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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 17, 2022

Ukraine has a Russia problem not a Putin problem

By
Taras Kuzio

Ukraine appears poised to defeat Putin's invasion but Russia will continue to pose an existential threat to Ukrainian statehood until Russians learn to accept that Ukraine is a sovereign and independent nation.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Oct 17, 2022

Putin’s blackout blitz: Russia aims to freeze Ukrainians into surrender

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Russia is seeking to plunge Ukraine into darkness ahead of the winter heating season by destroying the country's energy infrastructure. Ukraine's partners must step in to make sure Ukrainians are not frozen into surrender.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Oct 13, 2022

Meet the Ukrainian TV star fundraising millions for the country’s war effort

By
Oleksii Antoniuk, Andrew D’Anieri

TV host Serhiy Prytula is being tipped by many as a rising star of Ukrainian politics but for now he is fully occupied in his current role leading crowdfunding efforts for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 12, 2022

No, Russia’s airstrike escalation is not retaliation for the Crimean Bridge

By
Razom Advocacy Team

International media coverage depicting Russia's recent airstrike escalation as retaliation for the alleged Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Bridge risks creating false equivalency over Vladimir Putin's war of aggression.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Oct 11, 2022

Russia’s terror tactics: Putin escalates attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin has launched a new phase of his Ukraine invasion and ordered the destruction of the country's civilian infrastructure. Ukraine's Western partners must urgently provide air defense systems to avert disaster.


Conflict


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Oct 11, 2022

Six things you (yes, you!) can do now to help Ukraine

By
Melinda Haring

With the winter season fast approaching and Vladimir Putin launching a campaign against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, it is more important than ever to maintain support for Ukraine. Melinda Haring has some ideas.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 9, 2022

Ukraine and Moldova move to disarm Vladimir Putin’s energy weapon

By
Aura Sabadus

With the winter heating season now underway, Ukraine and neighboring Moldova both continue to make progress toward reducing dependence on Russian gas and disarming Vladimir Putin's energy weapon.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Oct 7, 2022

The United States will also benefit from Ukraine’s European integration

By
Dmytro Lyvch, Yuliia Shaipova

As Ukrainian troops continue to liberate their country from Russian occupation, a consensus is emerging that the future stability of the continent will depend on Ukraine’s further integration into the European Union.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 7, 2022

Vladimir Putin has little reason to celebrate on his seventieth birthday

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin marks his seventieth birthday on October 7 but the Russian ruler has little reason to celebrate as his disastrous Ukraine invasion continues to unravel leaving Russia increasingly internationally isolated.


Central Asia


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 6, 2022

Ukraine’s top NATO priority should be weapons, not fast-track membership

By
Steven Pifer

Ukraine's recent application for fast-track NATO accession is unlikely to receive the necessary backing from alliance members but appeals for more weapons would pay dividends for Kyiv, writes Steven Pifer.


Conflict


European Union

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Content

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2016

The Complex History of the Ukrainian Nation: A Review of “The Gates of Europe”

By Alexei Sobchenko

During a time of war, history becomes a weapon used to justify claims and raise soldiers’ spirits. In this case, successful histories are simple, unequivocal, and confirmed by the experiences of past centuries. The current Kremlin version of history of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine fully meets these criteria. According to Moscow, there was […]

Poland Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2016

Ukraine Should Do More to Combat Human Trafficking

By Luke A. Drabyn

Ukraine remains one of Europe’s most notorious sources of human trafficking. Since 1991, over 160,000 men, women, and children have been exploited for labor, sex, forced begging, and organ removal, according to a mid-2015 report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy, with recommendations from domestic and international nongovernmental organizations, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2016

2016 Will Be a Make It or Break It Year for Ukraine

By Alina Polyakova

Two years ago, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians braved the freezing temperatures on Kyiv’s Maidan to protest. Since then, Ukraine has gone through almost too many crises to count: upheaval with the ousting of former President Viktor Yanukovych; Russian occupation of Crimea; a war with Russian forces in the Donbas that continues to simmer; and […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 6, 2016

How Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Sabotaged the Reform Process

By Halya Coynash

Viktor Shokin, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, was upbeat in his New Year’s message to colleagues. While “2015 was a difficult and responsible year for us all,” he wrote, we “carried out unprecedented reform and overhaul of the prosecutor’s system, bringing it closer to European standards.” Almost twenty years after Ukraine promised to reform its prosecutor’s office […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2016

Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016

By Anders Åslund

The outlook for the Ukrainian economy in 2016 is positive. Many important reforms were carried out in 2015. The necessary exchange rate adjustment has occurred and most required bank closures have taken place. The parliament has adopted tax changes and a decent budget for 2016. The debt restructuring deal has postponed foreign debt service. The […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2016

Putin’s Next Potential Target: The Baltic States

By Stephen Blank

Although Russia’s economy is reeling and its military forces are increasingly engaged in Syria and Ukraine, NATO commanders, governments, and analysts are concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adventurism has not run its course. Most anxieties focus on the Baltic states as Russia’s next potential military target. Russia has many advantages in the Baltics. The […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2016

From Ordinary Business Trip to Russian Jail: Former Ukrainian Political Prisoner Exhorts West to Keep Pressure on Russia

By Yuriy Yatsenko

Editor’s Note: Yuriy Yatsenko testified before the US Helsinki Commission in Washington on December 11, 2015. His remarks have been shortened. I am a Ukrainian citizen who was illegally arrested and detained by the Russian Federation for over a year for political reasons. Nadiya Savchenko, Oleg Sentsov, and others who are less known have suffered and […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2016

Putin’s Fragile Popularity

By Andreas Umland

One of the mantras of today’s Kremlin apologists, as well as of some self-described political realists, is that current Russian President Vladimir Putin is unusually popular among Russians. In the interest of pragmatism, they say, the West should acknowledge this allegedly hard fact and adapt its policies accordingly—i.e., try to rebuild a partnership with Russia’s […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2016

What Will 2016 Mean for Ukraine?

By Aaron Korewa

In 2015, Ukraine proved it wasn’t a pushover. The country united in the face of Russian aggression and Russian President Vladimir Putin learned that if he wanted his Novorossiya project, it was going to cost him more than a few little green men. Notably, the war in Ukraine was completely absent from Putin’s December 2015 […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2016

New Russian Management of the Donbas Signifies Putin May Be Ready to Negotiate

By Anders Åslund

On December 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed one of his close, trusted aides, Boris Gryzlov, Russia’s representative in the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, which concluded the two Minsk agreements on the Donbas in September 2014 and February 2015. This appointment suggests an important change in Russia’s policy toward Ukraine. Gryzlov is a heavyweight […]

Russia Ukraine