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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

Dec 23, 2021

Ukraine enters holiday season with anti-corruption reforms in danger

By
Tetiana Shevchuk

As Ukrainians prepare for the festive holiday season, the country’s anti-corruption reforms are in grave danger after a designated selection panel refused to approve the appointment of the country’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor.


Civil Society


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2021

A Russian invasion of Ukraine could be Vladimir Putin’s downfall

By
Taras Kuzio

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently threatening to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine but his plans do not appear to enjoy widespread support among the Russian public and could destabilize the regime.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2021

Russian court accidentally delivers guilty verdict on Putin’s Ukraine war

By
Peter Dickinson

A Russian court in Rostov has accidentally issued a guilty verdict on Putin's Ukraine war by publishing official documents confirming the presence of Russian military units in Kremlin-occupied eastern Ukraine.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Dec 16, 2021

Vladimir Putin fears Ukrainian democracy not NATO expansion

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's claims of a growing NATO presence in Ukraine are not matched by facts on the ground. In reality, protests over NATO expansion are an excuse to escalate Russia's eight-year war against Ukraine.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Dec 15, 2021

Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s post-Maidan reform experience

By
Anton Yashchenko

Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s post-Maidan reform experience: the country's Reforms Delivery Office team has shared ten key insights based on the past five years at the heart of the country's ambitious reform agenda.


Civil Society


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Dec 11, 2021

Memo to the international media: Putin has already invaded Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

One depressing aspect of Russia's latest military build-up on the Ukrainian border has been the flurry of headlines posing the same question: will Putin invade Ukraine? In reality, Russia has already invaded Ukraine and the war is now in its eighth year.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2021

Biden and Putin hold virtual Ukraine summit amid Russian invasion fears

By
Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke via video link on December 7 to address growing concerns over a major Russian military build-up along the country’s border with Ukraine.


Conflict


NATO


UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2021

Independent Ukraine’s free speech gains are under threat

By
Kira Rudik

Allegations of state pressure on media have left many questioning President Zelenskyy's commitment to maintaining independent Ukraine's hard-fought free speech gains.


Democratic Transitions


Media


UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2021

Biden warns Putin of high costs if Russia launches new Ukraine invasion

By
Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that America and its European allies will impose a range of tough new sanctions if Moscow proceeds with its threatened invasion of Ukraine.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2021

Coal mine methane is key to Ukraine’s climate commitment

By
Conal Campbell

Ukraine joined the Global Methane Pledge at the November 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. The country’s approach towards the coal mining industry will be vital in making good on this pledge.


Climate Change & Climate Action


Economy & Business

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

Aug 30, 2015

Lviv Welcomes Crimean Tatar Community With Open Arms

By Matthew Kupfer

The Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 is widely regarded as a tragedy for Crimean Tatars. But for Adile Namazova, it was also a professional catastrophe. A recent university graduate with near flawless English, Namazova, 22, had been working as a language tutor before annexation. But once Crimea changed hands, travelers stopped coming, food […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2015

Russian Narrative of Ukraine Conflict Fails to Sway Opinions in Odesa

By Ruben Gzirian

Eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region is strewn with remnants of Russian-made cartridges from AK-74U rifles, littered with the splintered, hollowed-out ruins of Russian-made BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, and scarred with the skeletons of Russian T-74B battle tanks. Yet the Kremlin’s incursion into Ukrainian territory is not isolated to the Donbas. Its influence has also permeated the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2015

Ukraine Must Privatize Failing State-Owned Enterprises Quickly

By Anders Åslund

Privatization has generated controversy in every post-communist country. Ministers of privatization are usually accused of heinous crimes, regardless of how impeccably they have performed their jobs. Yet privatization is vital for all such nations, not least for Ukraine. The goal must be to limit state-owned enterprises so that the private sector dominates. The aim isn’t […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 28, 2015

Exiled Russian Lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev: Current US Sanctions Won’t Work

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The United States must expand the scope of its sanctions well beyond Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle if this effort—a response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine—is to have any real impact, says a Russian lawmaker. “The [US] government machine is doing what it can do, but […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2015

To Prevent Global Catastrophe, Putin Must Go

By Leonid Gozman

The minority of Russians who have not been zombified by official propaganda and who still have any clue about what is really going on in the world—rather than just on television—already know Russia is hurtling toward full-blown catastrophe, though the details might be up for debate. Will the collapse come next month, or more like […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2015

Things Are Looking Up for Ukraine: Debt Deal Reached

By Anders Åslund

Today Ukraine received great news. Private owners of $19 billion of Ukraine’s Eurobonds have agreed to a substantial debt restructuring that will give Ukraine much-needed relief. The high bond yields have been sharply reduced, the bonds’ maturities have been prolonged, and the face value of the bonds has been reduced by 20 percent. According to […]

Eastern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2015

How the West Can Stop Russia’s Escalating War in Ukraine

By Maksym Khylko

This month, Russia stepped up military pressure on Ukraine, concentrating about fifty thousand troops along its border with Ukraine, using its proxy militias to shell Ukrainian government positions in the Donbas, and threatening Kyiv with “a big war.” The current escalation indicates Russian discontent with Ukraine’s refusal to make unilateral concessions such as allowing the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 20, 2015

Russia, Not Ukraine, is the Questionable Partner

By Melinda Haring

In its August 12 editorial, “Shaky Ukraine: Economics and Corruption Complicate Its War,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette calls Ukraine a “questionable partner” because of “resistance to economic reform and use of Islamist Chechen forces.” Too bad neither charge is true.

Russia Ukraine

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