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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

Apr 20, 2021

Ukraine’s nation-building journey and the legacy of the Euromaidan Revolution

By
Sofiya Kominko

Ukrainian MPs recently passed a resolution recognizing the country's 2013-14 Euromaidan Revolution as a "key moment" in Ukraine's nation-building process, but the final verdict of history is still to come.


Civil Society


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2021

Putin’s Ukraine War: Can the West prevent a new Russian offensive?

By
Peter Dickinson

The West has responded to a major Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border by voicing its support for Ukraine, but critics say the international community must do more to deter Vladimir Putin from a new offensive.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Apr 15, 2021

Putin’s saber-rattling reflects Russian rage over the loss of Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin's saber-rattling activities on the Ukrainian border reflect Moscow's refusal to accept its declining influence in a country where Russia has been the dominant force for more than three centuries.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Apr 15, 2021

Russian-language media: Can Ukraine compete with the Kremlin?

By
Mitchell Polman

Putin's hybrid war against Ukraine has relied heavily on disinformation and the weaponization of Russian-language media, but Ukraine remains best-placed among the former Soviet republics to lead the fight back.


Disinformation


Media


UkraineAlert

Apr 15, 2021

Corporate governance crisis continues at Ukraine’s state-owned enterprises

By
Anders Åslund

Efforts to reform corporate governance at Ukraine's many large state-owned enterprises are being hampered by a lack of political will and a desire to maintain lucrative corruption schemes.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


BelarusAlert

Apr 14, 2021

Belarus is the new front in Putin’s war against Ukraine

By
Brian Whitmore

Fears are growing that the rapidly expanding Russian military presence in Belarus will help transform the country into a new front in the Kremlin's war against Ukraine.


Belarus


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2021

Russian passports: Putin’s secret weapon in the war against Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Since 2019, Moscow has distributed hundreds of thousands of Russian passports to Ukrainians living the occupied east of the country. Kremlin officials are now vowing to defend these Russian citizens if necessary.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2021

A pipeline deal could help end Putin’s Ukraine war

By
Colin Cleary

The Russian-led conflict in eastern Ukraine and the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline are the two most contentious issues on the Euro-Atlantic security agenda today. Linking the two could broaden the space for negotiation.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2021

Ukraine’s cultural revival faces political challenges

By
Kateryna Botanova

Efforts are underway in Ukraine to defend the independence and transparency of the Ukrainian Cultural Fund amid concerns in Ukrainian civil society that toxic political practices are making a comeback.


Civil Society


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Apr 8, 2021

Ukraine’s digital revolution continues with enhanced legal status for e-passports

By
Mykhailo Fedorov

On March 30, the Ukrainian parliament passed legislation that recognizes e-passports as official documents and provides them with the same legal status for domestic use as their more traditional paper cousins.


Digital Policy


Internet

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Content

UkraineAlert

Apr 19, 2017

The Right Land Reform Could Transform Ukraine Now

By Aivaras Abromavičius and Alexey Mushak

Largely in response to the IMF’s condition for further aid, Ukraine is on the verge of launching land reform, possibly its most dramatic and important reform to date. The land reform concept that Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman has proposed, however, is unlikely to gain support from either the agricultural sector or from parliament. Due to […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 18, 2017

Why We Continue to Misunderstand Putin’s War in Ukraine

By Taras Kuzio

The Euromaidan and Russia’s annexation of Crimea have turned Ukraine into a popular media topic. But Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine has also led to a giant surge in academic and think tank publications about Ukraine, with more than three hundred published since 2014. These scholarly and expert analyses have taken five main […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 17, 2017

Meet Ulana Suprun: Ukraine’s Top Doctor Takes on Tax Chief and Corrupt System

By Diane Francis

In March, Ukraine’s reformers applauded when the National Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Roman Nasirov, the country’s chief tax and customs official, on embezzlement charges. But he claimed he was having a heart attack, called an ambulance, and was diagnosed as too ill to be taken to court. Such tricks might have worked before, but this time […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 17, 2017

Why Investors Are Giving Ukraine a Second Chance

By Daniel Bilak

Ukraine today is open and transparent, but foreign investors are often taken aback by its challenges. While corruption and property rights are issues, any objective assessment must recognize the monumental strides the country has taken on these issues. After three years of reforms, society is fatigued, and the mood is pessimistic. The current media narrative—that […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 17, 2017

New Poll Shows Ukrainians Hungry for Change

By Oksana Bedratenko and Katie LaRoque

A new poll shows that Ukrainians are hungry for change and finally seeing it at the local level. On April 10, the International Republican Institute (IRI) released its annual municipal survey, tracking the views of more than 19,000 Ukrainians in twenty-four cities. Three years since IRI’s first survey, residents in fifteen of the twenty-four cities […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 12, 2017

Secretary Tillerson, Here’s Why Taxpayers Should Care about Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

At the Group of Seven meeting in Lucca, Italy, on April 11, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked the other foreign ministers, “Why should US taxpayers be interested in Ukraine?” US Senator Rob Portman and several other panelists answered that question at an April 5 conference on Ukraine in Washington, DC, sponsored by the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 11, 2017

Is Belarus coming unglued too?

By Francišak Viačorka

The Russian crackdown showed that the country’s internal problems are getting sharper, and the Kremlin will likely not have enough resources to continue its financial support of Lukashenka’s regime.

Belarus Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 11, 2017

Why Does the IMF Keep Funding Ukraine?

By Anders Åslund

When the International Monetary Fund’s board convened on April 3, it found that the Ukrainian government had fulfilled only five out of fourteen structural reform conditions it had outlined. Nevertheless, Ukraine received a $1 billion installment of its $17.5 billion financial support for the government’s reform program. Was it pure politics that Ukraine got a […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 10, 2017

Why Did Putin Get Stuck in Eastern Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine is now entering its fourth year, but there was a time when few expected it to last even four weeks. The virtually bloodless seizure of Crimea, which fell to Russian troops in early 2014 without a fight, led most observers to conclude that Ukraine was effectively defenseless and at Moscow’s […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 10, 2017

Is Russia Winning in Serbia? Maybe, But Not for the Reasons You Think

By Dimitar Bechev

One year ago, in April 2016 when Serbia held snap polls, the BBC ran the headline “Pro-EU Prime Minister Vučić Claims Victory.” One year later, after Aleksandar Vučić’s resounding win in the presidential election on April 2, the international media has styled him “Putin’s Serb ally.” Who’s right and where is Serbian foreign policy heading? […]

European Union International Organizations