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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 4, 2019

Expert Q&A: Will the Steinmeier Formula bring peace to Ukraine?

By
Mattia Nelles

What does the Steinmeier Formula mean for Ukraine and could this be the first step in a peaceful settlement of the Donbas war?


Conflict


Crisis Management


UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2019

Early warning signs in Ukraine

By
Bohdan Nahaylo

The recent resignation of Oleksandr Danyliuk is a blow to all those who have expected better from the new Ukrainian president and his team.


Democratic Transitions


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2019

Rebuilding Ukraine one house at a time

By
Yurko Didula

Five years after Kramatorsk, our volunteer initiative has become the largest volunteer movement in Ukraine with a network of more than 2,500 volunteers. Together, we have restored housing for 220 families and helped 17 cities create their own youth centers.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 2, 2019

Will Ukraine make a deal with Kolomoisky? Three things to watch

By
Oksana Bedratenko

There are only three things to watch to determine whether rumors about a possible deal with Kolomoisky are true: changes in NBU leadership, developments in PrivatBank-related cases in Ukrainian courts, and how the cases in international courts play out.


Financial Regulation


International Financial Institutions


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2019

Hard questions for Mr. Zelenskyy

By
Bohdan Nahaylo

Is Ukraine about to be sold out and further weakened by internal splits?


Elections


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2019

Leave Ukraine out of the Ukraine scandal

By
Oleksii Honcharenko

I have one request for American political elites: stop making Ukraine a political football in the internal affairs of the United States. Nothing less than our security and Europe’s security depends on it.


Crisis Management


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2019

Ukraine is having a very bad month

By
Melinda Haring

Only three weeks ago, diplomats, the international finance community, and Ukraine boosters were so upbeat.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 27, 2019

Why Zelenskyy needs a new chief of staff now

By
Melinda Haring

A new investigation may shed light on the views of Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Bohdan toward Russia and the West.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2019

Expert Q&A: How’s the US-Ukraine relationship after New York?

By
Melinda Haring

How’s the US-Ukraine relationship after New York? What should Zelenskyy do next? How could Russian President Vladimir Putin exploit this?


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2019

Will Zelenskyy make the same fatal mistake as Poroshenko?

By
Kateryna Butko

Judicial reform is one of the most anticipated promises made by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his unorthodox campaign.


Civil Society


Political Reform

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

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