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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 31, 2019

Mariupol forum puts eastern Ukraine on investors’ maps

By
Andy Hunder

Zelenskyy and his team delivered a clear and concise message in Mariupol: they are committed to their people in eastern Ukraine.


Economy & Business


Macroeconomics


UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2019

What are Ukrainians willing to compromise for peace?

By
Maria Zolkina

A strong demand for peace and the direct impact of the conflict do not make those who live in the government-controlled areas of the Donbas sympathetic to the most painful compromises.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 29, 2019

This should be Zelenskyy’s next big push

By
Sergii Bondarchuk

Ukraine now has a chance to take the radical steps needed to re-build the SBU and establish a genuine security service under firm democratic control.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Oct 28, 2019

Assessing Zelenskyy’s first six months

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

In general, it seems that Zelenskyy believes all complex issues have simple solutions.


Democratic Transitions


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2019

Ukraine’s new parliament is moving fast but is it getting anywhere?

By
Melinda Haring

Ukraine’s new parliament has been in session for more than fifty days and it’s been operating at a frantic pace, so we’ve culled together a list of the best and worst based on conversations with MPs, judges, attorneys, economists, and other experts.


Civil Society


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2019

Is Ukraine’s new judicial reform a step forward?

By
Olena Halushka and Halyna Chyzhyk

Ukraine’s new judicial reform is not ideal but urgent and long-awaited.


Civil Society


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2019

The real cost of Russian gas

By
Evgeniia Chirikova

As a result of the Nord Stream 2 project, Europeans will get more climate-friendly gas and Russians will choke on coal dust.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Oil and Gas


UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2019

Is Europe giving up on Ukraine?

By
Mark Temnycky

Some European leaders seem to want a new approach with Ukraine.


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2019

Invisible in an invisible war

By
Lauren Van Metre and Steven Steiner

Despite the nod to the critical role women play in the war with Russia, representatives of the Ukraine Women’s Veterans Movement note that discrimination has increased.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2019

Kyiv not Kiev: Why spelling matters in Ukraine’s quest for an independent identity

By
Peter Dickinson

A number of global heavyweights have recently adopted the Ukrainian-language derived “Kyiv” as their official spelling for the country’s capital city, replacing the Russian-rooted “Kiev.”


Democratic Transitions


Political Reform

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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

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