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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

Mar 5, 2023

It is time for the West to welcome Ukraine home

By
Michael Druckman

Russia's full-scale invasion has strengthened Ukraine's commitment to a future as part of the Western world. Western leaders should now respond by intensifying Ukraine's further integration, writes Michael Druckman.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2023

Premature peace with Putin would be disastrous for international security

By
Peter Dickinson

Perhaps the best way to illustrate the perils of appeasing Putin with a premature peace deal is by imagining where the world would be today if Ukraine had indeed fallen one year ago, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Mar 2, 2023

Ukraine’s women are playing a key role in the fight against Russia

By
Adrienne Ross

From frontline soldiers to unofficial ambassadors, Ukraine's women are playing a key role in their country's struggle to defeat the Russian army and end Vladimir Putin's criminal invasion, writes Adrienne Ross.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2023

Tech innovation helps Ukraine even the odds against Russia’s military might

By
Mykhailo Fedorov

Over the past year, Ukrainians have demonstrated their ability to defeat Russia using a combination of raw courage and innovative military tech, writes Ukraine's Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2023

Calls mount for Russia to face tribunal for aggression against Ukraine

By
Irina Paliashvili

As Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its second year, calls are mounting for the establishment of a special tribunal to try the Russian leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, writes Irina Paliashvili.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2023

Russia’s invasion one year on: Ukraine is stronger than ever

By
Vitaly Sych

Vladimir Putin expected a short and victorious war that would extinguish Ukrainian independence and force the country back into the Russian orbit. One year on, Ukraine has never been stronger, writes Vitaly Sych.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 23, 2023

Invasion anniversary: Does Putin still have a pathway to victory in Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine is widely seen as one of the biggest geopolitical blunders of the modern era, but as the war enters its second year, could the Russian dictator still have a pathway to potential victory?


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2023

Superhumans Center: Symbol of Ukrainian defiance amid Russia’s war

By
Andrey Stavnitser

Opening in the coming months, the Superhumans Center war trauma hospital in western Ukraine is a symbol of Ukrainian defiance as Russia's brutal invasion enters its second year, writes co-founder Andrey Stavnitser.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 21, 2023

Putin could still win unless the West speeds up efforts to arm Ukraine

By
Dennis Soltys

Ukraine's international partners are gradually providing the country with the weapons it needs to beat Russia, but excessive caution and continued delays could still allow Vladimir Putin to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Feb 21, 2023

US foreign policy: China is important but the top priority is stopping Russia

By
Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

Members of the US foreign policy establishment are wrong to prioritize a "China First" perspective at a time when Putin's Russia is waging a major war of aggression in Ukraine, writes Richard D. Hooker, Jr.


China


Conflict

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

Aug 10, 2016

Kramatorsk, Two Years On

By Hannah Thoburn

Kramatorsk is one of the most American cities that I have encountered in Ukraine. It is not laid out in the walkable format that most Ukrainian towns and villages have. Rather, it has a wide, broad layout, with extensive blocks. It is a city in which a car is almost a necessity. And that is […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2016

What Business in Ukraine is Really Like

By Thomas Theiner

A Response to James Brooke James Brooke truly believes that investors should sink their money into Ukraine. He couldn’t be more wrong. Every roulette table in Las Vegas is more promising than Ukraine. I know from personal experience; I lived in Kyiv for five years and knew a few dozen foreigners who invested in Ukraine. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 9, 2016

Memo to Ukrainian Government: Privatization Can Succeed if You Get Out of the Way

By Basil Kalymon

On July 18, Ukraine’s most recent attempt at privatization came to a disappointing conclusion. Odesa’s petrochemical plant, OPZ, was placed up for auction, but after the government set a minimum price of $520 million, no qualified bidders came forward. As a consequence, the state still owns the enterprise, which continues to impose losses on the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 9, 2016

In Ukraine, Two Steps Forward and One Step Back: Procurement Reform Advances, Slowly

By Josh Cohen

Many changes have occurred in Ukraine since the Euromaidan, but the country still struggles mightily with corruption. Those efforts are symbolized in the ongoing fight to reform Ukraine’s corrupt procurement practices. For years, links between government officials and Ukraine’s “pharma mafia” resulted in the theft of approximately $100 million of the Ministry of Health’s $250 […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2016

Saakashvili in Odesa: When Making Waves is Not Enough

By Kateryna Smagliy

A year after my Atlantic Council blog post on Mikheil Saakashvili’s first fifty days as Odesa oblast governor, it’s time to reexamine his record. The results are mixed: his brisk and spectacular first wins soon hit the skids. The Presidential Administration’s promised support evaporated in late 2015 and Saakashvili’s many initiatives were skillfully torpedoed at […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2016

Trump’s Dangerous Bromance with Putin Is a National Security Threat

By Stephen Blank

Russia’s recent hacking attacks on the Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the party’s fundraising committee for candidates for the US House of Representatives reflect Moscow’s view that it is in a state of political war with the United States, if not the West. Efforts to take down Western political institutions are hardly a […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2016

How the International Media Enables Russian Aggression in Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

If anyone had attempted to report on “German-backed forces” in Nazi-occupied France or “pro-Soviet forces” during the Prague Spring, they would have been dismissed as either hopelessly misinformed or deeply disingenuous. While local collaborators and convenient euphemisms were plentiful in both instances, there was never any doubt as to who was really in control. This […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 2, 2016

Sloppy Thinking about War Helps No One

By Alexander J. Motyl

How likely is a war between the United States and Russia? According to Matthew Rojansky, director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, in a recent World Politics Review article, “a war between Russia and the United States is more likely today than at any time since the worst years of the Cold War.” That’s strong […]

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 2, 2016

What Trade Policy Does Ukraine Need Now?

By Anders Åslund

At the informal ministerial meeting of the Eastern Partnership in Kyiv on July 11-12, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin proposed that the six members of the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine) form a single economic space or free trade area. This is implausible. Ukraine does need to open its economy to […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 1, 2016

Trump Embraces Putin and Alienates Rust Belt Voters with Eastern European Roots

By Diane Francis

Hillary Clinton’s campaign bus rattles over potholes and bumps in the US Rust Belt while Donald Trump flits around on his private jet. Such optics never seem to hurt Trump or, conversely, to help Hillary, but much depends on voters in the Rust Belt, notably in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Trump may be a master of […]

Russia Ukraine