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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

Mar 22, 2020

Ukraine urgently needs a new IMF agreement

By
Anders Åslund

Ukraine is facing major economic turmoil as a result of poor political decisions in the midst of an unfolding global crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. The country now urgently needs to secure a new IMF agreement, argues Anders Åslund.


Economy & Business


International Financial Institutions


UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2020

Saving Ukraine’s economy from the coronavirus crash

By
Yuriy Gorodnichenko

The Ukrainian economy is facing a perfect storm of coronavirus pressures as exports plummet and the domestic economy grinds to a halt. How can Ukraine mitigate the worst of the unfolding global crisis?


Coronavirus


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2020

The Azov Regiment has not depoliticized

By
Oleksiy Kuzmenko

The Azov Regiment began life in 2014 as part of Ukraine's makeshift volunteer army and soon earned a reputation for far-right ties. The regiment has since been incorporated into the National Guard, but has it really cut its political associations?


Nationalism


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2020

Living next door to a superpower: How Canada’s experience can help Ukraine

By
Roman Waschuk

As Ukraine struggles to find a route towards peaceful coexistence with its powerful Russian neighbor, Kyiv politicians could learn from Canada's own experience of living next door to a global superpower.


Politics & Diplomacy


Russia


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2020

Cruz vows to thwart Russian bid to save Putin’s pipeline

By
Diane Francis

Russia is attempting to sidestep American sanctions designed to block the completion of an important new energy pipeline that bypasses Ukraine, but US Senator Ted Cruz has said he remains committed to stopping the project permanently.


Energy & Environment


Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2020

Ukraine’s horrible, no good, very bad month just got worse

By
Melinda Haring

Ukraine is having a bad month, and it only seems to be getting worse.


Democratic Transitions


Rule of Law


UkraineAlert

Mar 16, 2020

Ukraine’s pro-Russian MPs plot new front with Putin

By
Bohdan Nahaylo

Ukraine's pro-Russian political forces have been in retreat since 2014, but as the world focuses on the coronavirus crisis, Kremlin-friendly Ukrainian MPs are planning new initiatives with their Moscow colleagues.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Mar 14, 2020

Ukraine agrees to dialogue with Russian-led republics

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian officials this week agreed to begin talks with representatives of Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, marking a significant policy departure following six years of refusals to enter into direct dialogue with the breakaway regions.


Conflict


Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2020

Six years of war fail to cure Putin’s Ukraine delusions

By
Taras Kuzio

How do you make peace with an adversary who openly questions your right to exist? This is the challenge facing Ukraine as it seeks to end a war with Russia while confronting old imperial prejudices that continue to influence Russian policy-making.


Conflict


Nationalism


UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2020

Diaspora deputies: Should Ukraine’s global community have a voice in parliament?

By
Andrej Lushnycky

Ukraine's multi-million strong global diaspora has long been a vocal voice of support for the motherland – is it now time to offer the diaspora a greater role in the development of Ukraine through parliamentary representation?


Democratic Transitions


Ukraine

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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

Jun 3, 2015

Why Saakashvili’s Appointment as Odesa’s Governor Actually Makes Perfect Sense

By Brian Mefford

On May 30, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko named former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Governor of the Odesa region. There are a number of ways to interpret the bold move, but two historical analogies may be more apt: Saakashvili is either following in Duke of Richelieu’s footsteps as an outside Governor of Odesa or the late […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2015

Mutual Deterrence? Think Again. Russia Seeks to Intimidate the West

By Stephen Blank

Moscow recently announced that it will procure fifty new nuclear-capable bombers, the Tupolev TU-160 or Blackjacks, which are the world’s largest combat aircraft. This seemingly anodyne announcement points to a critically important element of Russian strategy that we overlook at our and our allies’ peril. The procurement is the latest in a continuing series of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 2, 2015

The Dangerous Game of Truth Telling in Ukraine

By Danielle Johnson

As commentary on Ukraine increasingly focuses on the next Russian offensive and ways to end the war, now is the time to consider how to rebuild a unified country. Any attempt to move past the violence and establish a stable basis for reform must involve a frank discussion of the past. A truth commission is […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 1, 2015

The Odesa Gambit

By Michael Hikari Cecire

Mikheil Saakashvili has a varied resume: former President of Georgia, Justice Minister, parliamentarian, senior statesman, and Ukrainian presidential adviser. On May 30, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko added another line to his CV. He named Saakaskvili regional Governor of Odesa, a vulnerable and strategic port city on the Black Sea. Despite having served in Georgia through […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 28, 2015

Russia’s Secret Funerals

By Melinda Haring

Sgt. Leonid Kichatkin of the Russian 76th Airborne Division and Russian soldier Anton Tumanov died in August 2014 while fighting in eastern Ukraine. Their deaths amply demonstrate that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that there are no Russian troops in Ukraine is false.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 27, 2015

Putin Celebrates Stalinism. Again.

By Stephen Blank

Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 10 once again justified the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as a statesmanlike act of defending Russia’s national interests. This time Putin did so with German Chancellor Angela Merkel next to him. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact—the 1939 deal that split Eastern Europe between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany—was a death warrant for […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2015

The Disastrous EU Summit on the European Partnership

By Anders Åslund

The European Union’s Summit on the Eastern Partnership, held May 21-22 in Riga, was a disaster for Ukraine. For friends of democracy, the rule of law, and Ukraine, it would have been better had this EU summit never taken place and its joint declaration never written.

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2015

Ukraine Is Still Caught between a Hammer and an Anvil

By Alexander J. Motyl

For most of the 20th century, Ukraine was the victim of two equally malevolent empires—Germany and Russia. Germany’s contribution to Ukraine’s devastation was the two World Wars; Russia’s was the imposition of Soviet rule and the concomitant destruction of Ukraine’s peasantry and elites. Unsurprisingly, one of the most constant images in 20th-century Ukrainian commentary is […]

Germany Russia

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2015

Kremlin Lays Hands on Faith in Crimea

By Geraldine Fagan

In Russia this April, a Baptist pastor was jailed for professing his faith. Pavel Pilipchuk’s five-day detention was brief, but excessive. It followed his refusal to pay a heavy fine for organizing street evangelism in the city of Oryol, around 200 miles south of Moscow. By not informing city officials of his plans, a local […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2015

War in Ukraine of Global Significance, Says Archbishop

By Melinda Haring

“To those from outside, [the fighting in Ukraine] may seem like a regional conflict, but that’s really not the case,” said Archbishop Zoria Yevstratiy of Chernihiv of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Kyiv Patriarchate.  In an interview at the Atlantic Council on May 19, Yevstratiy described the situation in Ukraine as unique and of global significance.

Russia Ukraine