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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

Apr 21, 2020

Ban on farmland sales to foreigners risks starving Ukraine of investment

By
Bate Toms

Ukraine has recently moved to end a two-decade ban on the sale of farmland, but restrictions on purchases by foreigners will remain in place and threaten to block a key source of international investment.


Economy & Business


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2020

Ukraine cannot stay neutral in Putin’s history war

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has sought to enforce his version of history on Ukraine as part of efforts to dominate the country. It is time for Ukraine to fight back and establish its own national narratives.


Russia


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2020

Coronavirus proves what Ukrainians already knew—the UN doesn’t work

By
Pavlo Klimkin and Andreas Umland

The coronavirus crisis has left the United Nations badly exposed. This has not come as a surprise to many in Ukraine, where distrust of the UN has been strong since the start of Russian aggression in 2014.


Coronavirus


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic: Ukraine flies to the rescue

By
Alyona Getmanchuk

Ukrainian cargo planes are currently delivering vital anti-coronavirus medical supplies from China to NATO member countries, underlining Ukraine's value as a strategic partner of the Euro-Atlantic community.


Coronavirus


NATO


UkraineAlert

Apr 15, 2020

Russian Church in Ukraine fuels coronavirus outbreak

By
Victor Tregubov

The Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine has emerged as a key source of coronavirus infection in the country over the past week after church officials refused to follow government lock down guidelines.


Coronavirus


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Apr 14, 2020

Zelenskyy puts Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution on trial

By
Adrian Karatnycky

Criminal charges against prominent Ukrainian activist Tetyana Chornovol represent a watershed moment in the country's modern history that risks putting Ukraine's entire Maidan Revolution on trial.


Democratic Transitions


Rule of Law


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2020

Why appeasing Putin in Ukraine won’t work

By
Paul D’Anieri

Western leaders are eager for a deal to end the undeclared war between Russia and Ukraine, but any attempt to appease Putin risks encouraging further imperial aggression, writes Paul D’Anieri.


Conflict


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2020

Does Zelenskyy’s Ukraine still want to join NATO?

By
Tetiana Gaiduk

Since the onset of Russian aggression in 2014, Ukraine has pursued closer ties with NATO. However, recent changes at the Ministry of Defense have raised concerns over Ukraine's continued commitment to NATO integration.


NATO


NATO Partnerships


UkraineAlert

Apr 10, 2020

Breadbasket Ukraine must not prohibit grain exports

By
Anders Åslund

Ukrainian policymakers are reportedly discussing the prohibition of grain exports. This could have a disastrous impact on the economy while also damaging ties with Ukraine's international partners.


International Financial Institutions


Trade and tariffs


UkraineAlert

Apr 8, 2020

Beyond east versus west: Ukraine must go global

By
Viktor Karvatskyy

The coronavirus crisis is a globally disruptive event that gives Ukraine an opportunity to rethink the country's geopolitical trajectory and move beyond the traditional foreign policy of east versus west.


Politics & Diplomacy


Ukraine

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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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UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2016

You Wouldn’t Think It from the Headlines, but Ukraine Is Making Progress

By Michael Druckman and Katie LaRoque

It’s been a rough several weeks for Ukraine in the news. From the firing of prominent reformer Davit Sakvarelidze from the Prosecutor General’s Office to the recent release of the “Panama Papers,” which seemingly link President Petro Poroshenko to several offshore accounts and sparked accusations from members of the Verkhovna Rada of abuse of office […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2016

How Ukraine Can Contribute to NATO’s Forward Defense

By Ian J. Brzezinski and Markian Bilynskyj

NATO has decided to bolster its military operations in Central Europe to better deter and, if necessary, defend against Russian aggression. Toward that end, Alliance military authorities have been tasked to develop plans for the deployment of multinational units, possibly battalions or brigades, that will be deployed on a persistent basis along NATO’s eastern frontier. […]

NATO Russia

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