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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

Sep 1, 2022

Flawed assumptions hamper Western response to Russia’s Ukraine War

By
Glenn Chafetz, Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

The Western response to Russia's Ukraine invasion is being undermined by flawed assumptions over the danger of a possible nuclear escalation and the need to maintain a workable relationship with Russia.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Aug 31, 2022

Russia must be held accountable for committing genocide in Ukraine

By
Danielle Johnson

Efforts to hold Russia accountable for genocide in Ukraine will involve war crimes trials but must also focus on the broader challenge of addressing Russia's historical sense of impunity, writes Danielle Johnson


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2022

The Ukrainian military must reorganize to defeat Russia

By
Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

Ukraine has achieved military miracles to derail Russia's invasion plans but reorganization of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is necessary if the country is to be fully liberated from Russian occupation, writes Richard D. Hooker, Jr.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2022

Decolonizing Crimean history

By
Oleksandra Gaidai

A new online educational initiative is aiming to decolonize Crimean history and challenge the problematic international tendency to view the lands of the former Soviet Union through a Russian prism.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2022

Amnesty announces review as Ukraine report backlash continues

By
Lillian Posner

Amnesty International has announced an independent review of a controversial report that accused the Ukrainian military of endangering civilians and was subsequently used by the Kremlin to justify war crimes.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Aug 24, 2022

Ukraine’s six key conditions for peace talks with Putin’s Russia

By
Anders Åslund

After six months of battlefield setbacks in Ukraine, there are indications that Vladimir Putin is seeking a return to the negotiating table. Anders Åslund sets out six key conditions for Ukraine ahead of any potential peace talks.


Conflict


Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2022

Ukraine needs more US support to win its fight for freedom 

By
Cory Gardner, Andrew J. Futey

Ukraine's resilient response to Vladimir Putin's invasion has inspired the world but the country is now in need of increased US military, economic, and diplomatic support in order to secure an historic victory over Russia.


Conflict


Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2022

A strong Ukraine is the best solution to Europe’s Russia problem

By
Oleksii Reznikov

Ukraine's courageous response to Putin's invasion has inspired the world but some Western leaders remain in denial over the threat posed by a hostile Russia, writes Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Aug 21, 2022

What Ukraine needs to win the war

By
Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

Ukraine can win the war against Vladimir Putin's Russia and secure an extended peace in Europe but victory depends on receiving Western support that goes well beyond the current level, writes Richard D. Hooker Jr.


Conflict


Drones


UkraineAlert

Aug 21, 2022

Russia’s war in Ukraine: Six surprises six months in

By
Melinda Haring

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shocked the world and transformed the geopolitical climate. Melinda Haring looks back at the first six months of the invasion and reflects on the six most surprising developments.


Conflict


European Union

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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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Jan 26, 2016

Not So Fast, Mr. Inozemtsev

By John E. Herbst

Responding to an article that Ambassadors Steven Pifer, William Taylor, and I wrote in The New York Times advocating greater US and EU assistance to Ukraine, Vladislav Inozemtsev wrote a provocative article January 19 in which he makes the case that Kyiv should cede the occupied territories of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), Luhansk People’s […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2016

Ukrainians Need to Stop Waiting for Their White Knight

By Sergii Leshchenko

My source leaned forward and said in a muffled voice: “The latest news is that grey cardinal Igor Kononenko’s men have been placed inside Ukrainian Railways, and Member of Parliament Sergei Fayermak of the People’s Front is now in charge of all the seaports.” This conversation with a government insider took place in the middle […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2016

Ukraine’s Economic Revival Starting in the West

By James Brooke

What do coastal China, northern Mexico, and western Ukraine have in common? After Beijing dropped Maoist economics in the 1970s, low-wage China began to thrive. The economic boom started with the coast, the area closest to the Pacific coast ports of Canada and the United States, with its access to a huge market. Low-wage northern […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2016

Did Ukraine’s Cyberattacks Originate in Russia?

By Cristina Maza

As Ukraine grapples with a plethora of challenges, including endemic corruption and trade disputes with Russia, cyberattacks against the country’s critical infrastructure can now be added to the list of issues. In late December, Ukraine experienced what may have been the world’s first blackout caused by a cyberattack. While the blackout was short-lived, it affected […]

Cybersecurity Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2016

What Falling Oil Prices Mean for Russia and Ukraine

By Anders Åslund

At present the price of Brent crude oil is $28 per barrel, while it was $114 per barrel in June 2014. This price fall by three-quarters is of great importance for the Russian economy and its policy toward Ukraine. The only rational option for the Kremlin is to wind down the conflict with Ukraine. Russia […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 20, 2016

Russia Intervention in Syria Has Its Limits

By Sam Skove

While Russia’s intervention in Syria appears to have helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime claw its way back from the brink of defeat, the Kremlin’s gambit is in many ways a limited one. Russian President Vladimir Putin, thanks to technical and political constraints, cannot significantly ramp up his forces in the region. This means that […]

Russia Syria

UkraineAlert

Jan 20, 2016

A Conflict Erupts Online Between Ukrainians and Russians

By Alexei Sobchenko

A vicious diatribe recently exploded on the Russian Internet between several Ukrainian journalists and bloggers on one side, and prominent Russian opposition bloggers and activists on the other. The discourse reflects the deep divide between the two nations, which has continued to deteriorate since the events of 2014. The debate has been brewing for a […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 19, 2016

What Minsk Accord? Kremlin-Backed Militants Hold Luhansk Journalist Hostage for Year

By Halya Coynash

Eleven months after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agreement in Minsk that all prisoners must be released, Kremlin-backed militants are continuing to hold a number of prisoners, including many civilians, like 31-year-old Luhansk journalist Maria Varfolomeyeva. Varfolomeyeva worked for the local news website Svobodny Reporter and has worked as a fixer for various national media, including […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 19, 2016

How to Help Ukraine: An Alternative Vision

By Vladislav Inozemtsev

Three former US Ambassadors to Ukraine recently wrote an op-ed article in the New York Times (“Investing in Ukraine’s Future,” December 30, 2015) that called for an increase in Western financial assistance to Ukraine and argued that the country is now “teetering on the brink.” I strongly support their willingness to stay firm against a […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 19, 2016

How Ukraine’s Reformers Beat the Pharma Mafia

By Josh Cohen

A little over a month after US Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian legislators that graft was eating Ukraine “like a cancer,” an order from Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers struck a decisive blow against pharmaceutical corruption. This order outsources the purchasing of numerous medicines for seriously ill Ukrainians from the Ministry of Health to respected international […]

Ukraine