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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 22, 2020

Desecration of genocide monument marks a new low in Ukraine’s memory wars

By
John Vsetecka

The recent desecration of an iconic Kyiv statue honoring the millions of Ukrainians killed in the 1930s Soviet genocide marks a new low in the memory wars over the country's troubled and traumatic past.


Disinformation


Resilience & Society


UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2020

Why Ukraine needs a new approach to refugees

By
Eric Fritz

Refugees in Ukraine currently face an uphill battle, but if the Ukrainian authorities were to invest more in refugee resettlement programs, the country as a whole would inevitably benefit in the long run.


Human Rights


Migration


BelarusAlert

Sep 17, 2020

Belarus national awakening offers hope for Ukraine as Soviet collapse continues

By
Solomiia Bobrovska

Belarus has emerged from its post-Soviet slumber and has set out on the road to democracy. This is good news for the Belarusians themselves. It is also a welcome development for Ukraine but less so for Russia.


Belarus


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 15, 2020

Five predictions for Ukraine’s local elections

By
Brian Mefford

Ukrainians go to the polls on October 25 to vote in local elections that promise to serve as the first major electoral test for President Zelenskyy since he and his party swept to power last year.


Elections


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 15, 2020

Ukraine’s reforms remain hostage to corrupt courts

By
Diane Francis

In 2019, political newcomer Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his party won historic election victories based largely on the appeal of promises to eradicate corruption. Just over one year later, these efforts are backsliding and in danger of ending entirely.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2020

Football fairytale: Ukrainian village team Kolos prepares to join Europa League elite

By
Andrew Todos

Ukrainian village team Kolos Kovalivka are preparing to write a new chapter in what is one of the most romantic stories in modern football history when the club makes its Europa League debut in Greece.


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2020

Ukraine’s education sector reforms are under threat

By
Liliia Hrynevych and Ivanna Kobernyk

Education sector reform is widely seen as one of the more successful transformations in Ukraine since the country’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity but this progress is now under threat amid a changing political climate.


Education


Ukraine


BelarusAlert

Sep 8, 2020

Will Belarus follow Ukraine out of the Russian orbit?

By
Taras Kuzio

By intervening in Belarus to prop up his fellow post-Soviet dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Vladimir Putin risks repeating the mistakes made in Ukraine and fueling anti-Russian sentiment among Belarusians.


Belarus


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2020

Has Vladimir Putin poisoned his pet pipeline project?

By
Diane Francis

Germany had long resisted US calls to abandon the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, but the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has now sparked a dramatic shift in German opinion.


Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2020

Ukraine quietly launches a gas market revolution

By
Oleksandr Kharchenko

A gas market revolution has just taken place in Ukraine. This significant development has occurred without much fanfare, but it comes following five long years of intense political battles.


Energy Markets & Governance


Oil and Gas

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

Nov 4, 2015

Poroshenko Not Serious About Fighting Corruption, Says Anticorruption Reformer

By Melinda Haring

Bogdan Yakymiuk radiates optimism. But despite his quick smile, the thirty-seven-year old reformer is deadly serious when it comes to corruption. “Over 30 percent of our yearly budget is being stolen one way or another through corruption,” Yakymiuk said in an October 27 interview in Washington.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2015

“We Must Keep the Focus on Ukraine and Spread the Truth,” Says New Ukrainian Ambassador

By Larry Luxner

Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine’s new ambassador in Washington, sees the United States as his country’s “main strategic partner” and says he wants to use that bilateral relationship “to resolve the crisis created by Russia in Eastern Europe and find the best model of security in this part of the world.” Chaly, 45, presented his White House […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 3, 2015

The Motivations Behind Poroshenko’s New Anticorruption Drive

By John E. Herbst

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s government appears to have launched a new anticorruption drive with the October 31 detention of Gennadiy Korban, a close associate of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and the leader of Ukrop, a political party funded by Kolomoisky. The authorities arrested Korban following an investigation that began last year into the assault on government […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2015

Ukraine Must Not Pay Russia Back

By Anders Åslund

On December 20, Ukraine is supposed to pay Russia $3 billion in return for a Eurobond that Russian President Vladimir Putin issued in December 2013. Ukraine has no reason to pay. In February 2014, the Kremlin launched military aggression against Ukraine, first annexing Crimea and later pursuing military subversion in southern and eastern Ukraine. For […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2015

Why the Realists Were Wrong About the War in Ukraine

By Alexander Motyl

The ongoing ceasefire in eastern Ukraine may or may not lead to a lasting peace, but it has already had one important consequence: it has undermined both Russian and realist interpretations of the Russo-Ukrainian war. On August 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that a ceasefire […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 28, 2015

Five Steps to Unleash Ukraine’s Economy

By Sergiy Tsivkach

Ukraine faces numerous challenges that would be hard for any government to address. However, it must implement economic reforms to stabilize the country and show immediate positive results. Ordinary Ukrainians want to see their bottom line improve, and businesses want fair rules. Developing an effective competition policy to eliminate the poisonous influence of monopolies and […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2015

A New Generation for a New Ukraine

By Carl Gershman

Editor’s Note: This piece is adapted from a speech Carl Gershman gave to the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation on October 24, 2015. Preparing for tonight’s talk has been an unexpected process of learning and discovery. I had thought I understood Ukraine, having given a number of talks and written articles urging the US government to […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2015

Ukraine Goes to the Polls: Kolomoyskyi Is King Again

By Brian Mefford

As the ballots are counted in Ukraine’s October 25 local elections, early returns and exit polls indicate some surprises. The big story is that oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi came out on top. Kolomoyskyi, former governor of Dnipropetrovsk who was dismissed in March by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for his overreach, backed candidates who look set to […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2015

As Ukraine Moves Toward Decentralization, Challenges Loom

By Alina Polyakova

Kyiv, Ukraine – On Sunday, October 25, Ukrainians went to the polls to elect mayors and representatives to municipal councils. Under normal circumstances, local elections would go more or less unnoticed by international observers, but with no elections taking place in occupied territories, including Crimea and the Luhansk and Donetsk Peoples’ Republics, these are far […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2015

Imperial Gamble Doesn’t Pay Off: New Book Gets Ukraine’s History Wrong

By Alexei Sobchenko

In his new book, Imperial Gamble: Putin, Ukraine and the New Cold War, the renowned American journalist Marvin Kalb touches on an issue outside his traditional area of expertise in domestic politics: the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and its implications for US-Russia relations.

Russia Ukraine