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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

May 24, 2022

Putin’s Mariupol Massacre is one of the 21st century’s worst war crimes

By
Paul Niland

The Russian destruction of Mariupol ranks among the gravest crimes against humanity of the twenty-first century and sends a clear message to the international community that can be no compromise peace with Putin.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 24, 2022

The Putin puzzle: Why is the Russian dictator so obsessed with Ukraine?

By
Bohdan Vitvitsky

Vladimir Putin has sought to justify his invasion of Ukraine by claiming the country has no right to exist but in reality modern Ukraine enjoys a level of democratic legitimacy that far exceeds his own authoritarian regime.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 22, 2022

Centuries of Russian oppression have forged Ukraine’s remarkable resilience

By
Pete Shmigel

Centuries of traumatic experience with the horrors of Russian imperialism have shaped today’s Ukraine in ways that may actually contribute to Putin's defeat and help Ukrainians to build a better future for their country.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 21, 2022

Appeasement is the worst possible policy for both Ukraine and Russia

By
Dennis Soltys

Western advocates of appeasement in Ukraine such as French President Emmanuel Macron fail to appreciate the deep-rooted imperial ambitions underpinning Vladimir Putin's campign to extinguish Ukrainian independence.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 18, 2022

Putin’s Black Sea blockade leaves millions facing global famine

By
Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports is strangling the country’s economy and also threatening to spark a global food security crisis by preventing Ukrainian agricultural exports from reaching international markets.


Conflict


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

May 18, 2022

Disarming Russia’s energy weapon: Ukraine begins electricity exports to Moldova

By
Aura Sabadus

Less than two months after synchronizing with the European electricity grid, Ukraine has begun energy exports to neighboring Moldova in a move that is likely to further dent Russia’s grip over the region.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

May 17, 2022

Vladimir Putin is running out of options to avoid defeat in Ukraine

By
Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin expected a quick victory in Ukraine but now finds himself facing a catastrophic defeat that will shatter Russia's pretensions to military superpower status while threatening Putin's own authoritarian regime.


Conflict


Crisis Management


UkraineAlert

May 16, 2022

Ukraine War Diary: Everyday life is slowly returning to Fortress Kyiv

By
Vitaly Sych

Ukraine War Diary: A semblance of normality is returning to life in the capital but Kyiv remains a fortress city where a strong military presence and an absence of children serve as constant reminders that the country is at war.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 15, 2022

Will Putin use chemical weapons in Ukraine?

By
Ben Connable

Fears are mounting that Vladimir Putin may seek to save his failing Ukraine invasion by deploying chemical weapons, but there are reasons to believe that the Russian army is not capable of biological warfare.


Arms Control


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 15, 2022

Western advocates of appeasement need a crash course in Putinology

By
Anders Åslund

The war in Ukraine has exposed the fundamental failure of international audiences to appreciate the true nature of modern Russia. Western advocates of appeasement clearly need a crash course in Putinology.


Conflict


Disinformation

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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.

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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2015

No War, No Peace—But Always a Place at the Table for Russia

By James J. Coyle

Russia’s track record in the long-simmering conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is consistent with Russian efforts in Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calls for a Novorossiya: No war, no peace—but always a place at the table for Russia.

Europe & Eurasia Russia

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2015

Ukraine Debt Deal Could Spark Chain Reaction

By Yuri Poluneev

Ukraine’s economy is in crisis. Experts warn that the country’s gross domestic product could shrink by 6 to 12 percent and inflation could exceed 40 percent in 2015, although one prominent economist put that figure in triple digits already. The war in eastern Ukraine has throttled the country’s industrial capacity. To prevent the country from […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2015

Ukraine’s Volunteer Battalions Must Join the Military or Sheath the Sword

By Ruben Gzirian

The Ukrainian army faces growing criticism from within its ranks after humiliating defeats at Debaltseve and Ilovaisk in eastern Ukraine. When fighting broke out between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists, the Ukrainian military was weak and the state had to rely on volunteers. Of the fifty thousand Ukrainian troops in the field, 22 percent are […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2015

The West’s Strategy Toward Putin Promises Conflict and Increases Danger of Wider War

By Melinda Haring

Ian Brzezinski: Our policy “conveys hesitancy and a lack of unity and determination. It has failed to convince Putin to reverse course. Indeed, it may have actually emboldened him.”    The West’s current strategy toward Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine not only promises continued conflict in Ukraine but also poses an increased danger […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2015

Klitschko: Economic Success Will Unite Country

By Melinda Haring

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is no pushover. The former professional boxer turned politician has never been knocked down in a professional boxing match. Known for his powerful punches, Klitschko’s 87 percent knockout rate is the second-best knockout-to-fight ratio of any champion in heavyweight boxing history.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2015

Ukraine’s PR Problem Isn’t Just a PR Problem

By Andrew Kornbluth

Ukraine has a problem with global public relations. Despite its fundamentally compelling narrative—a recent democracy defending itself against a much larger, authoritarian neighbor—the country’s efforts remain uncoordinated, unprofessional, and unfiltered. Even as the state relies on a worldwide diaspora in its struggle for survival, it shows few signs of effectively harnessing its expatriates and the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2015

Let’s Go “All In” on Ukraine

By Jeffrey Gedmin

In October 1949, as the defeated forces of Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan and Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Republicans in Congress blamed Harry S. Truman for losing China. Some demanded a pivot from Europe to Asia in US foreign policy. Truman might have been persuaded a few years […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2015

Is Putin’s Russia Fascist?

By Alexander J. Motyl

A growing number of Russian analysts, in Russia and abroad, have taken to calling Vladimir Putin’s regime “fascist.” And they don’t use the term casually or as a form of opprobrium. They mean that Putin’s Russia genuinely resembles Mussolini’s Italy or Hitler’s Germany.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2015

Russia’s Lone Warrior Stands Up to Putin

By Irena Chalupa

Ilya Ponomarev has not slept in the same bed for more than a few nights since August 2014. The two-term legislator from Russia’s third-largest city Novosibirsk has been living in exile since Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, stripped him of parliamentary immunity.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 22, 2015

Letter: Experts Worry that “Decommunization” Laws Curtail Free Speech

By Atlantic Council

Editor’s note: It’s unfortunate that in a time of critical issues that legislation that disenfranchises certain, if often extreme, points of view looks like it’s going to become law. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is expected to sign four laws on “decommunization,” recently passed by Ukraine’s parliament, which enact an official version of the nation’s 20th century […]

Russia Ukraine