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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 30, 2021

“Crimea is Ukraine”: Kyiv summit sends powerful message to Vladimir Putin

By
Diane Francis

The inaugural Crimea Platform summit in August sent a strong message to Moscow that the international community continues to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine and rejects the Russian occupation.


Conflict


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2021

Rule of law shortcomings are the greatest obstacle to Ukraine’s future success

By
Richard Deitz

US President Joe Biden's August 31 meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a good opportunity to underline the importance of reforming the Ukrainian judiciary, writes US investor Richard Deitz.


Corruption


Economy & Business


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

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

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