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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

Jan 26, 2021

Russia’s Navalny protests provoke mixed emotions in Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine has good reasons to support the current Russian protests against Kremlin corruption, but many Ukrainians remain suspicious of protest leader Alexei Navalny's troubling nationalist background.


Conflict


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2021

Ukraine’s historic gas sector reforms are under threat

By
Aura Sabadus

The transformation of Ukraine's gas sector is widely seen as one of the few reform success stories since the country's 2014 Revolution of Dignity, but recent political decisions are placing this progress in doubt.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Oil and Gas


UkraineAlert

Jan 20, 2021

US targets Putin’s pipelines from Baltic Sea to Balkans

By
Diane Francis

Washington’s attention has recently focused on Nord Stream 2, but US officials also face similar challenges in Southern Europe, where Russia is once again using energy to advance its geopolitical interests.


Eastern Europe


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Jan 20, 2021

Why Ukraine’s business community has high hopes for the Biden presidency

By
Andy Hunder

Many Ukrainians are optimistic that incoming US President Joe Biden can play an historic role in helping Ukraine complete the country's post-Soviet transition and free itself once and for all from oligarch control.


Democratic Transitions


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Jan 19, 2021

Ukraine’s cultural revival is a matter of national security

By
Marina Pesenti

Culture and identity have been at the heart of the hybrid war waged by Russia against Ukraine for the past seven years.


Disinformation


Nationalism


UkraineAlert

Jan 19, 2021

Russia’s Crimean crimes demand tougher sanctions

By
Maria Tomak

Ukrainian civic society activists are calling on the international community to introduce personal sanctions against officials guilty of human rights abuses in Russian-occupied Crimea.


Civil Society


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Jan 19, 2021

Ukraine’s roadmap to an artificial intelligence future

By
Vitaliy Goncharuk

Ukraine has recently adopted a National AI Development Strategy for the coming decade that aims to integrate artificial intelligence technologies into every sphere of the Ukrainian economy.


Defense Technologies


Education


UkraineAlert

Jan 14, 2021

Putin’s war drives Ukraine towards true independence

By
Peter Dickinson

Thirty years since the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine is no longer part of Vladimir Putin's informal empire but the country continues to struggle with the legacy of centuries spent under Russian domination.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jan 14, 2021

Ukraine raised the alarm over weaponized social media long before Trump’s twitter ban

By
Victor Tregubov

Tech giant Twitter's decision to block the account of US President Donald Trump has sparked a global free speech debate, but Ukraine has been warning for years about the dangers of weaponized social media.


Media


Non-Traditional Threats


UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2021

Climate change may prevent Ukraine from becoming an agricultural superpower

By
Anna Ackermann

Kyiv's record-breaking weather in 2020 was further evidence of a changing climate that threatens to undermine Ukraine's emergence as an agricultural superpower and key player in global food security.


Climate Change & Climate Action


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

Apr 10, 2017

From Trench Coats to Tuxedos: How the Kremlin Deploys its Dirty Tricks Today

By Diane Francis

The same dirty tricks deployed by the KGB for decades are used in today’s Cold War 2.0, and have permeated geopolitics from Syria to Ukraine and the world’s capitals. But spies in trench coats been supplanted by Russians in tuxedos with huge bank accounts who use financial, social, and political weaponry to build tentacles that […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2017

The Coming Crackdown on Ukraine’s Anticorruption Crusaders

By Daria Kaleniuk

President Petro Poroshenko’s new restrictions on anticorruption groups are appalling and threaten to reverse much of the progress Ukraine has made since the Euromaidan. Some analysts who defend the new law have got the details all wrong. Others have sounded the alarm, but the fine points of the regulations remain murky. On March 27, Poroshenko […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 3, 2017

Three Ways the West Can Get Tougher on Russia for Crimea Land Grab

By Taras Kuzio

Russia’s occupation of Crimea has reached its third anniversary, and there is no evidence in sight that President Vladimir Putin will withdraw his occupation forces. Both the United States and Canada have reiterated their support for continued sanctions against Russia as long as Crimea continues to be occupied. Still, ending Russia’s illegal occupation could take […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2017

Is Russia Getting Ready to Invade Ukraine Again?

By Stephen Blank

Recent Russian actions suggest a new stage of the Russian threat to Ukraine—and potentially to the Caucasus, Belarus, or the Baltic States as well—that could presage a new large-scale military operation. First, in 2016, Russia created twenty-five division formations and fifteen brigades, while raising manpower by only 10,000 men. This suggests the possibility that Russia […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2017

Why Putin’s Flirtation with the French Far Right May Backfire

By Péter Krekó and Alina Polyakova

On March 24, Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Front (FN) party and a contender for the French presidency, flew to Moscow for a surprise visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Le Pen’s photo op of a one-on-one meeting with Russia’s president certainly made her look presidential, but it’s an image that may […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2017

One Small Step for Georgia, One Giant Leap for the EU

By Alexandra Hall Hall

At a time when doors across the West are closing to migrants, one small country has managed to buck the trend: the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia. On March 28, the country secured visa-free travel to the Schengen area of the EU, which includes all member states except Ireland, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania, and […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2017

Ukraine Is in the Middle of a Counterrevolution Again. Is Anyone Paying Attention?

By Maxim Eristavi

While the world is distracted by multiple crises, Ukraine’s ruling elites are trying to undo the modest progress the country has achieved since the Maidan Revolution. Despite the mainstream narrative, when it comes to reforms in post-revolutionary Ukraine, the record has been anything but black and white. But if you need a consensus on the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2017

Watching the Watchdogs: Why Ukraine’s NGOs Should Disclose Assets, Too

By Adrian Karatnycky

A huge kerfuffle has erupted in Ukraine over amendments to a law on income and asset transparency that will require employees of some nongovernmental organizations and investigative journalists who focus on corruption to post detailed income declarations publicly in electronic form. A strong majority in Ukraine’s parliament (266 of 423 legislators) passed the controversial legislation […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2017

Putin Is a Prisoner of His Own Hybrid War

By Peter Dickinson

April will mark the third anniversary of Russia’s hybrid war in eastern Ukraine, with no end in sight to a tragedy that has already claimed over 10,000 Ukrainian lives. The conflict has devastated and transformed Ukraine in ways that will not be fully apparent for decades. Crucially, it has also brought little of value to […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2017

Why Sunday’s Massive Protests Will Change Russia

By Natalia Arno

The poem and song, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” became a rallying cry for social injustice in America in the 1970s. It weaved its way through many cultural eras around the world and found its way to the streets of Russia on Sunday, March 26. Nearly 100,000 people went to the streets in more […]

Russia Ukraine