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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

Aug 6, 2020

Can new legislation revive Ukraine’s defense reforms?

By
Serhiy Piontkovsky

Ukraine's defense industry has become a major source of state spending since the onset of hostilities with Russia in 2014, but corruption allegations have been a problem. Can new legislation revive reform efforts?


Defense Policy


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2020

From Russian war to European opportunity: Reinventing eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region

By
Oleksii Reznikov

Putin has place eastern Ukraine's Donbas region at the heart of his "Russian World" mythology, but in reality the region has a cosmopolitan heritage that could help to inspire a new era of European investment.


Conflict


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2020

How to overcome Ukraine’s IT industry brain drain

By
Bill Brown

Ukraine’s booming IT industry is fueling the country's economic growth. The future of the sector depends on creating a professional climate that will convince talented young Ukrainian IT professionals to stay.


Entrepreneurship


Internet


UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2020

For Ukraine, endless Putin means endless hybrid war

By
Mark Temnycky

Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent constitutional amendments will allow him to extend his reign until 2036. This undermines faint hopes for an end to the six-year Russo-Ukrainian War.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Aug 1, 2020

Kyiv names street in honor of journalist who exposed Stalin’s Ukrainian genocide

By
Peter Dickinson

Kyiv City Council has confirmed plans to name a street in the Ukrainian capital in honor of British journalist Gareth Jones, who first brought news of Stalin's 1933 Ukrainian genocide to international audiences.


Disinformation


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2020

The coronavirus crisis and statelessness in Ukraine

By
Andrew D’Anieri

For the estimated 35,000 stateless people living in Ukraine, access to even the most basic resources like food, medicine, and hygienic products, has been all but cut off due to the coronavirus pandemic.


Coronavirus


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Jul 29, 2020

Hard political realities threaten Ukraine’s soft power ambitions

By
Marina Pesenti

The Ukrainian Institute was established in 2018 in order to make the most of the country's untapped soft power potential, but this cultural diplomacy initiative faces numerous political and bureaucratic obstacles.


Civil Society


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2020

Zelenskyy’s bad economics: Inflation and devaluation will not help Ukraine grow

By
Anders Åslund

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s policymakers are causing concern by flirting with the dangerous idea that high inflation and substantial currency devaluation can boost economic growth.


Democratic Transitions


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jul 27, 2020

“Mr. Jones” film exposes the fake news campaign behind Stalin’s Ukrainian genocide

By
Serhii Plokhii

"Mr. Jones" is an important historical drama that sheds long overdue light on Stalin's man-made famine in 1930's Ukraine. The famine killed millions but remains relatively unknown among international audiences.


Disinformation


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2020

Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts go up in smoke

By
Peter Dickinson

A July 23 arson attack on the home of leading Ukrainian anti-corruption activist Vitaliy Shabunin has sparked concerns over the country's continued commitment to reforms under President Zelenskyy.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions

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

Jun 15, 2017

When Winning the War Isn’t Enough

By Andriy Kobolyev

Since Russia’s military aggression began in 2014, I have been asking myself what Ukraine must do to win. There is no simple answer, but we cannot defeat Ukraine’s external enemy until we have overcome the enemy within, which is corruption. And Ukraine is losing this internal battle. I am convinced that a zero-tolerance approach at […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 14, 2017

Miracle of 2014 Was Ukraine’s Dunkirk

By Peter Dickinson

One of the biggest blockbuster movies of summer 2017 looks likely to be “Dunkirk,” a WWII drama set on the beaches of northern France in summer 1940 as Adolf Hitler’s panzer armies closed in on pockets of trapped and surrounded allied forces. The film will introduce global audiences to one of the most celebrated events […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 14, 2017

The Senate Just Passed a Monumental New Russia Sanctions Bill—Here’s What’s In It

By Edward Fishman

Today, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that would fortify existing sanctions on Russia and add new restrictions. If the bill becomes law, it would mark the most significant step taken by Congress on Russia policy in recent history. Though not perfect, the bill would substantially strengthen the West’s negotiating position vis-à-vis Russia on the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2017

Three Years After Euromaidan, Kyiv Struggles with Vision

By Sergiy Gusovsky

Late May marked three years since Kyiv’s new authorities headed by Mayor Vitali Klitschko assumed responsibility for the capital. I would like to report that people’s expectations have been met and the city has undertaken systemic change. I would like to write that Kyiv is on a path toward sustainable development and serves as an […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2017

How to Putin-Proof Your Elections

By Jakub Janda and Veronika Víchová

Russia has been meddling in Western democracies and their internal affairs since at least 2014, but the issue came to the fore only after the 2016 US presidential election. And the problem may be more acute than previously thought: Russian hackers attacked election systems in thirty-nine of the fifty states. Since then, several countries have […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2017

Why Populism Isn’t Ukraine’s Number One Enemy

By Hlib Vyshlinsky

Ukrainians are starting to show greater confidence in the economy, while public trust in the country’s leaders has reached new lows, according to a recent poll from the International Republican Institute. Only 18 percent of those surveyed has a favorable opinion of President Petro Poroshenko, while 76 percent holds an unfavorable opinion. Approval figures for […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2017

Ukrainians Resolute in Desire to Keep Country United, New Poll Reveals

By Katie LaRoque

On May 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin separately met with President Donald J. Trump, who later tweeted his desire for the two countries to make peace. Most would like to see this war come to a close—with more than 10,000 lives lost and over 1.7 million internally displaced […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2017

The Truth of Being an IDP Is Painfully Clear in “Women’s Voices”

By Amanda Abrams

“In July, armed men came to their house and searched it for three hours looking for Ukrainian flags. The next day, Olena fled her hometown.” So began the odyssey of Olena, an internally displaced person from Donetsk who was driven from her home by the conflict in 2014. Like Ukraine’s other 1.7 million IDPs, her […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2017

Just How Much Influence Does the Kremlin Have in Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic?

By Roman Shutov

In a handful of Central and Eastern European countries, governments and the media have been slow and ineffective in countering the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation. The best defense? An active, engaged civil society. Those were some of the findings of the Kremlin Influence Index (KII), a report released in mid-May that analyzed the Russian government’s ability […]

Central Europe Hungary

UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2017

It Was a Very Good Spring for Ukraine

By Diane Francis

Ukrainians are finally starting to see that “spring has arrived” following a string of positive developments. “It’s the Ukrainian national habit to complain, but there has been a lot of good news lately,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Trade Nataliya Mykolska in an interview while on a trade mission to Canada. “Naftogaz won the Stockholm […]

Ukraine