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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 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


UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2019

Rebuilding Ukraine one house at a time

By
Yurko Didula

Five years after Kramatorsk, our volunteer initiative has become the largest volunteer movement in Ukraine with a network of more than 2,500 volunteers. Together, we have restored housing for 220 families and helped 17 cities create their own youth centers.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 2, 2019

Will Ukraine make a deal with Kolomoisky? Three things to watch

By
Oksana Bedratenko

There are only three things to watch to determine whether rumors about a possible deal with Kolomoisky are true: changes in NBU leadership, developments in PrivatBank-related cases in Ukrainian courts, and how the cases in international courts play out.


Financial Regulation


International Financial Institutions


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2019

Hard questions for Mr. Zelenskyy

By
Bohdan Nahaylo

Is Ukraine about to be sold out and further weakened by internal splits?


Elections


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2019

Leave Ukraine out of the Ukraine scandal

By
Oleksii Honcharenko

I have one request for American political elites: stop making Ukraine a political football in the internal affairs of the United States. Nothing less than our security and Europe’s security depends on it.


Crisis Management


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2019

Ukraine is having a very bad month

By
Melinda Haring

Only three weeks ago, diplomats, the international finance community, and Ukraine boosters were so upbeat.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 27, 2019

Why Zelenskyy needs a new chief of staff now

By
Melinda Haring

A new investigation may shed light on the views of Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Bohdan toward Russia and the West.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2019

Expert Q&A: How’s the US-Ukraine relationship after New York?

By
Melinda Haring

How’s the US-Ukraine relationship after New York? What should Zelenskyy do next? How could Russian President Vladimir Putin exploit this?


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2019

Will Zelenskyy make the same fatal mistake as Poroshenko?

By
Kateryna Butko

Judicial reform is one of the most anticipated promises made by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his unorthodox campaign.


Civil Society


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

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