Stay Updated

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

Feb 4, 2020

International law may yet contain Putin in Ukraine

By
Michel Waelbroeck and Willem Aldershoff

Rival interpretations of the 2015 Minsk Protocols have brought Ukraine and Russia to deadlock in negotiations to end the undeclared six-year war between the two nations – but could international law help Ukraine to win the diplomatic argument?


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Feb 4, 2020

US-Ukraine ties after the impeachment drama

By
Volodymyr Dubovyk

The Trump impeachment drama has placed enormous strain on US-Ukraine ties but Kyiv continues to rely on American support in its struggle against Russian aggression. How will the US-Ukraine partnership now evolve?


Conflict


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jan 30, 2020

Сегодня Крым, Россия завтра?

By
Melinda Haring

С аннексии Крыма весной 2014 года, Россия изменяла Украинский полуостров на темную дырку человеческих прав и огромная военную базу. Эта худшая ситуация может быть переменены в других местах в России и дальше, предупреждает Мелинда Харинг.


Conflict


Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


UkraineAlert

Jan 30, 2020

Crimea today, Russia tomorrow?

By
Melinda Haring

Since seizing Crimea in spring 2014, Russia has transformed the Ukrainian peninsula into a human rights black hole and a giant military base. This deteriorating situation could be replicated elsewhere in Russia and beyond, warns Melinda Haring.


Human Rights


Russia


UkraineAlert

Jan 30, 2020

Climate change threatens the Ukrainian breadbasket

By
Anna Ackermann

Ukraine is currently experiencing one of the mildest winters on record. This is sparking concern over the pace of climate change in the country and the implications for an economy that relies heavily on its status as an emerging agricultural superpower.


Climate Change & Climate Action


Macroeconomics


UkraineAlert

Jan 30, 2020

Pressuring Putin is the only way to end Ukraine’s pain

By
Paul Niland

Many observers believe the undeclared war between Russia and Ukraine has already become a de facto frozen conflict – but Paul Niland argues the only way to secure a lasting peace is to focus on increasing the cost of Russian aggression.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Jan 27, 2020

Ukraine’s fate will shape global security – and Americans should care

By
Peter Dickinson

During a January 24 post-interview exchange, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly asked a radio host, "Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?" This has sparked a lively debate about US-Ukrainian ties and the threat posed by Russian aggression.


Conflict


National Security


UkraineAlert

Jan 27, 2020

PACE risks becoming a watchdog with no bite

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

Ukraine's return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is in danger of being overshadowed by efforts to make it much more difficult to impose sanctions similar to the measures aimed at Russia over the 2014 invasion of Ukraine. Will Europe's human rights watchdog lose its bite?


Europe & Eurasia


International Organizations


UkraineAlert

Jan 27, 2020

Is Putin preparing a new Ukraine strategy?

By
Anders Åslund

The departure of Vladimir Putin's gray cardinal Vladislav Surkov and his replacement as Ukraine policy curator by Dmitry Kozak has led to speculation that Russia could be planning a change in its Ukraine strategy.


Conflict


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Jan 24, 2020

Rumors of Ukraine’s death on Capitol Hill are greatly exaggerated

By
John E. Herbst

Ukraine's role at the heart of the Trump impeachment process has raised concerns that bipartisan support for the country could suffer but John E. Herbst argues that US backing for Ukraine remains strong.


Politics & Diplomacy


Ukraine

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.

Follow us on social media
and support our work

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