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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 6, 2021

National Bank of Ukraine prioritizes green finance

By
Kyrylo Shevchenko

The National Bank of Ukraine's recently updated strategy document identifies green finance as a key focus for the institution in the coming years as NBU officials look to further Ukraine's European integration.


Climate Change & Climate Action


Energy & Environment


UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2021

UKRAINE AT 30: Europe’s frontline democracy

By
Brian Mefford

Ukrainians will celebrate 30 years of independence in summer 2021 with their country serving as the frontline of European democracy following three decades of tumultuous change.


Democratic Transitions


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 5, 2021

Could a judicial ombudsman help solve Ukraine’s rule of law problems?

By
Bate Toms

One possible solution to Ukraine's rule of law problems is the creation of a Judicial Ombudsman to act as a prosecutor and provide judicial oversight in line with the model successfully used in Sweden.


Corruption


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2021

The need for a renewed NATO

By
French Hill

As the principal military pillar of the transatlantic partnership, NATO is essential to meeting the security challenges America and her allies face. However, if it is to be effective, it must evolve. It has done so in the past, and it can do so now, argues Rep. French Hill.


Europe & Eurasia


NATO


UkraineAlert

Jun 30, 2021

For Ukrainians, Euro 2020 resonates beyond football

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's success at the Euro 2020 European championship is about much more than football as the country struggles to defend itself against Russian imperial aggression and assert an independent identity.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2021

Putin’s Crimean crackdown continues: Radio Free Europe journalist targeted

By
Diane Francis

Russia has arrested and jailed freelance Radio Free Europe journalist Vladislav Yesypenko in a prosecution that appears to be part of a broader Kremlin campaign against the US-funded media outlet.


Conflict


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2021

Ukraine’s Russia sanctions target Putin’s inner circle

By
Anders Åslund

Ukraine’s recently updated sanctions against Russia are the most comprehensive since 2014 and demonstrate that the Ukrainian government understands the value of targeting people close to Vladimir Putin.


Conflict


Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


UkraineAlert

Jun 25, 2021

British warship challenges Russian claims to Crimea

By
Peter Dickinson

A British warship sailed through Crimean waters on June 23 in what was widely seen as a reminder that the international community rejects Russia’s purported 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula.


Conflict


Maritime Security


UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2021

Putin blames anyone but himself for loss of Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently published an op-ed accusing the US of staging an anti-Russian coup in Ukraine, but in reality nobody has done more to erode Russian influence in Ukraine than Putin himself.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2021

Ukraine offers hope in an increasingly homophobic neighborhood

By
Adrian Hoefer, Shelby Magid

While Ukrainian attitudes towards the LGBTQI community are still far behind the levels of acceptance encountered elsewhere in the West, Ukraine’s modest progress offers hope in a region where intolerance is on the rise.


Civil Society


Human Rights

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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

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

UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2016

Now’s the Time to Block Nord Stream 2 and Step Up Ukraine’s Energy Diplomacy

By Olga Bielkova

Ukraine—a country that rejected aggression and militarization when it broke away from the Soviet Union—is fighting three wars today: the front in the east against an expansionist power, the battle within to defeat cronyism and corruption, and an economic war to reorient trade flows and modernize its economy. The world’s attention, as well as that […]

European Union Germany

UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2016

EU Renews Sanctions on Crimea but Overlooks Plight of Crimean Tatars

By Eleanor Knott

In April 2016, Crimea’s de facto authorities banned the Crimean Tatar Mejlis—the organ of political representation for Crimean Tatars on the peninsula—under the pretext of “extremism.” Increasingly, Crimean Tatars seem to be framed as “extremist” just for being themselves. A historically nonviolent community, Crimean Tatars were the most visible and vociferous opponents of the region’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 21, 2016

The Painful Journeys of Ukraine’s IDPs

By Kateryna Moroz

Two years ago this past April, the words “internal displacement” first appeared in the Ukrainian media. The term was brought by UN agencies that, along with local nongovernmental organizations, worked on a legal framework to regulate the phenomenon, which was completely new to Ukraine. Before then, journalists, volunteers, and even government officials called those who […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 21, 2016

Germany’s Socialists, Russia’s Fascism, and Ukrainian Deaths

By Alexander J. Motyl

On June 15, Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Stepan Poltorak informed NATO that Ukraine had suffered 623 battle deaths in its war with Russia in 2016. This astoundingly large figure—which amounts to three to four deaths per day—demonstrates conclusively that Russia and its proxies have no intention whatsoever of adhering to the Minsk accords. The number […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 20, 2016

Why the West Was Wrong about Ukraine’s New Government

By John E. Herbst

It is too early to draw firm conclusions, but Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman’s and Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko’s early moves indicate that Ukraine is still on the reform path. There was understandable pessimism when Groisman assumed office in April with a new government that did not include the previous cabinet’s strongest reformers. Critics also cast […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2016

Ukraine’s New Reform Plan Is Better but Not Radical Enough

By Hlib Vyshlinsky

Two months ago, the Ukrainian parliament appointed Volodymyr Groisman as the country’s new prime minister. “I will show you how the country should be managed,” he said in his appointment speech. Groisman’s predecessor Arseniy Yatsenyuk was widely criticized for lacking a detailed action plan, so the new prime minister began managing the country from exactly […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2016

Ukraine’s Grassroots Transformation of Education

By Yuriy Didula and Nadiya Mykhalevych

In today’s globalized world, education is perhaps the greatest challenge in a developing country. To keep pace with new technology and innovation, young people must possess not only basic skills but also be proactive, creative, innovative, and able to adjust quickly. According to the New Vision for Education report compiled at the World Economic Forum in […]

Ukraine