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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 7, 2021

The EU must stop serving as a playground for corrupt Ukrainian oligarchs and officials

By
Daria Kaleniuk

If the EU is serious about helping Ukraine achieve a decisive break with the institutional corruption of the post-Soviet era, it must also stop serving as a playground for corrupt Ukrainian oligarchs and officials.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2021

Saakashvili arrest overshadows Georgian ruling party’s election win

By
Peter Dickinson

Georgia’s ruling party Georgian Dream secured victory in October 2 local elections but the imprisonment of returning ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili leaves little realistic chance of an end to political tensions.


Elections


The Caucasus


UkraineAlert

Oct 4, 2021

Time to rethink Ukraine’s fight against corruption

By
Bohdan Vitvitsky

The ongoing struggle against corruption in Ukraine would benefit from greater coordination among the country's international partners and a longer term strategy, argues Bohdan Vitvitsky.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2021

Europe is under attack from Putin’s energy weapon

By
Sergiy Makogon

Moscow's Nord Stream 2 pipeline has yet to enter service but Russian President Vladimir Putin is already being accused of weaponizing energy supplies and attempting to blackmail Europe with high gas prices.


European Union


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2021

Europe’s new Russia policy must focus on human rights

By
Dave Elseroad, Nora Wehofsits

As the European Union looks to review and update its Russia policy, it is vital EU leaders focus on the growing human rights crisis that is threatening to spill over from Russia itself and undo the EU's own post-1991 progress.


Civil Society


European Union


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2021

How Ukraine can become a global IT powerhouse

By
Yegor Chernev

Ukraine already boasts one of the region's most dynamic IT industries but further work is required to improve the business climate in order to make the most of the country's considerable tech sector potential.


Digital Currencies


Digital Policy


BelarusAlert

Sep 29, 2021

Lukashenka vs. Ukraine

By
Brian Whitmore

Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has accused NATO of establishing military bases in Ukraine and has vowed to respond together with Russian President Vladimir Putin.


Belarus


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Sep 28, 2021

American author’s timely love letter to Odesa

By
Anthony Bartaway

American author Vladislav Davidzon's new book "From Odessa With Love" takes readers on an entertaining and enlightening tour of Ukraine's famously colorful and cosmopolitan Black Sea port city.


Resilience & Society


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2021

How village cheese is bringing Ukraine closer to Europe

By
Dmytro Tuzhanskyi

A village cheese-making initiative in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast is bringing a taste of Western Europe to the Ukrainian countryside and highlighting the possibilities of agricultural entrepreneurship.


Economy & Business


Resilience & Society


UkraineAlert

Sep 23, 2021

Zelenskyy slams UN inaction over Putin’s Ukraine war

By
Peter Dickinson

In a strongly worded address at the UN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that failure to confront Russian aggression in Ukraine will have grave consequences for international security.


Conflict


Politics & Diplomacy

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

Apr 25, 2016

Here’s How to Make Ukraine’s Reforms Irreversible

By Hanna Hopko

We live in a time of transformations: today, we decide which Ukraine our children will live in tomorrow. But a new Ukraine will be hard to achieve unless citizens with no connections to the old system take action and begin controlling the government and thinking long-term. In 2013, Ukrainians protested to demonstrate that there was […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2016

Why I’m Pessimistic about Ukraine’s New Government

By Sergii Leshchenko

President Petro Poroshenko’s passivity in the fight against corruption has restored the old rules of Ukrainian politics and renewed the significance of the oligarchs. They’re his main partners now. The search for a new prime minister is only part of this ignoble process. Over the last two months, Poroshenko has managed to back himself into […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Time for Ukraine to Assume Rightful Place in Global Energy Market

By Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska

In the course of its reforms, Ukraine has launched one of its most critical markets, the energy market. The state economy is highly energy intensive, based on fossil fuels, and imports-dependent. After having lost 10 percent of its industrial coal and gas-bearing territories, the government needs to make up for its energy shortage. Meanwhile, lying […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

If Ukraine Finally Gets Visa-Free Travel, Activists Deserve Credit, Too

By Josh Cohen

The chattering classes in Kyiv remain riveted by the startling revelations from the Panama Papers, the resignation of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and the formation of a new government, but there’s another story that deserves attention. On April 20, the European Union proposed visa-free travel in Europe to Ukrainians. It’s no exaggeration to say that Ukrainians […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Ukraine’s Finally Got a Cybersecurity Strategy. But Is It Enough?

By Vera Zimmerman

Ukraine has been battling for its independence not only in the fields of the Donbas, but also in cyberspace. Government networks have been subject to continuous cyber espionage, while other cyberattacks have disrupted a presidential election, blocked access to news media, and engaged in hacktivism and propaganda distribution. Although these attacks initially did not seem […]

Cybersecurity Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Why I’m Optimistic about Ukraine’s New Government

By John E. Herbst

The past two months have not been favorable for Ukraine’s image in the West. The unnecessary government crisis leading to the ouster of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his government has meant little progress on reform and lots of attention to politics. The strongest reform ministers—Natalie Jaresko, Aivaras Abromavicius, Oleksiy Pavlenko, and Andriy Pyvovarskiy—left with […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Shame on You, Netherlands

By Aaron Korewa

In a recent referendum, the Dutch people rejected the EU-Ukraine association agreement. Or rather, it was rejected by a majority of the just over 30 percent of Dutch people who decided to participate in this—for lack of a better word—joke. On the day of the referendum, a cartoon with the statement, “If you are voting […]

Russia Ukraine

Bremain vs Brexit

Apr 12, 2016

Ukraine, Let’s Build a Country that the Dutch and All of Europe Will Embrace

By Hanna Hopko

Shall we live the old way? What are the lessons for the government of Ukraine from the referendum in the Netherlands? Let’s begin with gratitude to the hundreds of colleagues and friends who in recent days worked to urge the people of the Netherlands to support Ukraine in the referendum. We lost and Holland lost too. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 12, 2016

“Putin’s Not Finished,” Warns Former Defense Official Evelyn Farkas

By Diane Francis

On April 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin suddenly announced creation of a National Guard, of up to 400,000 personnel, to control drug trafficking and terrorism. But former Pentagon adviser Evelyn Farkas has a different take: “I see this as riot control.” Putin is distracting attention from bad economic news, due to sanctions, she said. “This […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 12, 2016

In Odesa, Protesters Demand that Poroshenko Restore Reformist Prosecutor

By Vladislav Davidzon

Several hundred protesters have camped out in front of the regional prosecutor’s office in Odesa for the past two weeks demanding that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reinstate reformist Deputy Prosecutor General Davit Sakvarelidze, who also concurrently held the post of regional prosecutor of Odesa. Sakvarelidze’s replacement, Nikolai Stoyanov, has held the position twice before, including […]

Ukraine