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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

Aug 27, 2021

Ukrainian leaders to Biden: Standing with the world’s democracies means changing course on Nord Stream 2

By
a group of Ukrainian lawmakers, leaders, civil society activists, and experts

In a letter to President Joe Biden, more than 50 Ukrainian policymakers, leaders, experts, and civil society activists call for the United States to change course on support for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.


Corruption


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2021

Putin’s pipeline poses an “existential threat” to Ukraine

By
Diane Francis

The CEO of Ukraine's energy giant Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko, has branded Vladimir Putin's Nord Stream 2 pipeline project an existential threat to Ukraine and a security threat to Europe as a whole.


Conflict


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Aug 24, 2021

Looking back at the events that defined three decades of Ukrainian independence

By
Peter Dickinson

As Ukrainians celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of their country's independence, the Atlantic Council asked a range of experts for their opinions on the most significant events during independent Ukraine's first three decades.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2021

UKRAINE AT 30: What is independent Ukraine’s greatest achievement?

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine marks 30 years of independence this week with much to celebrate and plenty to regret. The Atlantic Council invited a range of experts to share their thoughts on independent Ukraine’s greatest achievements.


Democratic Transitions


Resilience & Society


UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2021

Biden can reassert US leadership by backing Ukraine against Russia

By
Alexander Vershbow

President Biden must use his August 31 meeting with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to underline America's commitment to defending the rules-based international order and supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2021

Is Ukraine’s split from Russia now irreversible?

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s split from Russia ranks as one of the most consequential European events since the Soviet collapse. But is this geopolitical divorce now final, or could Moscow still force Kyiv back into Russia's orbit?


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Aug 21, 2021

How modern Ukraine was made on Maidan

By
Peter Dickinson

Since 1991, Ukraine's two post-Soviet Maidan revolutions have helped define the country as an emerging democracy that seeks to escape from the orbit of authoritarian Russia and embrace Euro-Atlantic integration.


Civil Society


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Aug 19, 2021

Making the most of Ukraine’s tech talent

By
Constantine Yevtushenko

Ukraine's IT sector is playing an increasingly important role in the country's economic growth. The key now is to build the right ecosystem to allow Ukraine's tech talent to flourish, says Constantine Yevtushenko.


Digital Policy


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Aug 19, 2021

Ukraine shines a spotlight on Putin’s Crimean crime

By
Peter Dickinson

Representations of forty countries are set to gather in Kyiv on August 23 for the inaugural Crimea Platform summit to address the ongoing Russian occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2021

Biden and Merkel must confront Putin’s imperial ambitions in Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent essay "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians" argued that Russians and Ukrainians are "one people," but an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians do not agree.


Conflict


Disinformation

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

Aug 15, 2016

Why Peace Is Impossible with Putin

By Alexander J. Motyl

Peace in Europe is impossible as long as Vladimir Putin remains Russia’s leader. As both the biggest obstacle to peace and the key source of potential war, Putin has become the main threat to Russia’s neighbors and the West. But what, exactly, motivates him? Analysts are divided over the reasons for Putin’s foreign policy moves. […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2016

How Russian Propaganda Portrays European Leaders

By František Vrabel, Jakub Janda, and Veronika Víchová

Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation in other countries as part of a hybrid war against the West sometimes make us forget that the media networks inside Russia also greatly matter. Even though Russia’s domestic media targets the Russian-speaking population, its narratives and portrayals of the international scene can tell us a lot about Russia’s foreign […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2016

Is Putin Preparing a New Attack on Ukraine?

By Anders Åslund

Observers have greatly feared that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin would start a small regional war this August. Russia has moved up its State Duma elections to September 18. Although only Putin’s parties are allowed to win, he has a predilection for “small and victorious wars” to mobilize his people. In 1999, the second war in […]

Russia Ukraine

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