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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

May 13, 2021

Putin’s Ukraine War: EU warns Russia is “de facto integrating” occupied east

By
Peter Dickinson

The European Union has warned that Russia is seeking to “de facto integrate” the Kremlin-controlled separatist republics of east Ukraine. The EU raised the alarm in a note to member states, Bloomberg reported on May 12.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

May 13, 2021

A new vision for Ukraine’s Prosecution Service

By
Iryna Venediktova

Since Ukraine regained independence in 1991, successive attempts to reform the country’s prosecution service have met with only limited success. Efforts are now underway to change this disappointing picture.


Democratic Transitions


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

May 11, 2021

Blinken Kyiv visit analysis: What next for US-Ukraine ties?

By
Peter Dickinson

What can US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent visit to Kyiv tell us about the current state and future prospects for bilateral relations between America and Ukraine?


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 11, 2021

The only way to deter Putin is to arm Ukraine

By
Yelyzaveta Yasko

Vladimir Putin continues to menace Ukraine with border region troop buildups and the threat of a major escalation in the seven-year war between the two countries. The best way for the West to deter Russia is to arm Ukraine.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 10, 2021

Is Ukraine about to cut the Gordian knot of judicial reform?

By
John Lough

Under pressure from its international partners, the Zelenskyy administration is again pushing to overhaul the procedures for appointing members of Ukraine’s 21-member High Council of Justice.


Democratic Transitions


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2021

Blinken in Kyiv: US “stands strongly” with Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Kyiv on May 6 for a high-profile visit as Ukraine continues to face the threat of a major Russian escalation in the simmering seven-year war between the two countries.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2021

Naftogaz fiasco risks undermining Ukraine

By
Alan Riley and Suriya Jayanti

The recent decision to suspend the Naftogaz Supervisory Board and fire CEO Andriy Kobolyev risks undermining Ukraine’s security and exposing the country to greater dependence on Russian gas.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2021

Ukraine’s inaccessible cities

By
Iryna Ozymok

Ukraine's cities remain highly inaccessible for people with physical disabilities or limited mobility, but a growing number of civil society initiatives are helping to boost efforts to improve accessibility.


Civil Society


Inclusive Growth


UkraineAlert

May 4, 2021

US should grant Ukraine Major Non-NATO Ally status

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

As the Western world formulates its response to Russia's recent saber-rattling on the Ukrainian border, one option would be for the United States to grant Ukraine the status of Major Non-NATO Ally.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 4, 2021

US support for Ukraine should be tied to reform progress

By
Henrik Larsen

The Western world voiced strong support for Ukraine during the recent bout of Russian saber-rattling, but the most effective way to counter Kremlin aggression may actually be by supporting stalled Ukrainian reform efforts.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions

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

Feb 2, 2016

Thanks But No Thanks, Mr. Inozemtsev: A Response from Kyiv

By Olga Bielkova

What is wrong with Vladislav Inozemtsev’s recent opinion piece on how to help Ukraine? The problem with his article is not his advice itself, as flawed as it is, but the logic on which it is built. He uses the logic of imperialism, of an authoritarian state, of conspiracy theorists for whom the world is […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2016

The Future of Mykolayiv, the Future of Ukraine

By Michael Druckman

In many ways, the problems facing the city of Mykolayiv since the October 2015 local elections are a microcosm of the challenges facing Ukraine’s national leaders. The new mayor, with a strong track record of engaging with civil society on anti-corruption efforts and a fresh face to city politics, faces huge obstacles from old faces […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2016

Putin Gets It Wrong Again: Eurasian Economic Union Hurts Russia

By Anders Åslund

In June 2009, Vladimir Putin unexpectedly launched the idea of a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan. Soon it was named the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). In September 2013, Armenia agreed to join, and Kyrgyzstan joined in 2015. This is a Russian initiative, dominated by Russia in all regards. Its secretariat is located in Moscow. […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 27, 2016

In Ukraine, Putin Tries to Cash in Before Luck Runs Out

By Stephen Blank

Ukraine has become the object of high-stakes diplomacy. This does not mean that fighting has stopped—quite the opposite. Russian forces continue to launch probes and violate the cease-fire agreement; they have substantially reinforced themselves, as have the Ukrainian forces arrayed against them. Nevertheless, a major diplomatic campaign is occurring. Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Jan 27, 2016

Making Sense of Minsk: Decentralization, Special Status, and Federalism

By Paul Niland

Decentralization, special status, and federalism. These terms are three different things, although they are often mistakenly substituted one for another, and some people think one term means another in Ukraine today. The decentralization debate is heating up again as Ukraine faces a legal deadline to pass a constitutional amendment that gives the so-called Donetsk People’s […]

Russia Ukraine

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