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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

Oct 13, 2020

Putin’s pipeline is a strategic weapon. It must be stopped

By
Members of the Ukrainian parliament

As the struggle over the Kremlin's Nord Stream 2 pipeline continues, a group of Ukrainian MPs has issued a joint letter highlighting the international security threat posed by the strategic energy project.


European Union


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Oct 12, 2020

UK and Ukraine sign historic post-Brexit free trade deal

By
Vasyl Myroshnychenko

The jury is still out on the economic impact of Brexit, but Ukraine emerged in early October as an unlikely early beneficiary of Britain’s EU exit by signing a landmark partnership agreement including free trade.


Economy & Business


Trade and tariffs


UkraineAlert

Oct 12, 2020

Russo-Ukrainian War: Time for Zelenskyy to turn from populism to pragmatism

By
Taras Kuzio

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy won election last year with populist promises of peace with Russia, but the realities of ongoing Kremlin aggression mean a more pragmatic approach is now necessary.


Conflict


Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


UkraineAlert

Oct 8, 2020

Ukraine’s reforms in doubt as political climate changes

By
Anders Åslund

A recent reprimand and public expression of no confidence in two key reformers at the National Bank of Ukraine highlights the changing political climate in the country as post-2014 reforms face reversal.


Democratic Transitions


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Oct 8, 2020

Zelenskyy: Ukraine wants a step-by-step plan towards future EU membership

By
Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offers a positive assessment of the 2020 EU-Ukraine Summit in Brussels and calls for the creation of a step-by-step plan towards Ukraine's future EU membership.


Democratic Transitions


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2020

The case for sanctioning Ukraine’s anti-Western MPs

By
Daria Kaleniuk

Many of Ukraine's most prominent anti-Western figures also have considerable business interests in the West. Anti-corruption activists accuse them of hypocrisy and say sanctions are justified.


Corruption


Non-Traditional Threats


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2020

Battle on the home front: Care for Ukraine’s veterans

By
Lauren Van Metre

The situation faced by veterans in today’s Ukraine is not just a human-interest story. The reintegration of veterans must be a priority for Ukraine’s government, its allies, and its NATO partners.


Conflict


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2020

Russia as aggressor, NATO as objective: Ukraine’s new National Security Strategy

By
Alyona Getmanchuk

Ukraine unveiled a new National Security Strategy in September 2020 that clearly identifies Russia as the enemy and sets out NATO membership as the end goal of the country's security policy.


Conflict


National Security


UkraineAlert

Sep 28, 2020

EU-Ukraine tensions mount ahead of annual summit

By
Peter Dickinson

The EU-Ukraine Summit in Brussels on October 6 is likely to be dominated by concerns that President Zelenskyy is no longer committed to maintaining Ukraine's post-2014 path towards Euro-Atlantic integration.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 28, 2020

Ukraine must think globally in its hybrid war with Russia

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine is likely to last decades. Kyiv's best hope of success lies in broadening the context of the conflict and backing international efforts to contain the Kremlin.


Conflict


Non-Traditional Threats

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

May 31, 2016

A Saakashvili Party Comeback? Not in Georgia but Maybe in Ukraine

By Brian Mefford

Odesa Oblast Governor Mikheil Saakashvili is preparing for the launch of his political party later this year in Ukraine, but this has not prevented him from pondering a return to politics in his native Georgia. Georgian voters go to the polls on October 8 to elect a new parliament in a contest viewed as a […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 31, 2016

Exposing Russia’s False NATO Narrative

By Stephen Blank

A staple of Russian, pro-Russian, and so-called realist narratives is that NATO not only reneged on its promises to not enlarge after German reunification, it also rebuffed all Russian efforts to integrate with the organization. To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway, it is pretty to think so—but that is not the truth. As Mikhail Gorbachev himself said, […]

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

May 31, 2016

Europe Still in Denial as Russia Ushers in the Age of Hybrid Hostilities

By Peter Dickinson

European leaders will gather in June to discuss whether to extend sanctions against Russia over the Kremlin’s hybrid war in Ukraine. The current sanctions regime will likely remain in place, but the mere fact the subject is up for debate is evidence of Europe’s alarming refusal to acknowledge the new security reality facing the continent. […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2016

Europe’s Humanitarian Fatigue Threatens to Engulf Ukraine

By Andrew Kornbluth

Earlier this month, Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, presidents of the European Commission and Parliament, respectively, published an appeal for continental solidarity in which they criticized “anyone who believes that the time of the nation-state has come” as “out of touch with reality.” The inaccuracy of Juncker and Schulz’s statement is reflected in the comparative […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2016

The Many Hopes of Nadiya Savchenko

By Irena Chalupa

“I’ve been in a prison cell for two years, I’m not used to people, so I am sorry if I sound harsh,” said Nadiya Savchenko as throngs of journalists and well-wishers crowded around her at Kyiv’s Boryspil airport on May 25. Captured in Ukraine, transferred secretly to Russia where she was tried and sentenced to […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 25, 2016

Savchenko’s Return May Unleash Political Earthquake in Ukraine

By Kateryna Kruk

It has finally happened. Nadiya Savchenko is back in Ukraine. The female pilot, who was captured in Ukraine and illegally brought to Russia on falsified charges, became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against Russian efforts to destabilize the country. A Russian court sentenced Savchenko to twenty-two years for killing two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2016

Why Ukraine’s Gutsy, Bright, and Articulate Reformers Are Optimistic

By Diane Francis

“A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. . . . We must have patience till luck turns,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1798. Jefferson wrote this observation to a friend thirteen years after […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2016

Get Real, Europe. Sanctions on Russia Must Stay in Place

By Aaron Korewa

The EU is poised for another discussion on sanctions against Russia when they expire in July. As usual, there are some countries that are wavering for one reason or another. On April 28, French conservative MP Thierry Mariani secured a majority for a non-binding resolution in the French parliament recommending that the EU’s trade limits […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2016

Ukraine’s Parliament Is Getting a Facelift, but Will It Make a Difference?

By Brian Mefford

The newly elected Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Andriy Parubiy, wasted no time in announcing a series of internal reforms for the Ukrainian parliament, which has long been the most hated institution of public life. In the latest International Republican Institute (IRI) poll, 88 percent of Ukrainians viewed the institution unfavorably. Contributing factors to this […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2016

Ukraine Could Join the European Union by 2030

By Anders Åslund

Following the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine has taken big political and economic steps forward. Today, we need to assess what has been accomplished and what Ukraine should achieve in the next fifteen years. The nation needs to set ambitious goals, aiming for an average economic growth rate of 6-7 percent a year. That kind of […]

European Union International Organizations