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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

Jun 24, 2021

Putin blames anyone but himself for loss of Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently published an op-ed accusing the US of staging an anti-Russian coup in Ukraine, but in reality nobody has done more to erode Russian influence in Ukraine than Putin himself.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2021

Ukraine offers hope in an increasingly homophobic neighborhood

By
Adrian Hoefer, Shelby Magid

While Ukrainian attitudes towards the LGBTQI community are still far behind the levels of acceptance encountered elsewhere in the West, Ukraine’s modest progress offers hope in a region where intolerance is on the rise.


Civil Society


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2021

Land reform can make Ukraine an agricultural superpower

By
Roman Leshchenko

Ukraine stands today on the threshold of historic change. The country will launch its agricultural land market on July 1. This is one of the most significant landmarks in the 30 years of Ukrainian independence.


Corruption


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2021

Business community seeks to boost Ukraine’s market infrastructure

By
Andy Hunder

Ukrainian officials and representatives of the business community signed a memorandum of understanding on June 8 for the NEXT-UA initiative, which aims to help buttress Ukraine’s market infrastructure.


Economy & Business


Fiscal and Structural Reform


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2021

The dangers of echoing Russian disinformation on Ukraine

By
Andreas Umland

Disinformation has been central to Russia's seven-year hybrid war against Ukraine. By echoing Kremlin narratives, Western commentators risk enabling Russian aggression and undermining international security.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2021

Ukraine’s choice: corruption or growth

By
Willem Buiter

As Ukraine prepares to mark 30 years of independence, it is clear that until corruption is confronted in a comprehensive and decisive manner, it will continue to prevent the country from achieving economic growth.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2021

Armenian voters offered false choice between security and democracy

By
Lusine Hakobyan

Armenians will go to the polls on June 20 in snap parliamentary elections that the opposition seeks to position as a straight choice between democracy and security following the country's 2020 military defeat.


Democratic Transitions


Elections


UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2021

Biden-Putin summit review: Good news for Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

Few countries were as anxious as Ukraine ahead of Wednesday’s summit in Geneva between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but can Kyiv regard the outcome as favorable?


Conflict


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2021

Putin’s Ukraine War: Will Russia attempt a Black Sea blockade?

By
Andriy Zagorodnyuk

The international community spent much of April 2021 nervously watching the Ukrainian border for signs of a new Kremlin offensive, but Russia's next escalation may come in the Black Sea.


Conflict


Maritime Security


UkraineAlert

Jun 14, 2021

Geopolitical weapon: Putin’s pipeline nears completion

By
Benjamin Schmitt

This week's summit meeting between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin may be one of the last opportunities for the US to take a stand against the Kremlin's controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Russia

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Content

UkraineAlert

Jun 2, 2016

Don’t Celebrate Ukraine’s New Judicial Changes Yet

By Halya Coynash

Ukraine’s parliament has ignored warnings from human rights organizations and the Reanimation Package of Reforms and passed constitutional amendments and a bill on the judicial system which retain the old ways of exerting influence on judges. There was enormous pressure for judicial reform, and many of the changes are needed. The warnings, however, highlight real […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 1, 2016

Ukraine Needs to Stop Dragging its Feet on Privatization

By Aivaras Abromavičius

State-owned enterprises remain Ukraine’s Achilles’ heel. They are where political corruption spirals out of control with cronyism and backroom deals, and it is time to put an end to it. Privatization is the only real solution. No one has ever been popular by selling state assets and the timing is never right. Yet these companies […]

Ukraine

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