Stay Updated

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 17, 2020

Why East European gas markets should integrate

By
Aura Sabadus

To meet the four key gas sector challenges facing them, regional countries including Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey will need to work in unison to satisfy mutual interests.


Eastern Europe


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2020

International Criminal Court is no panacea for Ukraine

By
Wayne Jordash and Anna Mykytenko

The International Criminal Court announced plans in December 2020 for a probe into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine since 2014, but past experience indicates the road to justice will be long.


Conflict


International Organizations


UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2020

International investigation into Ukraine war crimes is Kremlin’s worst nightmare

By
Dmytro Kuleba

The International Criminal Court looks set to begin an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine since 2014, opening the way for a trial that could eventually hold Russia to account for its six-year war against Ukraine.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Dec 14, 2020

The issue Ukraine’s first lady should champion vocally

By
Laryssa Horodysky and Melinda Haring

A recent report by Amnesty International has highlighted the growing domestic violence crisis in war-torn eastern Ukraine. Coronavirus lockdown conditions are expected to add to the problem.


Coronavirus


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Dec 14, 2020

Reloading Ukraine’s privatization process

By
Dmytro Sennychenko

The Ukrainian parliament is scheduled to consider a new bill in late December 2020 that aims to continue a radical reload of the country's privatization process begun in 2019.


Corruption


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Dec 12, 2020

National parties lose out to local candidates in Ukraine’s 2020 municipal elections

By
Brian Mefford

The 2020 Ukrainian local elections were a victory for local over national politics. 11 of 24 oblast centers were won by candidates who were either self-nominated or representing their own regional party.


Elections


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Dec 10, 2020

The EU must help resolve constitutional crisis in Kyiv

By
Willem Aldershoff

Ukraine's Constitutional Court has plunged the country into a crisis that threatens its post-2014 progress. The EU can help Kyiv fight back by imposing sanctions on the MPs leading the attack on anti-corruption reforms.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Dec 9, 2020

Letter to the Editor: Recent Yulia Tymoshenko “Kremlin proxy” claims are nonsense

By
Natasha Lysova

Letter to the Editor: The Press Secretary of Batkivshchyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko voices her objection to Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev's characterization of Tymoshenko as a "Kremlin proxy"


Energy Markets & Governance


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2020

Can privatization transform Ukraine’s alcohol industry?

By
Sergey Bleskun

In 2019, President Zelenskyy initiated the privatization of Ukraine's state-owned alcohol producers in a bid to reform what is one of the most corrupt sectors of the Ukrainian economy and generate budget revenues.


Corruption


Economy & Business


New Atlanticist

Dec 7, 2020

Belarusian opposition leader’s message to the West: ‘Stay with us and we will win’

By
David A. Wemer

Explicit support from Western governments for the Belarusian people and stronger pressure on Lukashenka and his allies will help oust the regime and allow for new elections, Tsikhanouskaya said. “Stay with us and we will win.”


Belarus


Civil 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.

Follow us on social media
and support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2015

Ukraine Must Put Reform Agenda in Overdrive While There’s Still Time

By Anders Åslund

Kyiv is vibrant with intellectual and political discussions. As after any revolution the debate is about what is wrong and what should be done. Policy people acknowledge that reforms are proceeding but too slowly, while a typical business verdict is that corruption is as bad as before, but it has become more disorganized, since the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2015

Here’s Why European Disunity is a Greater Threat to Ukraine Than Russia

By Aaron Korewa

As the Greek tragedy unfolds, many Europeans seem to have forgotten that for the first time since the end of World War II, a country is trying to redraw European borders by force. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for rebels in eastern Ukraine is, by far, Europe’s most serious security crisis since the […]

Germany Russia

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2015

Ukraine’s Dangerous Drive to Decentralize

By Maksym Khylko

Here’s Why the West Should Stop Pushing Decentralization Now  In the coming days the Ukrainian parliament is expected to debate a draft law that would amend Ukraine’s Constitution on decentralization to expand local governments’ powers. The West has enthusiastically encouraged Ukraine to embrace decentralization, provide special status for the Donbas, and hold local elections in […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2015

Here’s Why More Ukrainians Admire Nationalists, and Why the West Shouldn’t Freak Out

By Alexander J. Motyl

Here’s a suggestion that will strike you as either painfully obvious or unnecessarily cumbersome. If you really want to understand contemporary Ukraine and Ukrainians, you need to know Ukrainian. If you accept that point, then discard all the writings by linguistically challenged analysts incapable of delving deeper into the Ukrainian psyche—and then go see two […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2015

Repression of Crimean Tatars Intensifies Under Russia, Says New Turkish Report

By Melinda Haring

Russian authorities have forced Crimean Tatars to become Russian citizens and curtailed their freedoms of speech, language, education, and residence—as well as their right to a fair trial. That’s according to an independent group of Turkish scholars sent to Crimea to investigate human rights violations after Russia annexed the peninsula on March 18, 2014.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2015

Here’s Why Armenia Is Not Ukraine

By Sabine Freizer

The Electric Yerevan protest officially ended July 7, two weeks after it began as a reaction to the Armenian government’s 16.7 percent increase in electricity prices. But the social movement behind it will likely continue influencing Armenia until the country makes serious political reforms. Thousands marched on Yerevan’s Baghramyan Avenue—a main artery fronting the presidential […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2015

Ukraine Is More Important Than Greece

By Anders Åslund

For one year, Russia has pursued a long, costly war of aggression against Ukraine. Its objective is obvious: to destabilize Ukraine so that the new democratic regime fails. Therefore, the West should adjust its goals accordingly to offer Ukraine financial support. The Kremlin has presented one false objective after the other for this aggression. On […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2015

History as a Weapon of Mass Deception

By Ruben Gzirian

Leading up to the seventieth anniversary of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, seemingly every Russian media outlet buzzed about the unveiling of the country’s new premier tank, the Armata T-14. Outfitted with an advanced remote-controlled armed turret, a new 125-mm 2A82-1M smoothbore cannon, the new tank was rumored to come with a […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 2, 2015

Here’s How the Kremlin Manufactured a Civil War in Ukraine

By Alina Polyakova

The war in eastern Ukraine is a Kremlin-manufactured conflict. The arrival of “little green men” in Crimea in February 2014 transformed the conflict from a domestic altercation between citizens and their government to an international crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledged in a government-sponsored documentary that he carefully planned and orchestrated the military takeover of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2015

Putin Isn’t Winging It

By Walter Zaryckyj

After US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Sochi on May 12, a barrage of articles urged Western leaders to provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with an off-ramp for his various Ukrainian adventures. Even more disheartening than the volume was the growing diversity of reasons for giving Putin a pass. At least three arguments […]

Russia Ukraine