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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 26, 2021

Five reasons why Ukraine rejected Vladimir Putin’s “Russian World”

By
Taras Kuzio

Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to force Ukrainian acceptance of the country's place within the "Russian World" have proved disastrous and led to the collapse of Russian influence in Ukraine.


Conflict


Nationalism


UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2021

The risks of rushing to internet voting in Ukraine

By
Serhii Savelii and Meredith Applegate

Ukraine’s vision for digital transformation is ambitious and includes holding online voting for all elections and referendums, but this vision fails to take into account numerous practical obstacles and risks.


Cybersecurity


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2021

Returning the US-Ukraine relationship to normalcy

By
John E. Herbst

The election of Joe Biden has raised the welcome prospect of a return to normalcy in US-Ukraine ties but the past two months have demonstrated that this return to the norm will not be without challenges.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2021

Maidan’s metamorphosis mirrors Ukraine’s national coming of age

By
Peter Dickinson

Over the past three decades of Ukrainian independence, Kyiv's Independence Square has undergone a post-Soviet metamorphosis that mirrors Ukraine's own national coming of age.


Democratic Transitions


Resilience & Society


UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2021

Young Ukrainian mayor offers hope of a new politics

By
Brian Mefford

In November 2020, residents of the western Ukrainian city Rivne voted for a dramatic change in the local political status quo by electing 34-year-old Oleksandr Tretyak as their new mayor.


Democratic Transitions


Elections


UkraineAlert

Mar 21, 2021

Germany’s Greens vow to block Putin’s pipeline

By
Diane Francis

Germany's Greens have confirmed plans to block Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline if, as expected, they form part of the new German coalition government following Bundestag elections in September 2021.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Germany


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2021

Vladimir Putin does not want peace with Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy entered office in 2019 promising to negotiate a settlement with Vladimir Putin. He now appears to have recognized that Putin does not actually want peace with Ukraine.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2021

Putin turns up pressure on Russian opposition ahead of September Duma elections

By
Peter Dickinson

Moscow police raided a conference of independent municipal lawmakers on March 13 in a move that marks an escalation in the Kremlin crackdown on political opposition ahead of September elections.


Civil Society


Elections


UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2021

New documentary chronicles the plight of Crimean Tatars under Russian occupation

By
Elina-Alem Kent

The recently released documentary film “Crimean Solidarity” chronicles the inspirational efforts of the Crimean Tatar community as it struggles against the oppressive reality of Russian occupation.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2021

Is the US still committed to stopping Putin’s pipeline?

By
Diane Francis

Concerns are growing over the Biden administration's commitment to blocking a controversial gas pipeline that threatens to significantly strengthen Putin's influence over Europe.


European Union


Geopolitics & Energy Security

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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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Sep 19, 2016

Ten Things the New US Ambassador to Ukraine Should Do

By Melinda Haring and Kateryna Smagliy

On August 18, Marie L. Yovanovitch became the US Ambassador to Ukraine. Yovanovitch is not new to the country; she served as the deputy chief of mission in Kyiv—the second in command—under Ambassadors Carlos Pascual and John Herbst months before the Orange Revolution erupted. She spent the bulk of her career working in the Eurasia […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 14, 2016

Why the West Ignores Russia’s Wars

By Andrew Kornbluth

This month will mark one year since the beginning of Russia’s intervention in Syria and two and a half years since its invasion of Ukraine’s Donbas region. In Syria, Russia has indiscriminately bombed inhabited areas using virtually every type of conventional munition in its arsenal—thermobaric, cluster, and incendiary—killing around 3,000 civilians so far. These deaths […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 13, 2016

An Important Reform Milestone: An Independent Energy Regulator in Ukraine

By Olena Halushka

It is hard to find anything that unites the Ukrainian parliament as efficiently as the body’s regular and purposeful failure to adopt the bill on the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities. Neither the demands of the expert community, nor the bill’s connection with Ukraine’s international commitments, nor even the threat […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 13, 2016

Here’s What Ukrainian-Americans Are Doing For Ukraine

By Alina Polyakova

Ukraine’s Maidan revolution united Ukraine as a nation like never before, and it reinvigorated Ukrainian-American communities across the United States. While Ukrainian-Americans are well organized nationally through such organizations as the Ukrainian Congress Committee of Ukraine and in metropolitan areas with large Ukrainian communities, such as Chicago and New York, Ukrainian-Americans in smaller towns have […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 13, 2016

Ukraine’s Signature Transparency Initiative Comes Under Fire Again

By Josh Cohen

In October 2014, Ukraine’s parliament passed a law requiring all public officials to file an electronic declaration disclosing their assets. The law requires the identification of assets directly held by officials, as well as those held by family members, which means officials can no longer hide illegally obtained assets in the names of family members. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 9, 2016

What Poroshenko Said and Didn’t Say

By Kateryna Kruk

Unsurprisingly Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko kicked off his annual televised address to parliament on September 6 with words of unity. “At a time when Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is still ongoing, when the military threat from the east is the most difficult strategic challenge, the issue of national unity and political consolidation is a matter […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2016

The Russian Balance Sheet at Hangzhou

By Stephen Blank

The recent G-20 meetings in Hangzhou, China provide a useful balance sheet for assessing Russia’s status in Europe. While Russian President Vladimir Putin showed that Russia is not as isolated as many in the West think it should be, Putin failed to convince France and Germany to pressure Ukraine to implement the Minsk II ceasefire […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2016

The German-Russian Relationship: It’s Complicated

By Andreas Umland

There’s a growing perception in Germany that the Minsk ceasefire agreements may never be implemented and the conflict in Ukraine will continue to grind on. To examine the origins and nature of the conflict as well as its possible solution and the role Bavaria may play in these affairs, the German-Ukrainian NGO Kyiv Dialogue held […]

Germany Russia

UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2016

How Xi and Putin Humiliated Obama at the G-20

By Anders Åslund

On September 4-5, the G-20 held its annual summit in Hangzhou, China, President Xi Jinping’s home. G-20 summits tend to be meaningless, but this one appears to have been outright harmful. The signature event was when President Barack Obama’s Air Force One was not met with a staircase, and it went downhill from there. During […]

China Russia

UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2016

The Top Ten Things Ukraine’s Parliament Needs to Do This Fall

By Olena Halushka

Over the last two and a half years, Ukraine has channeled the energy of the Euromaidan protests into building a new state, and has achieved a number of major accomplishments. However, much more remains be done. The delay in implementing crucial reforms is equivalent to stopping halfway, while the slow rate of change is already […]

Ukraine