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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

Dec 21, 2021

A Russian invasion of Ukraine could be Vladimir Putin’s downfall

By
Taras Kuzio

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently threatening to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine but his plans do not appear to enjoy widespread support among the Russian public and could destabilize the regime.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2021

Russian court accidentally delivers guilty verdict on Putin’s Ukraine war

By
Peter Dickinson

A Russian court in Rostov has accidentally issued a guilty verdict on Putin's Ukraine war by publishing official documents confirming the presence of Russian military units in Kremlin-occupied eastern Ukraine.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Dec 16, 2021

Vladimir Putin fears Ukrainian democracy not NATO expansion

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's claims of a growing NATO presence in Ukraine are not matched by facts on the ground. In reality, protests over NATO expansion are an excuse to escalate Russia's eight-year war against Ukraine.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Dec 15, 2021

Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s post-Maidan reform experience

By
Anton Yashchenko

Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s post-Maidan reform experience: the country's Reforms Delivery Office team has shared ten key insights based on the past five years at the heart of the country's ambitious reform agenda.


Civil Society


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Dec 11, 2021

Memo to the international media: Putin has already invaded Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

One depressing aspect of Russia's latest military build-up on the Ukrainian border has been the flurry of headlines posing the same question: will Putin invade Ukraine? In reality, Russia has already invaded Ukraine and the war is now in its eighth year.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2021

Biden and Putin hold virtual Ukraine summit amid Russian invasion fears

By
Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke via video link on December 7 to address growing concerns over a major Russian military build-up along the country’s border with Ukraine.


Conflict


NATO


UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2021

Independent Ukraine’s free speech gains are under threat

By
Kira Rudik

Allegations of state pressure on media have left many questioning President Zelenskyy's commitment to maintaining independent Ukraine's hard-fought free speech gains.


Democratic Transitions


Media


UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2021

Biden warns Putin of high costs if Russia launches new Ukraine invasion

By
Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that America and its European allies will impose a range of tough new sanctions if Moscow proceeds with its threatened invasion of Ukraine.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2021

Coal mine methane is key to Ukraine’s climate commitment

By
Conal Campbell

Ukraine joined the Global Methane Pledge at the November 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. The country’s approach towards the coal mining industry will be vital in making good on this pledge.


Climate Change & Climate Action


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Dec 6, 2021

Guerrilla tactics offer Ukraine’s best deterrent against Putin’s invasion force

By
T. X. Hammes

As Ukraine faces the prospect of a possible major escalation in the country's seven-year undeclared war with Russia, Kyiv's best chance of countering the Kremlin invasion force may be via the use of guerrilla tactics.


Conflict


Defense Technologies

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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 9, 2016

Ukraine’s Unique Totalitarian Trauma Offers Key to Historic Healing

By Peter Dickinson

Across the former Soviet Union, May 9 is traditionally the date for Victory Day celebrations to mark the end of World War II. In Ukraine, it can often feel as if the war never actually ended. Ever since Ukraine gained independence in 1991, World War II has served as a proxy battleground for Ukrainians as […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 9, 2016

Why EU Sanctions on Russia Are Overrated but Still Needed

By Christopher A. Hartwell and Andreas Umland

Calls for canceling the EU’s sanctions on Russia after they expire in July 2016 have recently been gathering momentum across Western Europe. On April 28, the French parliament passed a non-binding resolution recommending that the EU’s trade limits and other restrictions on Russia be lifted. Framing the sanctions as both ineffective and dangerous to France’s […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2016

The Long Arm of Russian “Soft” Power

By Orysia Lutsevych

Anxious about losing ground to Western influence in the post-Soviet space and the ousting of pro-Russia elites by popular electoral uprisings in the early 2000s, the Kremlin has developed a range of proxy groups in support of its foreign policy. This network of pro-Kremlin groups promotes the Russian World (Russkiy Mir), a flexible tool that […]

Moldova Russia

UkraineAlert

May 3, 2016

Ukraine’s New Government Scores Big Reform Win

By Basil A. Kalymon

Land Reform Should Be Next April 27 was a bellwether day for economic reform in Ukraine. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman announced that the cabinet has decided to unify natural gas prices in Ukraine to a single market price for both retail and industrial users. Effectively, this implies increased prices for the retail consumer that will […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 2, 2016

What the Banning of Crimean Tatars’ Mejlis Means

By Eleanor Knott

In the two years since Russia illegally annexed Crimea, Crimean Tatars have faced the brunt of the de facto authorities’ brutality. On April 15, Crimea’s so-called prosecutor, Natalia Poklonskaya, banned the Mejlis, Crimean Tatars’ representative body in Crimea, labelling it “an extremist organization.” Following the prosecutor’s move, Crimea’s Supreme Court banned the Mejlis on April […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 2, 2016

Memo to Europe: Don’t Fall for Russia’s Empty Promises

By Stephen Blank

As of this writing, the “cessation of hostilities” in Syria has all but collapsed, and thousands of Russian forces are aiding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s campaign to retake Aleppo. At the same time, the Minsk II agreement between Russia and Ukraine remains, as it always has been, an agreement more honored in the breach than […]

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2016

Yanukovych Cronies Try Last-Ditch Effort to Dilute Ukraine’s Transparency Reforms

By Josh Cohen

On March 15, Ukraine’s parliament passed an important anticorruption initiative that requires officials to file an electronic declaration listing their financial assets—meeting a requirement for visa liberalization. While Kyiv continues to fixate on President Petro Poroshenko’s new government, on April 18 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) began to consider an appeal put forth by forty-eight […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2016

Has Ukraine Passed the Tipping Point Yet?

By Melinda Haring

How are Ukraine’s reforms coming along? It depends who you ask. During a recent visit to Kyiv, I heard a wide range of views. “Reforms are painful, slow, and haven’t passed the tipping point yet,” said Orysia Lutsevych, manager of the Ukraine Forum at London’s Chatham House, during the Kyiv Security Forum on April 14-15. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2016

A New Attempt to Resolve the Ukraine Conflict

By Marieluise Beck and Ralf Fücks

The diplomatic efforts of the West to find a political solution to the Ukraine conflict have reached an impasse. Implementation of the terms of the Minsk agreement—far-reaching autonomous rights for the Donbas in return for a withdrawal of Russian arms and troops, the holding of regional elections under international supervision, and Ukrainian control of the […]

OSCE Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 26, 2016

Two Years Later, Kremlin’s Lethal Lies about Odesa Fire Still Motivate Donbas Recruits

By Halya Coynash

Forty-eight people lost their lives in clashes between pro-unity supporters and pro-Russian backers and a fire in Odesa on May 2, 2014. Only hours later, Russia attempted to portray the mass riots and ensuing fire as a massacre, and that has continued regardless of several investigations, including one by the Council of Europe’s International Advisory […]

Russia Ukraine