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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 15, 2021

Escalating Belarus border crisis could pose a security threat to Ukraine

By
Bohdan Nahaylo

The escalating migrant crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border poses a potential threat to Ukraine, which shares a long and vulnerable 1,000 km border with Belarus and could serve as an alternative route into the EU.


Belarus


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Nov 15, 2021

New US-Ukraine Charter underlines American commitment to Ukrainian security

By
Anders Åslund

The new US-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership adopted on November 10 underlines American support for Ukrainian security and US concerns over the possibility of further Russian aggression.


Disinformation


Non-Traditional Threats


UkraineAlert

Nov 15, 2021

Ukraine’s Anti-Oligarch Law: President Zelenskyy’s populist power grab?

By
Kira Rudik

Ukraine's anti-oligarch law is being trumpeted by President Zelenskyy's supporters as a move to reduce the influence of Ukraine’s oligarch elite. However, it looks more like a populist ploy to strengthen presidential powers, writes Holos leader Kira Rudik.


Corruption


Media


UkraineAlert

Nov 11, 2021

Time to rediscover eastern Ukraine’s surprisingly cosmopolitan past

By
Peter Dickinson

Moscow has long cultivated the myth of eastern Ukraine as an indivisible part of Russia’s ancestral heartlands but in reality the region has a surprisingly cosmopolitan past that makes a mockery of Kremlin propaganda claims.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2021

Nord Stream 2: Germany must listen to Ukrainian security concerns

By
Olga Bielkova

Ukraine has requested a role in the German process to certify Nord Stream 2 amid fears in Kyiv that the pipeline could pave the wave for an escalation in ongoing Russian military aggression against Ukraine.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2021

De-oligarchization of Ukraine is President Zelenskyy’s top priority

By
Andriy Yermak

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's anti-oligarch agenda holds the key to Ukraine's reform ambitions and is vital for the country's future national security, argues presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2021

Ukraine’s anti-oligarch law could make President Zelenskyy too powerful

By
David Clark

President Zelenskyy has trumpeted the country's new anti-oligarch law as a meaningful step towards curbing the power of Ukraine's oligarch class, but critics fear it may actually make Zelenskyy himself too powerful.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2021

Disarming Putin’s energy weapon: Ukraine must connect to EU grid

By
Anders Åslund

With Vladimir Putin seeking to restrict energy supplies to Ukraine, it is increasingly clear that Kyiv must connect to the European electricity grid in order to reduce its vulnerability to Kremlin blackmail tactics.


Conflict


Energy & Environment


UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2021

Ukraine faces energy crisis as Putin weaponizes gas and coal supplies

By
Aura Sabadus

As the winter season draws closer, Ukraine faces a looming energy crisis on multiple fronts which could lead to domestic political instability and deepen the country’s dependence on Vladimir Putin's Russia.


Conflict


Energy & Environment


UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2021

Ukraine MPs fight back against fake Covid vaccination certificates

By
Oleksandra Ustinova

As Ukraine grapples with a mounting Covid-19 death toll and low vaccination rates, the country's MPs aim to adopt tougher regulations targeting the thriving Ukrainian black market for fake vaccination certificates.


Coronavirus


Corruption

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

Nov 14, 2016

We Are Building the New Ukraine, Three Years after Euromaidan

By Yuriy Didula

The need for reconciliation between eastern and western Ukraine is often emphasized in Ukrainian and international media, and has been the subject of dozens of roundtables in the past couple of years. Though originally from western Ukraine, I have lived and worked in the east for nearly two years, and I have come to realize […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2016

Here’s Why Nord Stream 2 Isn’t the Only Game in Town

By Olga Bielkova

Most Russia watchers, including those at the Atlantic Council, recognize that in this age of hybrid warfare, energy trade is a potent weapon. What has changed with Nord Stream 2 is that the weapon is now pointed directly at the EU rather than Ukraine, and it is masquerading as a commercial project. But who could […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2016

Does Saakashvili’s Resignation Mark the End of Reform in Ukraine?

By Diane Francis

Mikheil Saakashvili’s resignation this week does not mark the failure of reform efforts in Ukraine. It opens a new chapter. “Odesa can only develop once Kyiv will be freed from these bribe takers, who directly patronize organized crime and lawlessness,” he bluntly told journalists when he announced he was quitting on November 7. This opinion […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2016

Ukraine, Not Syria, Should Be Top Priority for President Trump

By Melinda Haring

Resolving the conflict in Ukraine should be a higher priority for the United States and Europe than addressing the civil war in Syria, said Archbishop Zoria Yevstratiy, representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate, during a visit to Washington, DC. “I’m very sorry about the Syrian people, but Ukraine can’t be compared. Syria never […]

Russia Syria

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2016

Nerve-Racking November: Ukraine’s Energy Subsidies Leave Some in the Cold

By Oksana Bedratenko

“The first week of November is so nerve-racking. Until I get the bill, I don’t know if my subsidy has been extended for this heating season and what amount will it cover,” my friend’s mother, a 69-year old pensioner in Kyiv, said when I called to check on her. “With these high utility prices—if the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2016

Here’s How to Fix Public Broadcasting in Ukraine

By Roman Shutov

Zurab Alasania’s resignation from the position of director general of the National TV and Radio Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (NTU) has roused concerns about the future of public broadcasting reform in Ukraine. Although some experts believe it is already too late to reverse reforms, the coming months will determine the future of public broadcasting just […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2016

Four Swift Blows to Putin’s Influence in Europe

By John E. Herbst

Moscow retains substantial influence in Europe. However, its ability to leverage that influence against Ukraine appears to be declining, as four decisions over the past two months illustrate. Moscow’s intervention in Syria is weakening the Kremlin’s position vis a vis Ukraine in the views of European policymakers. This was evident on October 12 at the […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2016

Why the Revelation of Officials’ Cash, Cars, and a Church Will Change Ukraine for Good

By Anders Åslund

In a bout of extraordinary transparency, 50,000 Ukrainian officials have declared their assets and incomes and it is easily accessible to the interested public. A staggering amount of wealth has been revealed and this very act is likely to have changed Ukraine for good. As declarations arrived on the publicly accessible register, it recorded the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 1, 2016

Erdogan: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Russian Encirclement

By Stephen Blank

Less than six months ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly complained that the Black Sea had become a Russian lake and sought regional and NATO cooperation against this threat. Russia and Turkey’s long-standing relationship was on the rocks, especially after Turkey had shot down a Russian fighter plane over Syria in November 2015. In […]

Russia Turkey

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2016

United Russia: Party of Crooks and Thieves, and Then Some

By Ilya Yashin

To international observers, Russia’s ruling party might appear to be a typical political organization. But in fact, there is a deep connection between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s political party, United Russia, and organized crime. The party has become riddled with corruption and lawlessness, and the way to fortune and unbridled power in Russia today is […]

Russia