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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

Jul 9, 2022

Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine at risk from infections and epidemics

By
Ihor Kuzin

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and occupation of around 20% of the country has produced a range of major public health challenges that require urgent international attention, writes Ihor Kuzin.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2022

Putin’s energy weapon: Europe must be ready for Russian gas blackmail

By
Aura Sabadus

Disarming Putin's energy weapon: Europe can disconnect from Russia’s gas supplies sooner than some would suggest providing it mobilizes the right human and financial resources to work in that direction.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2022

Post-Boris Britain will continue to stand with Ukraine against Putin’s war

By
Peter Dickinson

Boris Johnson's resignation has sparked fears in Kyiv over continued UK support but in reality there is little chance of a weakening in British backing for Ukraine in its fight for survival against Vladimir Putin's ongoing invasion.


Conflict


Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2022

Ukraine defies Russia and launches electricity exports to EU neighbors

By
Aura Sabadus

Ukraine’s remarkable wartime synchronization with the electricity grid of continental Europe moved up a gear at the end of June with the landmark launch of commercial electricity exports to neighboring Romania.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Jul 4, 2022

Why Ukraine loves Boris

By
Peter Dickinson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's domestic approval rating has hit rock bottom but he is the most popular foreign politician in Ukraine thanks to his support for the country in its fight against Vladimir Putin's invasion.


Conflict


National Security


UkraineAlert

Jul 3, 2022

Putin’s poisonous anti-Western ideology relies heavily on projection

By
Allan Mustard

Vladimir Putin's poisonous anti-Western ideology is rooted in projection of his own authoritarian instincts and outdated assumptions about the adversarial nature of relations between Russia and the democratic world.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jul 3, 2022

Investing in Ukraine’s brains is vital for the country’s post-war prosperity

By
Gerson S. Sher

International support for the development of Ukraine's education and tech sectors could hold the key to a strong and sovereign Ukrainian state once the current war with Putin's Russia is over, writes Gerson S. Sher.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2022

With all eyes on Ukraine, Vladimir Putin targets domestic dissidents

By
Doug Klain

While international attention focuses on Vladimir Putin’s genocidal war in Ukraine, the Russian government is accelerating its brutal crackdown on any remaining expressions of anti-regime dissent on the domestic front.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 30, 2022

Goodwill gestures and de-Nazification: Decoding Putin’s Ukraine War lexicon

By
Peter Dickinson

From “goodwill gestures” to “de-Nazification” and “reclaiming Russian lands,” the Atlantic Council's Peter Dickinson decodes some of the key phrases from the lexicon of Putin’s Ukraine War into plain English.


Central Asia


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s Ukrainian genocide is proceeding in plain view

By
Taras Kuzio

Western policymakers should be in no doubt that the many different Russian war crimes currently taking place in Ukraine are all part of a coherent plan developed by Vladimir Putin to commit genocide.


Civil Society


Conflict

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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

Aug 19, 2015

The Soviet Playbook in Ukraine

By Aaron Korwea

It appears that Russian President Vladimir Putin is losing the war in Ukraine. Gone are the talks about seizing so-called Novorossiya—the strip of land from Kharkiv to Odesa—and establishing a land bridge to occupied Crimea. Even though recent developments suggest a possible offensive to expand the territory Russia and its proxies now hold, perhaps with […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2015

“We want Ukraine to be a European country, not a Putin country,” Says Ukrainian MP

By Diane M. Francis

World attention focuses on ISIS and Iran, with its half an atomic weapon. But the biggest geopolitical issue is Vladimir Putin, backed by thousands of nuclear weapons, who is gradually conquering Ukraine, a democracy with 45 million people the size of Germany and Poland combined. In just over a year, Russia has seized 9 percent […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2015

Ukraine’s Fall Elections Matter More Than You Think

By Brian Mefford

With less than 80 days before election day in Ukraine, mayoral races are already heating up. Parliament approved a new election law that does two things: Ukraine will use an open-list system and the country will hold runoffs for mayors in larger cities. These two features combined with the potential decentralization reforms being debated by […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2015

Ukraine Must Finish Reforming Public Procurement Practices as Part of Anti-Corruption Drive

By Josh Cohen

As Ukraine struggles with a collapsing economy and Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas, a third crisis threatens its long-term national stability: endemic corruption. Ukraine ranks 142nd out of 175 countries on Transparency International’s latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index. Of the fifteen former Soviet republics, only Tajikistan and Uzbekistan score lower. Official graft is widespread, but […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2015

Russia’s Occupation of Ukraine Still Top Threat to Global Security

By Stephen Blank

Recent articles in the US media suggest that the Pentagon is “rebalancing” its forces towards Europe to meet the Russian challenge. At the same time, NATO plans to halve the number of air patrols over the Baltic. Supposedly the Russian threat to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania has ebbed, and governments are finally stepping up to […]

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 12, 2015

How Mr. X Outsmarted Mr. Kvit: The Lopsided Progress of Ukraine’s Education Reforms

By Kateryna Smagliy

Let me tell you the story of Mr. X—a student whom I had never seen in class, and who had not shown up for any of his final exams. “Oh, do not worry,” his fellow students reassured me, “it has been like this year in year out.” I could have easily forgotten this trivial episode […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 12, 2015

Ukraine Crisis Is Not Only About Ukraine

By Andreas Umland

The Ukraine crisis is not only about Ukraine. Far more urgent for humanity as a whole are the commitments made by Russia and other UN Security Council members with regard to Ukraine’s accession to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) following the Soviet Union’s collapse. The NPT aims to curtail the spread of weapons […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2015

Even After Iran Deal, Putin Won’t Get His Way in Ukraine

By John E. Herbst

Ever since US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi last May, Ukraine’s friends have been concerned that in its eagerness to ensure Kremlin support for a deal with Iran, the White House was willing to let Putin have his way in Ukraine. Advocates of this outlook point to five […]

Iran Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2015

Here’s Why I’m Hopeful About Eastern Ukraine

By Yuriy Didula

In July, residents of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk marked the first anniversary of liberation from the occupation of Russian-backed separatists. Both cities experienced their rule for nearly four months in 2014. In the last year, marches, concerts, and city lights with slogans promoting peace have helped reinforce a growing sense of national pride. And yet a […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2015

Why Eastern Ukraine Matters to Ramzan Kadyrov

By Ruben Gzirian

No Instagram account is more entertaining, more dumbfounding, and more terrifying than that of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. On any given day, one is guaranteed to see video clips ranging from Kadyrov praying before dawn in the Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque to playing soccer at the FC Terek facilities (Kadyrov was the President of FC Terek […]

Russia Ukraine