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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

Nov 29, 2018

How to Put Putin in His Place

By
Michael Carpenter

Russia’s act of aggression against Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea on Sunday should not be dismissed as an isolated incident in its four-and-a-half year old war against Ukraine. This pre-meditated attack is part of a broader effort by Moscow to take full control of the Kerch Strait—a strategic chokepoint that connects Russia to Crimea […]


NATO


Russia


UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2018

How Ukraine Can Begin to Catch Up with the EU

By
Ivan Miklos and Pavlo Kukhta

Two major risks are clouding Ukraine’s economy and holding back investment and economic growth. One of them is politics. In 2019, the country will hold both presidential and parliamentary elections, in the spring and autumn, respectively. These will be the second elections since the 2014 revolution, and their outcomes will determine whether the country continues […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 28, 2018

Russia Openly Attacks Ukraine. Why Now?

By
Ruslan Minich and Vitalii Rybak

On November 25, Russia opened fire on three Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait and then seized them. On November 26, Kyiv imposed martial law in ten regions for thirty days as a response to the attack. Contrary to Russia’s previous military presence in Crimea or its military support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, both […]


Russia


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 28, 2018

Explainer: What Just Happened Between Russia and Ukraine, and Why Does It Matter?

By
Melinda Haring and Alexander Vershbow

On November 25, Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels as they were preparing to enter the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait. The Russian Coast Guard rammed a Ukrainian tugboat and fired on the three Ukrainian ships, injuring up to six crewmembers. Twenty-three Ukrainian sailors are now in Russian custody. This is the first […]


Russia


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 27, 2018

Why Martial Law Cheapens Ukraine’s Democracy

By
Mattia Nelles

On November 25, Russia attacked Ukraine again. It was a vivid reminder that Ukraine is at war and the situation can escalate at any time. Three Ukrainian vessels were shot at and seized by Russian maritime forces. Twenty-three Ukrainian sailors are now in Russian captivity. It’s the first time Russia has openly attacked Ukrainian forces.


Russia


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 26, 2018

Russia’s Provocations in the Sea of Azov: What Should Be Done?

By
Stephen Blank

On November 25 Russian vessels blocked Ukrainian ones from entering the Sea of Azov, fired on Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea, rammed some of those ships, seized three Ukrainian ships, and wounded six in these exchanges. Russia also dispatched helicopters to the area to maintain surveillance and fire capability over any approaching Ukrainian vessels. […]


Russia


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 26, 2018

Q&A: Russia Attacks Ukraine Again. How Should Ukraine, NATO, and the West Respond?

By
Melinda Haring

On November 25, Russia fired on the Ukrainian Navy in the Black Sea, injuring at least two Ukrainian sailors. Many experts have warned that Russia is opening a new front in its forgotten war in Ukraine on the Black and Azov Seas, illegally boarding commercial Ukrainian vessels and increasing its military presence to about 120 […]


Russia


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 24, 2018

An American Tradition that Ukraine Doesn’t Need

By
Nataliya Popovych

It’s Black Friday in Kyiv, Ukraine, and retail is booming. Abundance is everywhere. Like everywhere else, Black Friday sales are plastered on store windows around town. For Ukrainians, this reality comes in shocking contrast with the events of 1933 eighty-five years ago. Ukraine was breadless and in crisis. Corpses littered the streets in central and […]


Russia


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 21, 2018

Giving Thanks for Thank You: Ukraine’s Business Community Embraces Gratitude

By
Andy Hunder

As McDonalds prepared to open its first restaurant in the Soviet Union in 1990, the fast food company embarked on a program to train its future staff to smile and thank customers. During the training session one of the young new hamburger restaurant recruits raised his hand and asked the American instructor: “Why should I […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2018

Ukraine Is Really a Testing Ground

By
David J. Kramer

Western democracies are under threat from outside meddling, and Ukraine is the testing ground for this interference. Former Assistant Secretary of State David J. Kramer looks at why Ukraine’s position on the frontline of freedom has led to increase foreign interference in Ukraine and why the West must pay attention to possible influence operations in […]


