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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 11, 2023

Russia’s failing Ukraine invasion is exposing Putin’s many weaknesses

By
Anders Åslund

Vladimir Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine is exposing all of his personal weaknesses as a ruler and casting an unforgiving light on the extensive damage he has done to Russia, writes Anders Åslund.


Conflict


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2023

Ukraine’s counteroffensive will likely create new reintegration challenges

By
Lesia Dubenko

If Ukraine's summer counteroffensive is successful, Kyiv will be faced with the significant challenge of reintegrating communities that have lived under Russian occupation for extended periods, writes Lesia Dubenko.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2023

Could Russia be held accountable for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam?

By
Danielle Johnson

Initial analysis indicates that Russia deliberately destroyed the Kakhovka dam in what would qualify as one of Moscow's worst war crimes in Ukraine, but holding the Kremlin accountable will prove extremely difficult, writes Danielle Johnson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2023

Kakhovka dam collapse threatens Europe’s largest nuclear plant

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

The blowing up of the Kakhovka dam in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine threatens to deprive the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant of vital water supplies and raises the threat of nuclear disaster, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 7, 2023

Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive will aim to keep the Russians guessing

By
Peter Dickinson

Speculation is mounting that Ukraine's hotly anticipated summer counteroffensive may be underway but initial stages are likely to feature probes and diversionary attacks rather than a big push, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Drones


Fast Thinking

Jun 7, 2023

Has Ukraine’s counteroffensive really begun?

By
Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council experts share their insights on the intensifying war in Ukraine.


Conflict


Europe & Eurasia


UkraineAlert

Jun 7, 2023

Moldova needs an energy overhaul

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

If energy security is national security, then Moldova is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world and is in need of a comprehensive energy sector overall, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.


Energy Markets & Governance


European Union


UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2023

Is China preparing for a post-Putin Russia?

By
Anders Åslund

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have famously proclaimed a "friendship without limits" but the Chinese leader may be looking to a post-Putin Russia and cultivating ties with Putin's PM Mikhail Mishustin, writes Anders Åslund.


China


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2023

Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive is a key moment but long-term resolve remains crucial

By
Tennyson Dearing

Ukraine's summer counteroffensive is an important moment in the war with Russia but it is critical to maintain a sense of perspective and underline the need for long-term Western backing, writes Tennyson Dearing.


Conflict


Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Jun 1, 2023

The fight against courtroom corruption continues in wartime Ukraine

By
Olena Halushka

Despite the existential challenges created by Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine continues to make progress toward the reform of the country's deeply discredited judicial system, writes Olena Halushka.


Civil Society


Conflict

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

Apr 16, 2015

Out of the Abyss: Anders Åslund Sees Hope for Ukrainian Economy

By Thomas O. Melia

Ukraine: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It, the new book by Anders Åslund of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, presents so compelling an argument that—even before publication on April 17—it has already persuaded the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Western nations to adopt a $40 billion economic stabilization program for Ukraine. This […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 14, 2015

The Balkan Piece of the Putin Puzzle

By Stephen Blank

While the Russian threat to Poland and the Baltic States has sparked justified anxiety, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s imperial adventure is just as much of a threat to the Balkans.  Moscow is putting on a full-court press—using energy exports, information warfare, trade, arms sales, and efforts to obtain military bases in Cyprus, Montenegro and Serbia—to […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Apr 14, 2015

A View from Luhansk: Waiting for War to Return

By Alina Polyakova

Luhansk Oblast – Ukrainians are waiting for war to start again. Since a ceasefire agreement went into effect in February, the winter has been relatively quiet in Luhansk Oblast, marred only by sporadic rockets fired from the territory of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR). In many respects, life appears oddly normal in the small […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2015

New Ukraine Disrupts Old Ukraine

By John E. Herbst

There’s good reason for guarded optimism in the new Ukraine. President Petro Poroshenko and the parliament brought the country’s most powerful oligarch to heel in March 2015 and the justice department has set its sights on the richest oligarchs.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 9, 2015

Poroshenko Goes Hunting for Oligarchs

By Brian Mefford

Ukraine won an important battle in the war against the oligarchs with the removal of Dnipropetrovsk Governor Ihor Kolomoyskyi last week. But Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the Ukrainian parliament are just getting started.  On April 7 the government challenged billionaire Rinat Akhmetov’s grip on energy companies. Some parliamentarians are pushing to curb the power […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2015

Will Sanctions on Russia, Weapons for Ukrainians Keep Putin at Bay?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former Putin advisor says they will not, advocates stronger response Western sanctions on Russia are not working and a proposal to provide defensive weapons to Ukrainian security forces will not deter the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, according to Andrei Illarionov, a former advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “For those few people who are there […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2015

Putin’s Chilling Message to the West

By Ariel Cohen

Vladimir Putin’s 10-day disappearance shortly after the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov and his triumphal reappearance after the broadcast of a 150-minute documentary on state television, suggest a more erratic—and aggressive—policy course in Russia. Here’s why. After Putin’s disappearance on March 5, the Russian media and the blogosphere dealt with little else.  However, the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 2, 2015

The IMF’s Very Tough Love for Ukraine

By Yuriy Gorodnichenko

As Kyiv Slashes Spending, the Economy’s Real Shrinkage This Year May Be 10, Not 6, Percent The International Monetary Fund last month threw what looks like a much-improved financial lifeline to Ukraine—and indeed, the new loan program is welcome help for a desperate need. But a check on the math of one prominent IMF realist […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2015

In Ukraine, the Real Fight is for Europe

By Stephen Blank

Putin’s War is Not Over Donbas, but a New Russian Empire According to Vladimir Putin, Crimea and Ukraine are where the spiritual sources of Russia’s nationhood lie. And he “always saw the Russians and Ukrainians as a single people. I still think this way now.” People observing the crisis triggered by Putin’s aggression against Ukraine […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2015

Russia Plans Spring Offensive in Ukraine, Warns Ex-NATO Chief Wesley Clark

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Russian-backed separatists are planning a fresh offensive in eastern Ukraine that could come within a matter of months, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, warned March 30. “What is happening now is preparations for a renewed offensive from the east,” and this could take place following Orthodox Easter, on April 12, […]

NATO Russia