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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 21, 2022

What would EU candidate status mean for Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainians expect the country to be granted official EU candidate nation status at this week's summit of European leaders but what would this mean for Ukraine's broader ambitions for greater Euro-Atlantic integration?


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 20, 2022

Time for EU leaders to honor Ukraine’s long fight for a European future

By
Mark Temnycky

Ukraine hopes to receive official EU candidate nation status this week as the country's long struggle for a European future enters a new phase while Ukrainian forces continue to defend against Russian invasion.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2022

Croatia’s remarkable national journey is a source of hope for Ukraine

By
Vladyslav Rashkovan

Croatia's journey from war and partial occupation by a more powerful neighbor to membership of the European Union is a source of inspiration for Ukrainians as they fight against Russia's ongoing invasion.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2022

EU candidate status for Ukraine is the ideal response to Russian aggression

By
Diane Francis

European Union leaders must decide this week whether to grant Ukraine official EU candidate nation status. This is a critically important moment for Ukrainians that will also shape the future direction of the entire continent.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2022

Unholy War: UK sanctions Putin’s Patriarch for backing Ukraine invasion

By
Taras Kuzio

This week's UK decision to impose sanctions on the head of the Russian Orthodox Church highlights international alarm over Patriarch Kirill's enthusiastic support for Vladimir Putin's war of imperial aggression in Ukraine.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2022

Why fear of provoking Putin is the most provocative policy of all

By
Alyona Getmanchuk

It is now abundantly clear that cautious policies toward Russia driven by a misguided fear of provoking Putin have in fact provoked Europe’s biggest war since the days of Hitler and Stalin, argues Alyona Getmanchuk.


Conflict


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion is the world’s first full-scale cyberwar

By
Yurii Shchyhol

The current Russo-Ukrainian War is a major milestone in our developing understanding of cyber security. It is now clear that the invasion unleashed by Vladimir Putin on February 24 is the world’s first full-scale cyberwar.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jun 14, 2022

The future of global security will be decided in Ukraine

By
Oleksii Reznikov

Western leaders must use the forthcoming NATO Summit in Madrid to regain the initiative from Putin's Russia and define Ukraine's role in the future of European security, writes Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s dark journey from economic reformer to war criminal

By
Anders Åslund

Vladimir Putin's recent boasts of waging war in Ukraine to "reclaim" historic Russian land mark a new low in his journey from would-be economic reformer to unapologetic authoritarian and enthusiastic imperialist.


Conflict


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2022

Russia accused of deliberately targeting Ukraine’s medical facilities

By
Pete Shmigel

Russia has been accused of deliberately targeting Ukrainian hospitals and healthcare facilities as part of a campaign to destroy the country's basic medical infrastructure and force millions to flee their homes.


Conflict


Human Rights

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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

May 19, 2015

The West’s Failure of Nerve

By Stephen Blank

Poland and the Baltic states intend to ask NATO to station a battalion or even larger units on their territory. The Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—want a brigade so that each country can host a battalion or permanent rotational forces. Poland’s Foreign Minister, Grzegorz Schetyna, indicated that his government would request the permanent stationing of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 19, 2015

Remembering Roman

By Melinda Haring and Simon Hoellerbauer

Every Memorial Day, friends leave small bottles of Jack Daniel’s and an American flag on Roman Kupchinsky’s gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery. Kupchinsky was a warrior, both on and off the battlefield. A man of passion who fought for his ideals with a singular determination, he devoted his life to seeing Ukraine become free. He […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 14, 2015

Four Reasons to Be Hopeful About Ukraine’s Economy

By Yuriy Gorodnichenko

Ukraine’s current economic crisis was years in the making. Former President Viktor Yanukovych grossly mismanaged and looted the country. And it may take years for the country to fully recover. But there are signs that the economy has reached the lowest point and its prospects are brighter than commonly portrayed in the press.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 13, 2015

Imposing Costs on Putin Will Deter War

By John E. Herbst

“Russia and America: Stumbling to War,” a recent National Interest article by Graham Allison and Dimitri Simes, commands attention because of the gravity of the issue and the stature of its authors. Allison is a leading authority on great power relations, and Dimitri Simes is a scholar with deep connections to the elites running Russia.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 13, 2015

Crimean Tatars: ‘We did not reject Russia, Russia rejected us’

By Catherine Cosman

On May 18, 1944, Joseph Stalin deported more than 180,000 Crimean Tatars to Uzbekistan. Once again this community faces major challenges. Today, 230,000 Crimean Tatars, who are mainly Sunni Muslims, represent about 12 percent of Crimea’s population. Virtually all of Crimea’s Tatars opposed Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and refused to vote in […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 12, 2015

Russia Has Complete Information Dominance in Ukraine

By James J. Coyle

Hackers have consistently used low-level cyber warfare tactics to advance Russian goals in Ukraine. A dedicated group of hackers successfully infected the e-mail systems of the Ukrainian military, counterintelligence, border patrol, and local police. The hackers use a spear-phishing attack in which malware is hidden in an attachment that appears to be an official Ukrainian […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2015

‘Russian Propaganda is Really Working,’ Warns Crimean Activist

By Melinda Haring

Activist Urges US Government to Step Up Efforts in Crimea Russia has banned Taras Berezovets from visiting his family in Crimea. His crime: launching Free Crimea, a nongovernmental organization focused on disseminating impartial information about Crimea, in December 2014. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) considers it an extremist organization.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2015

When the Kremlin Makes An Offer You Can’t Refuse

By Stephen Blank

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has multiple dimensions, and the energy dimension is one that has been underestimated. Russia has sought to make Ukraine dependent on its abundant energy since 2006. The reason is simple: Russia wants economic and political control over Ukraine and it wants to enmesh Ukraine’s government and elites in a web of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 6, 2015

The Dog That Finally Barked? Separatism and Hybrid Warfare in Ukraine

By Emmet C. Tuohy

Kremlin Targets Sleepy Corner of Europe with Hybrid Tactics No part of Europe is too obscure for the Kremlin’s machinations. On April 6 in Odessa, a group claiming to represent ethnic minorities in southwestern Ukraine founded the National Council of Bessarabia (NRB). Released on a Russian-registered website, the NRB’s manifesto decrying “discrimination” and calling for […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 5, 2015

Standing Up to a ‘Revanchist Russia’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

NATO’s top military commander says Russia set on ‘strategic competition’ with West A “revanchist Russia” would use violence to alter international norms, boundaries, and institutions and poses a threat to the United States’ transatlantic allies and partners, NATO’s top military commander US Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove said April 30.

Russia Ukraine