Ukraine

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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

May 15, 2017

Ukrainian Jews Find Safe Haven, Challenges in Israel

By Larry Luxner

Every Sunday and Tuesday evening, Alena Sapiro, 26, takes the hour-long bus ride from her home in Lod to attend Ramit Avidan’s intermediate Hebrew classes at Ulpan Gordon, a Tel Aviv school for new immigrants run by the Israeli Ministry of Absorption. Sapiro, who helps develop mobile apps for a local software company, came on […]

Israel Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2017

Ukraine PM Groisman Visits Israel, Marking Improvement in Delicate Bilateral Relations

By Larry Luxner

The May 14 arrival of Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman to Israel signals a rapprochement of ties that suffered a temporary blow last December, when Ukraine—along with thirteen other countries—voted to support a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Groisman is the first Jewish prime minister in Ukrainian history. He […]

Israel Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 10, 2017

Q&A: Will We Ever Get to the Bottom of Russian Hacking in the US Election?

By Melinda Haring

President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey on May 9. Comey had been leading a criminal investigation into whether Trump’s advisers colluded with the Russian government to influence the results of the 2016 presidential election. Trump justified the firing by pointing to the way Comey handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

May 10, 2017

Ukraine Needs Tough Love and IMF Conditionality, Leshchenko Urges

By Diane Francis

“The IMF should not give one more dollar to Ukraine until the Anti-Corruption Court is in operation,” said Sergii Leshchenko in a May 9 telephone interview. Leshchenko is a hero of the Revolution of Dignity, a lanky and serious journalist-turned-politician who has risked his life and career for years to fight corruption in Ukraine. He’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 10, 2017

Russia Deploys Banned Missile and Brags about It

By Semen Kabakaev

Thirty years ago, on December 8, 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which entered into force on June 1, 1988. The parties pledged not to produce, test or deploy ballistic and cruise land-based missiles of medium range (from 1,000 to 5,500 kilometers). Elimination of all declared missiles and […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 9, 2017

How to Win Friends and Influence People on a Global Scale

By Alexandra Hall Hall

Dale Carnegie’s famous self-help book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, centers on investing in personal relationships in order to achieve success. President Donald Trump has demonstrated an instinctive understanding of this principle in the way he has interacted with a succession of world leaders, whether over a round of golf at Mar-a-Lago or […]

The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

May 8, 2017

How Trump Can Fix US-Russia Ties

By Alexander Vershbow

US President Donald Trump will have his first high-level meeting with a Russian representative this week, when Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov comes to the White House following a scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The stakes are high: about the only thing on which Moscow and Washington agree is that relations are at […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 5, 2017

How Not to Become a War Criminal: A Guide for Russian Soldiers

By Valentyn Badrak, Lada Roslycky, Mykhailo Samus, and Volodymyr Kopchak

Few Russian citizens view the Kremlin’s invasion into Ukraine as unlawful. Not many Russian servicemen realize that when they are fighting there, they fight as unnamed, faceless soldiers who lack the protection of international pacts, including the Geneva Conventions. They not only risk death, injury, or abandonment by the state that sent them there; they […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2017

Why Is the Kremlin So Fixated on Phantom Fascists?

By Peter Dickinson

In April, reports emerged of Kremlin plans to launch a major smear campaign against Russian opposition figurehead Alexey Navalny. Within days, an expensive-looking attack video had appeared anonymously on YouTube, comparing Navalny to Adolf Hitler. The Russian authorities denied any connection to the video, but few believed them. After all, branding opponents as fascists is […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 3, 2017

Will Ukrainians Ever Trust the Press?

By Adam Tismaneanu

Journalism has changed since the Euromaidan, but most Ukrainians still don’t trust the media. Oligarchs continue to own a majority of the major outlets. Since 2014, reformers have established a public broadcasting service and are in the process of privatizing several hundred state-owned newspapers. Those steps may not be enough. The media suffers from a […]

Ukraine