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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

Jul 15, 2022

Killer in the Kremlin: New book explores Vladimir Putin’s bloody reign

By
John Sweeney

British journalist John Sweeney's new book "Killer In The Kremlin" offers a chilling portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a menace to global security whose entire reign has been marked by death and destruction.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 15, 2022

EU candidate status is an historic opportunity to transform Ukraine

By
Kira Rudik

The decision to grant Ukraine official EU candidate status does not guarantee the country's future membership but the process of further integration can dramatically boost Ukraine's domestic reform momentum, writes Kira Rudik.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2022

Building a better Ukraine: Rule of law is essential for post-war prosperity

By
Bohdan Vitvitsky

Few would argue that the rule of law is essential for Ukraine’s post-war prosperity. However, previous efforts to implement judicial reforms have fallen short. What is required to make sure next time is different?


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2022

Putin weaponizes Russian passports in his genocidal war against Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's decision to expand fast-track Russian passport distribution to the whole of Ukraine is a clear signal that his imperial appetite is not limited to the Ukrainian regions currently under Kremlin control.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jul 9, 2022

Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine at risk from infections and epidemics

By
Ihor Kuzin

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and occupation of around 20% of the country has produced a range of major public health challenges that require urgent international attention, writes Ihor Kuzin.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2022

Putin’s energy weapon: Europe must be ready for Russian gas blackmail

By
Aura Sabadus

Disarming Putin's energy weapon: Europe can disconnect from Russia’s gas supplies sooner than some would suggest providing it mobilizes the right human and financial resources to work in that direction.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2022

Post-Boris Britain will continue to stand with Ukraine against Putin’s war

By
Peter Dickinson

Boris Johnson's resignation has sparked fears in Kyiv over continued UK support but in reality there is little chance of a weakening in British backing for Ukraine in its fight for survival against Vladimir Putin's ongoing invasion.


Conflict


Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2022

Ukraine defies Russia and launches electricity exports to EU neighbors

By
Aura Sabadus

Ukraine’s remarkable wartime synchronization with the electricity grid of continental Europe moved up a gear at the end of June with the landmark launch of commercial electricity exports to neighboring Romania.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Jul 4, 2022

Why Ukraine loves Boris

By
Peter Dickinson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's domestic approval rating has hit rock bottom but he is the most popular foreign politician in Ukraine thanks to his support for the country in its fight against Vladimir Putin's invasion.


Conflict


National Security


UkraineAlert

Jul 3, 2022

Putin’s poisonous anti-Western ideology relies heavily on projection

By
Allan Mustard

Vladimir Putin's poisonous anti-Western ideology is rooted in projection of his own authoritarian instincts and outdated assumptions about the adversarial nature of relations between Russia and the democratic world.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions

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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

Jul 7, 2016

Texan Makes Fortune in Ukraine’s Tech Sector

By Diane Francis

“If you play by the rules, you can do business in Ukraine.” Jason Mitura is an all-American guy who grew up in Dallas, Texas, but made his first fortune in Ukraine. His success is all the more noteworthy given that he speaks little Ukrainian. On a tip, he flew to Kyiv for the first time […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2016

Europe’s Forgotten War: Fighting in the Donbas Has Never Stopped

By James J. Coyle

Despite the existence of a ceasefire agreement, fighting in eastern Ukraine continues and is increasing. On July 5, three Ukrainian servicemen were killed and thirteen were wounded. The uptick in fighting began this past January, when Ukrainian officials reported up to seventy-one attacks a day and the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission noted the return of […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 5, 2016

Could Ukraine’s New Civil Service Law Be Undermined?

By Josh Cohen

In a major achievement for reformers, Ukraine’s parliament passed a revolutionary new civil service law last year that included key provisions related to the appointment of heads of local state administrations (LSAs). But if some members of parliament and perhaps even the presidential administration have their way, those elements of the law could soon be […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2016

Worried About Brexit? No, Scared, Says Ukraine’s Former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk

By Melinda Haring

“I’m not worried [about Brexit]. I’m scared,” said Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the Atlantic Council on June 30. In one of his first public appearances in Washington since stepping down as Ukraine’s prime minister on April 14, Yatsenyuk urged Europe to get its act together. Brexit, he said, is a “huge geopolitical crisis”: the United Kingdom’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2016

Now Is Not the Time to Scrap the Minsk Agreement

By John E. Herbst

A Reply to David J. Kramer Editor’s Note: On June 22, Ambassador John Herbst and David J. Kramer debated whether we should bury the Minsk agreement, the troubled ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, at an Atlantic Council event in Washington, DC. Their remarks have been adapted from the debate. Ukraine’s discussion of the war with Russia […]

Germany OSCE

UkraineAlert

Jun 28, 2016

Memo to NATO: Wake Up Before Putin Turns the Black Sea into a Russian Lake

By Stephen Blank

By invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin has transformed the security situation in the Black Sea. Upon capturing those territories, Moscow lost no time in seizing Ukrainian energy facilities in the Black Sea and accelerating its ongoing military modernization there. As a result, Moscow has built a combined arms force of land, […]

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2016

What Brexit Means for Ukraine

By Andreas Umland

After British voters approved a referendum to leave the EU on June 23, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister for European Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said: “We respect the British citizens’ decision, but Ukraine feels sorry for these events. To my mind this will weaken the EU and it will have to concentrate on its own problems.”  The […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2016

The Dangerous Perspective of Theo Sommer

By Alexander J. Motyl

This time, Theo Sommer has outdone himself. After closing his eyes to the mass murders of the Soviet regime in an article published on May 31, the editor-at-large of Germany’s prestigious Die Zeit newspaper has now demonstrated in a just-published piece an alarming ignorance not just of Ukraine but of elementary strategic logic. The former […]

Germany Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2016

Thanks to Russia, Ukrainians Swell Ranks of Kyiv Patriarchate

By James J. Coyle

Russia’s continued meddling in Ukraine is driving Ukrainian citizens out of the Russian Orthodox Church. Instead, they are swelling the ranks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate. Traditionally, Ukraine has been home to the vast majority of Russian Orthodox Church members. In 1990, of the almost twelve thousand Orthodox communities throughout the Soviet Union, more […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2016

Europe’s Short Memory and Ukraine’s Long Crisis

By Melinda Haring

“People have forgotten that there’s a real humanitarian situation and a real need in a European country,” said Jock Mendoza-Wilson, director of international and investor relations at System Capital Management, during a recent Atlantic Council panel examining the crisis in Ukraine. In fact, he said, six hundred thousand people on Ukraine’s contact line live in […]

Russia Ukraine