arguably the world’s most ubiquitous communication platform, with an average of 1.28 billion daily users. But now that it has become one of the world’s most popular sources of news, Facebook is failing […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2017

By Changing Alphabet, Kazakhs Take Another Step Toward the West

By Ariel Cohen

Kazakhstan has decided to switch alphabets, from Cyrillic to Latin script, by 2025. After decades of Russian and Soviet domination, countries are developing their own cultural code, though some feel uneasy about the change. Yet the Latin alphabet will only boost Kazakhstan’s international integration and its economic, technological, and scientific development. Plus, Latin script isn’t […]

Central Asia

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2017

The Reform Story Isn’t Over in Kyiv

By Ivan Mikloš

In the West, many people are ready to write off Ukraine. They wrongly believe that Ukraine’s reforms are stagnating, corruption is widespread, and the country is at war. But Ukraine’s reforms are definitely not done. To understand Ukraine’s promise, one must first grasp the country’s situation in 2014 when the reforms began. Two decades of […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 22, 2017

Why Are Russian Opposition Leaders Democrats at Home and Imperialists Abroad?

By Taras Kuzio

The US Congress has approved $100 million to counter “Russian influence and aggression” and support civil society organizations in Europe and Eurasia. According to the legislation, the funding will be used to “support democracy programs in the Russian Federation, including to promote internet freedom, and shall also be made available to support the democracy and […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 18, 2017

Something Is Very Wrong in Kyiv

By Josh Cohen

Ukraine Brags about Reforms and Harasses Activists Oleksandra Ustinova does not scare easily. Ustinova—Ustik to her friends—is a member of the board of the most outspoken watchdog in Kyiv and has led lobbying campaigns which successfully pushed through anticorruption reforms in Ukraine. She’s also a recognizable face with her straight blond hair and light blue […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 17, 2017

From Russia with Hate: The Kremlin’s Support for Violent Extremism in Central Europe

By Péter Krekó and Lóránt Győri

In 2016, the mayor of Ásotthalom, a small Hungarian town close to the country’s southern border, celebrated the opening of Gagarin Street with an obelisk to Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin and a speech about Russia’s greatness. The mayor was László Toroczkai, an extremist politician who serves as the vice president of the far-right Jobbik party; […]

Central Europe Hungary

UkraineAlert

May 17, 2017

Crimea’s Virtual Blackout Means Anything Goes

By Yuriy Lukanov

On Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the Russian authorities are suppressing freedom of speech so that no one will really know what has happened there. Journalists in particular are under threat. The case of Ukrainian journalist Mykola Semena is one example of the situation in Crimea, which Russia has illegally occupied since 2014. His opinions were published […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2017

Why Ukraine’s Worst Enemy Is Not Vladimir Putin

By Peter Dickinson

Identifying Ukraine’s enemies has become a popular pastime. Unsurprisingly, Russia was the first one to be listed after the Kremlin dropped any pretense of Slavic fraternity and invaded the country. Corruption was next. Whereas Russia was the enemy at the gates, corruption was the enemy within. An eclectic collection of lesser enemies has since joined […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2017

Why the Internet May Save Us After All

By Nina Jankowicz

New Activists in Belarus and Russia Take to the Streets after Videos and Memes Spread On a single weekend in March, Russia and Belarus witnessed their largest protests in five years. Both countries have seen major street demonstrations in the past, but these were different and catalyzed by social media. The widespread use of online […]

Belarus Russia