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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 11, 2019

Seven takeaways from Zelenskyy’s marathon press conference (and one surprise) 

By
Iryna Matviyishyn

At the press conference, Zelenskyy said he was ready to “sit down and talk” with Kolomoisky.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 11, 2019

Ukraine’s $50 billion challenge

By
Andy Hunder

The key concerns from business are not new. The rule of law, fair justice, macroeconomic stability, a predictable tax policy, secure investment, and property rights, including intellectual property rights, top their lists.


Fiscal and Structural Reform


International Financial Institutions


UkraineAlert

Oct 9, 2019

Real talk on Kyiv’s talks with Moscow

By
Diane Francis

Ukraine must devise its bargaining position, and anticipate Russia’s, or it will be devoured in upcoming talks, left to the mercy of Putin as well as of France and Germany, both co-opted by Putin.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Oct 9, 2019

Mission possible

By
Basil Kalymon

The government wants to liberalize the economy and proceed with radical and swift changes.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Oct 9, 2019

Ukraine’s most vulnerable children deserve a passport, too

By
Anna Babko

In the non-government controlled territories of Ukraine, 57 percent of children were born without proper birth registration by the Ukrainian authorities and may be unable to qualify for a Ukrainian passport at age 14.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 8, 2019

Did Zelenskyy give in to Moscow? We don’t know yet

By
Steven Pifer

Angry crowds took to the streets to denounce the Steinmeier Formula, equating it with capitulation to Moscow. But is it? At this point, not enough is known about details of the agreement—or even if the agreement will hold—to reach a judgment.


Conflict


Elections


UkraineAlert

Oct 7, 2019

Coming into her own

By
Melinda Haring

“What I’m seeing now is speed over professionalism,” Suprun said. “I think it’s about time Ukraine started being more mature about what it’s doing.”


Civil Society


Media


UkraineAlert

Oct 7, 2019

That other Ukraine controversy that just won’t go away

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

Ukraine stands between two conflict resolution formulas: to freeze the Donbas or to try and integrate it.


Conflict


Crisis Management


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

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

Oct 21, 2015

Battle to End Pharma Corruption Makes Progress, Needs Push

By Josh Cohen

As the ceasefire in the Donbas takes hold, Ukraine can now face its other existential threat: the endemic corruption that threatens the country’s long-term stability and prosperity. While graft within the Ukrainian government is widespread, corruption is perhaps most threatening in the area of government procurement. Public procurement corruption costs Kyiv billions, with as much […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2015

Ukrainians Face Another Election Headache

By Irena Chalupa

People are more important than political interests. This party will never betray you. Fair wages and pensions. People, not politicians. Let’s unite for Ukraine! Order and justice. These are just a few of the messages blaring at Kyiv residents from billboards. Ukraine’s capital is awash with campaign tents manned by students and retirees wearing smocks […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 20, 2015

“No Fighting” in Ukraine Is Not “Peace”

By Aaron Korewa

The main problem with the West’s approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin is that it doesn’t seem to know who it’s dealing with. In an excellent article in Foreign Policy, Raymond Tanter states the bleatingly obvious—the Russian leader is nothing but a bully and should be treated as such. While the United States and Europe […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2015

Europe’s Refugee Crisis Shows Ukraine’s Resilience

By Colin Cleary

Ukraine Has Absorbed 1.5 Million Displaced; Soon It Must Employ Them With Europe awash in more than a half-million refugees from Middle Eastern and other wars, it might be easy to overlook Ukraine’s response to its own population—nearly three times the size, at 1.5 million—displaced by the Russian-backed war in the east. More than 18 […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2015

Ukrainians Eager to Go to Polls

By Brian Mefford

In less than a week, Ukrainians go to the polls to elect mayors, city councils, and regional councils, and they’re eager to do so. A recent poll carried out by the International Republican Institute found that 75 percent of Ukrainians are very likely or somewhat likely to vote on October 25. A new law requires […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2015

Ukraine Can Beat Its Political Corruption

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine’s politics suffer from a vicious circle of corruption. Its elections are extremely expensive. Large amounts of gray and black funds are needed to finance them. Criminals, called gray cardinals, handle this black financing, extracted from the state treasury and state companies. To corrupt all, the gray cardinals and their political allies insist on tiny […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 15, 2015

New Movie Reveals Russia’s Attempts to Destroy Ukraine

By Diane Francis

Ukraine is a nation interrupted, its identity and promise stolen by invaders and predators for centuries. Ukraine’s principle oppressor has been, and remains, Russia where leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin propagate the fiction that Ukraine is “little Russia.” But the two are distinctive and the Ukrainian language is as different from Russian as is […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2015

Why Crimea’s Blockade is Necessary

By Maksym Bugriy

Since September 20, Crimean Tatar activists and other protesters—mostly from Right Sector—have been blockading the flow of goods from mainland Ukraine to Crimea. The Kyiv government has neither formally supported nor criticized the move. The reaction among analysts, observers, and bloggers has been mixed—from enthusiasm to caution and even downright criticism.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2015

Made in Moscow: Religious Freedom Abuses Continue in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine

By Mary Ann Glendon and Katrina Lantos Swett

“We cannot stand by when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated,” US President Barack Obama said on September 28 at the UN General Assembly. He was condemning Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its aggressive moves in eastern Ukraine. Much of the world has decried these acts and their most visible […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2015

For Decentralization to Work, Reformers Must Support Legislation for Strong Local Governance

By Joshua Solomon

As the August 31 grenade attacks, rioting, and violent protests at Ukraine’s Parliament—the Verkhovna Rada—demonstrated quite literally, the Ukrainian decentralization effort is an explosive issue. Constitutional amendments granting local communities greater governing responsibilities have sparked widespread criticism, both in Ukraine and in the West. Some warn that the new system will excessively empower the president […]

Ukraine