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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

Jun 10, 2022

Ukraine’s female soldiers reflect country’s strong feminist tradition

By
Iryna Slavinska

The prominent role being played by Ukrainian women in the current war effort reflects longstanding traditions of feminism and notions of gender equality that have deep roots in Ukrainian society.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2022

Putin admits Ukraine invasion is an imperial war to “return” Russian land

By
Peter Dickinson

By abandoning all pretense and comparing himself to Peter the Great, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has confirmed that he is waging an old-fashioned imperial war of conquest with the goal of annexing Ukrainian land.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 7, 2022

Only total defeat in Ukraine can cure Russia of its imperialism

By
Dennis Soltys

Despite collapsing in 1917 and 1991, today's Russia remains an unapologetically imperialistic power. Unless Putin's invasion of Ukraine ends in unambiguous defeat, we will soon witness a new round on imperial aggression.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2022

More than three-quarters of Russians still support Putin’s Ukraine War

By
Peter Dickinson

The latest polling data from Russia indicates that public support for the invasion of Ukraine remains strong despite higher than expected Russian casualties and widespread accusations of war crimes.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2022

Russia has not abandoned its goal of crushing Ukrainian statehood

By
Melinda Haring

Ukraine has achieved a number of striking successes during the first phase of the Russian invasion but there is no room for complacency as Vladimir Putin's goal of crushing Ukrainian statehood remains unchanged.


Central Europe


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2022

Imperial myths and genocidal realities: 100 days of Putin’s Ukraine War

By
Nestor Barchuk

Putin’s Ukraine war relies on a series of propaganda myths that reflect modern Russia’s failure to break with its imperialistic past. If Europe wants to achieve a lasting peace, it must work toward a post-imperial Russia.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 31, 2022

Memo to Henry Kissinger: Appeasing Putin means enabling genocide

By
Stephen Blank

Appeasing Russia will not end the war in Ukraine or secure peace in our time. On the contrary, it will embolden Putin, prolong Ukraine’s pain, weaken the West, and destabilize the entire world, writes Stephen Blank.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

May 30, 2022

Now is the right time to launch a Digital Marshall Plan for Ukraine 

By
Anatoly Motkin

As the world explores the challenges of rebuilding Ukraine, one smart option may be to initiate a Digital Marshall Plan that will play to Ukraine's existing tech strengths while securing the country's modernization.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

May 27, 2022

South Ukraine holds the key to Putin’s dreams of a new Russian Empire

By
Taras Kuzio

The biggest European battles since WWII are currently raging in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region but the ultimate outcome of the Russo-Ukrainian War is likely to be decided hundreds of miles to the south.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 27, 2022

Ukraine’s sports stars aim to provide nation with a wartime morale boost

By
Mark Temnycky

Ukraine's national football team will take on Scotland in a 2022 World Cup playoff match on June 1 in Glasgow as they seek to provide their compatriots back home with a much-needed wartime morale boost.


Conflict


Resilience & Society

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.

The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.

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Content

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

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2015

Making Ukraine the Breadbasket of Europe Again

By Oksana Khomei

Ukraine’s system of agricultural production is paternalistic, dating back to the Soviet era, when bureaucrats constantly intruded into the production process. Such a strategy may have suited the planned economy, but in Ukraine’s market economy it has only spawned widespread corruption, because authorities cannot inspect every farm and business in person. EU standards allow producers […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 5, 2015

Moscow’s Veto of MH17 Tribunal: A Blunder of Potentially Huge Proportions

By Ariel Cohen

On July 29, Russia vetoed a draft UN resolution seeking to set up a tribunal to prosecute those responsible for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines jumbo jet more than a year ago. By exercising its Security Council veto against the resolution, Moscow has lost control of the process, committing a possible error that may ultimately […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2015

Debunking Russia’s Narrative of Rampant Anti-Semitism in Ukraine Again

By Halya Coynash

The Congress of National Communities of Ukraine’s latest reports on xenophobia in Ukraine have struck another blow to Moscow’s persistent attempts to present the country as a hotbed of anti-Semitism. The reports make no mention of the “pogroms” alleged by the Russian Foreign Ministry, nor do they back Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion of a […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2015

Retribution in the New Crimea

By Melinda Haring

In March 2015, the Atlantic Council and Freedom House published a report by Crimean journalist Andrii Klymenko showing how Russia’s occupation and annexation of Crimea has unleashed an ongoing chain of human rights violations across the peninsula. Five days after release of the report—Human Rights Abuses in Russian-Occupied Crimea—Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Klymenko […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2015

How Oligarchs Have Ruined Ukraine’s Economy and How to Fix It

By Basil A. Kalymon and Oleh Havrylyshyn

Ukraine finds itself in an economic crisis of massive proportions. In the past twelve months, its GDP has contracted by over 7.5 percent, the national deficit exceeds 10 percent, its currency has lost more than 50 percent of its value, its banks are insolvent and the national debt-to-GDP ratio has ballooned to more than 100 […]

Ukraine