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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 23, 2022

A strong Ukraine is the best solution to Europe’s Russia problem

By
Oleksii Reznikov

Ukraine's courageous response to Putin's invasion has inspired the world but some Western leaders remain in denial over the threat posed by a hostile Russia, writes Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Aug 21, 2022

What Ukraine needs to win the war

By
Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

Ukraine can win the war against Vladimir Putin's Russia and secure an extended peace in Europe but victory depends on receiving Western support that goes well beyond the current level, writes Richard D. Hooker Jr.


Conflict


Drones


UkraineAlert

Aug 21, 2022

Russia’s war in Ukraine: Six surprises six months in

By
Melinda Haring

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shocked the world and transformed the geopolitical climate. Melinda Haring looks back at the first six months of the invasion and reflects on the six most surprising developments.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2022

Russia’s Ukraine War is forcing the Belarus opposition to rethink strategy

By
Alesia Rudnik

Representatives of the Belarusian opposition gathered in Vilnius on August 8-9 for a conference that highlighted a mood of growing militancy as they respond to the new realities created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.


Belarus


Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Aug 16, 2022

Putin’s Ukraine genocide is rooted in Russian impunity for Soviet crimes

By
Alexander Khara

Failure to hold anyone accountable for the crimes of the Soviet era has fostered a climate of impunity in modern Russia that has paved the way for the genocidal invasion of Ukraine, writes Alexander Khara.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2022

Will the United States designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism?

By
Mark Temnycky

As Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine approaches the six-month mark amid growing evidence of war crimes, pressure is mounting on the Biden Administration to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2022

Russia’s invasion has highlighted Ukraine’s nation-building progress

By
Anders Åslund

Ukraine's remarkably resilient response to Russia’s February 2022 invasion has highlighted the impressive nation-building progress made by the country since the chaotic early years of the post-Soviet era.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 12, 2022

Guide to wartime Kyiv: City on the frontlines of European history

By
Andreas Umland

Visiting wartime Ukraine is certainly an extreme option but a trip to today’s Kyiv offers an opportunity to witness world history in the making while providing Ukrainians with meaningful moral and material support.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2022

Generation UA: Young Ukrainians are driving the resistance to Russia’s war

By
Mehri Druckman

Generation UA: From politics and the military to civil society and journalism, the post-independence generation of young Ukrainians is driving the country's remarkable fight back against Russia's invasion.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2022

Putin is running out of excuses as Ukraine expands the war to Crimea

By
Peter Dickinson

Russian officials have denied that Ukraine was behind an audacious August 9 attack on an airbase in occupied Crimea but Moscow's excuses are beginning to wear thin as Vladimir Putin's invasion continues to unravel.


Conflict


Disinformation

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

Apr 6, 2016

Obama Silent on Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, While Putin Plans Shuttle Diplomacy

By Matthew J. Bryza

Absence of US Leadership May Have Consequences in Syria, Ukraine, and Beyond The United States has been conspicuously absent during the latest crisis over Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh (NK). The White House has not yet issued a statement on this unprecedented uptick in violence. US Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement released on April […]

Syria The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2016

New Schedule for Minsk Implementation Urgently Needed

By Maksym Khylko

For several months, the Minsk peace process has been in a stalemate. Meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group and the Normandy Four have failed to make progress on the issue of elections in the Russian-occupied areas of the Donbas. The fourth provision of the Minsk II agreement envisages that local elections should be discussed “in […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2016

Ukraine’s Got a Real Shot at NATO Membership

By Stephen Blank

A Reply to Andreas Umland Andreas Umland writes that it would be senseless for Ukraine to aspire to NATO membership though it is desirable. The main reasons he cites are the dawning realization of the danger and potent threat that Russia presents to both Eastern Europe and the West, coupled with a residual unwillingness to […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2016

Ukraine’s Understandable But Senseless Hope for NATO Membership

By Andreas Umland

Moscow’s aggression against Kyiv has led to a marked growth in Ukrainians’ support for their country’s accession to NATO. During the last two years, Ukrainian public opinion has made a U-turn, from skepticism of the Atlantic alliance to an enthusiastic embrace. Until 2013, almost two-thirds of Ukrainians strongly opposed NATO membership. In a July 2015 […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2016

Now Is Not the Time to Bury Minsk

By Paul Niland

Is the Minsk peace process dead? Not yet. But it is not being respected, and a great deal of work is being done to undermine the process and essentially call it off. Sometimes this is even being done by well-meaning people who actually support Ukraine in one way or another. Comments and tweets from politicians […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2016

The New York Times Was Right about Ukraine’s Corruption Problem

By Halya Coynash

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko dismissed the recent New York Times editorial “Ukraine’s Unyielding Corruption” as “part of the hybrid war against Ukraine” at a press conference on April 1 in Washington, DC. The editorial’s tone and substance were certainly lightyears away from the President’s own rosy assessment given on March 31. So who’s right? While […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 4, 2016

The Battles Are in the Donbas, But the War Is in the Energy Sector

By Anders Åslund

The energy sector is key to the success of Ukraine’s economic reforms, battle against corruption, and independence from Russia. Ukraine carried out far-reaching reforms to the energy sector in 2015; now it must complete the substantial reforms that have been undertaken. Energy is the linchpin of Ukraine’s dependence on Russia. The Kremlin has used energy […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2016

Revealing Europe’s Best-Kept Secret

By Peter Dickinson and Vladislav Davidzon

Early April will see the closure of Ukraine Today, which had been the only full-time English language TV news service offering Ukrainian perspectives to international audiences. The channel will reportedly continue online, but the end of its broadcasting is a sobering development hinting at the difficulties of finding sufficient funding for major Ukrainian English-language media […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2016

Shokin’s Revenge: Ukraine’s Odious Prosecutor General Fires Honest Deputy Before Parliament Sacks Him

By Anders Åslund

On March 29, the Ukrainian Rada finally approved the resignation of Ukraine’s disreputable Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. He was voted out with an overwhelming majority of 289 votes, including 114 of the 134 deputies of the Poroshenko Bloc. On February 16, Shokin was forced to submit his letter of resignation in connection with the failed […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2016

US Presidential Politics Play Poorly in Ukraine

By James Brooke

US President Barack Obama’s refusal to militarily defend Ukraine against Russian aggression has sent a chill halfway around the world to Odesa, the Black Sea port only 200 kilometers by warship from Crimea. In the April issue of The Atlantic, Obama says: “The fact is that Ukraine, which is a non-NATO country, is going to […]

Russia Ukraine