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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

Dec 4, 2019

The shadow of Munich hangs over Russia-Ukraine Paris peace talks

By
Bohdan Nahaylo

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy will meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin face-to-face for the first time next week at Paris peace talks hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. With France publicly promoting the need for improved ties with the Kremlin, many fear Ukraine could face pressure to make dangerous concessions.


Conflict


Crisis Management


UkraineAlert

Dec 4, 2019

Profit over principle: Apple appeases the Kremlin

By
Diane Francis

Apple has changed the labelling on its apps for Russian users and now shows Ukraine's occupied Crimean peninsula as Russian territory. This follows a similar move by Google earlier in 2019. By bowing to the Kremlin's demands, do global tech giants risk normalizing Russian aggression against Ukraine?


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Dec 3, 2019

Low expectations as Zelenskyy prepares for Putin peace talks in Paris

By
Taras Kuzio

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is hoping to make progress towards peace during his first face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin next week in Paris, but Russian and Ukrainian visions of a post-war settlement remain fundamentally at odds.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Dec 3, 2019

Ukraine faces a decisive December in a rapidly deteriorating geopolitical climate

By
Stephen Blank

With a NATO summit in London and long awaited peace talks in Paris, December is shaping up to be a decisive month for Ukraine, but the geopolitical climate is far from favorable and could deteriorate further.


Conflict


France


UkraineAlert

Nov 26, 2019

How to make Ukraine ten times better

By
Diane Francis

“Ukraine is a wonderful country and could be ten times better. But to achieve this depends not on Russia, or anyone, but on Ukrainian leadership and on stopping corruption,” said Adnan Kivan.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Nov 26, 2019

Ukraine is finally ready to embrace land reform

By
Ilona Sologoub

The sale of private agricultural land has been banned since 2001. Ukraine is one of six countries in the world to maintain this restriction.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Nov 26, 2019

Time for change

By
Melinda Haring

UkraineAlert welcomes Peter Dickinson and says thank you to Melinda Haring.


Democratic Transitions


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2019

Three months left to kill Nord Stream 2

By
Diane Francis

Putin’s Nord Stream 2 is not an ordinary natural gas pipeline. It’s an underwater pipeline that will give Putin the power to plunge the Soviet Union’s former satellites and republics in Europe into darkness.


Energy Markets & Governance


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2019

Ukraine got its ships back but at what cost?

By
Doug Klain

The press forgot something significant in its coverage. Yes, Ukraine has been calling for the return of these ships for months, and yes their status would have been a serious obstacle to peace talks, but the ships were illegally fired upon and seized while legally traveling in what should have been safe waters.


Conflict


Crisis Management


UkraineAlert

Nov 19, 2019

It’s counterintuitive but Trump impeachment inquiry may help Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

The press frenzy surrounding the Trump impeachment inquiry presents Ukraine with an unparalleled international stage upon which to share its side of the story.


Civil Society


Political Reform

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

Dec 1, 2016

Yatsenyuk at the European Parliament: It’s Time for Europe to Do Its Part

By Amanda Abrams

With respect to Ukraine and Russia’s aggression in the eastern part of the country, Europe needs to step up its game. That was the consensus at “The War in Ukraine’s East: The Military Conflict, Diplomacy, and the Humanitarian Crisis,” a discussion co-hosted by the Atlantic Council and Members of the European Parliament Anna Maria Corazza […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2016

Why Russia Can’t Get Over the West—Or Steven Seagal

By Andrew Kornbluth

It seemed like the international affairs version of clickbait: the president of the world’s leading nuclear state awarding citizenship to a foreign actor most famous for playing an ex-commando who must rescue an exotic dancer while foiling a plot to start World War III on the high seas. For most onlookers, Vladimir Putin’s gift of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2016

Here’s Why Ukraine Failed to Get More IMF Funding

By Anders Åslund

A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Ukraine November 3-17. The Ukrainian government had hoped that it would decide to give Ukraine another tranche of its four-year $17.5 billion loan package of March 2015, of which Ukraine has received $7.7 billion, but the answer was a resounding no. The IMF is normally very […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2016

Is It Prudent or Paranoid to Worry about Russia’s Influence in the Baltics?

By Jakub Janda

Russia has been busy spreading its influence in Europe and Eurasia. Alexander J. Motyl worries that the Baltic states are “the most vulnerable to a complete [Russian] takeover,” and security expert Paul D. Miller predicts that World War III could break out in Latvia. Last month Lithuania issued a manual on what to do if […]

Northern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 28, 2016

Has Putin Finally Stepped on His Own Rake in Syria?

By Stephen Blank

In October 2016 the Russian government made a significant announcement about its Syria policy that Western sources overlooked. Moscow announced that it supported the restoration of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s power throughout the country, something it had not stressed previously. This statement and its consequences merit serious scrutiny by the West because its implications are […]

Russia Turkey

UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2016

Will Trump’s Foreign Policy Make Any Sense?

By Diane Francis

The election of Donald Trump marks a turning point in the world of international relations. Speculation abounds as to what he’s going to do, but his policies remain unknown, possibly unformed. Still, this doesn’t discourage us from speculating as well as poring over the resumes of his appointments to date. But the only certainty is […]

Mexico Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2016

Eastern Europe Must Prepare for the Worst about Trump

By Alexander J. Motyl

President Barack Obama’s advice to the world that it shouldn’t “assume the worst” about Donald Trump may apply to countries whose existential interests cannot be threatened by the president-elect’s policies, but those that face a possible Russian invasion must assume and prepare for the worst. They cannot, as Obama recommended, “wait until the administration is […]

Belarus Northern Europe

UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2016

In Time of Trump, Advice to Friends of Ukraine (And Democracy)

By Jeffrey Gedmin

Friends of Ukraine, brace yourself. There’s no way to sugar-coat this for the democracy crowd either. Donald Trump has suggested that Ukraine is not our business (it “affects Europe a lot more than it affects us”). Our president-elect admires Russia’s authoritarian leader (he’s “brilliant,” a “strong leader”), and wants Vladimir Putin as an ally (“Russia […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 21, 2016

Holodomor Remembrance Day: Why the Past Matters for the Future

By Victor Rud

As Americans sit down to their Thanksgiving meals on the last Thursday in November, Ukrainians will be commemorating the memory of millions who were murdered in 1932-33. The last Saturday in November is Holodomor Remembrance Day in Ukraine, a time to mark the anniversary of Joseph Stalin’s engineered starvation of the nation. In the West, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 21, 2016

How Ukraine Can Use E-Declarations to Target the Most Corrupt

By Basil A. Kalymon and Oleh Havrylyshyn

This year, thousands of Ukrainian members of parliament, government officials, and civil servants were required by law to declare their incomes and assets in a publicly available database by October 30. Although the introduction of the e-declaration system was initially blocked numerous times, today the public can view the vast amount of wealth owned by […]

Ukraine