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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 12, 2020

Russian assassinations send chilling message of impunity

By
Doug Klain

Kremlin-linked assassinations are being exposed on a regular basis across Europe. Is this a sign of Russian sloppiness, or does Moscow want the world to now that it acts with impunity on the global stage?


Non-Traditional Threats


Russia


UkraineAlert

Mar 10, 2020

Coronavirus crisis: Ukraine needs IMF support not political purges

By
Anders Åslund

President Zelenskyy's sudden purge of his reformist cabinet has shaken confidence in the Ukrainian economy at a time when global markets are facing a mounting coronavirus crisis – could an IMF deal be the solution?


Coronavirus


International Financial Institutions


UkraineAlert

Mar 10, 2020

Water for peace: Ukraine tests public opinion on a very dangerous deal

By
Mykola Vorobiov

A number of politicians from President Zelenskyy's ruling party have recently spoken out in support of renewing water supplies to Russian-occupied Crimea. Is Zelenskyy preparing public opinion for a grand bargain to secure peace in eastern Ukraine?


Conflict


Energy & Environment


UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2020

MH17 court case: Putin’s Ukraine war goes on trial

By
Yaroslav Dovgopol

This week a court in the Netherlands begins hearing the case against three Russians and one Ukrainian charged with involvement in the 2014 downing of flight MH17. In reality, Putin's entire Ukraine war is on trial.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2020

Ukraine’s new government must act fast or face failure

By
Oleh Havrylyshyn and Basil Kalymon

The window of opportunity for reform may already be closing in today's Ukraine and President Zelenskyy's newly appointed cabinet of ministers will have to move fast in order to avoid missing their historic chance.


Democratic Transitions


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2020

Ukraine’s novice president is in serious trouble already

By
Alexander J. Motyl

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just replaced most of his cabinet, including his prime minister. His office will spin this as a sign of renewal. In fact, it’s an indication that Zelenskyy is in serious trouble.


Democratic Transitions


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2020

Zelenskyy changes course with government reshuffle

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has launched a radical shake-up of his government just six months after it started work. New faces are out and experienced figures are in. What will this mean for the country's future trajectory and hopes for change?


Democratic Transitions


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Mar 4, 2020

Ze end?

By
Melinda Haring

What’s even clearer is that the tragedy of Ukraine’s politics goes on. And on. Everyone knows how to fix Ukraine, but no one actually does it.


Democratic Transitions


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2020

Post-Merkel Germany: What can Ukraine expect?

By
Mattia Nelles

The race is on to succeed Angela Merkel as Germany's political leader, with three candidates competing in a CDU party leadership contest. What could the outcome mean for German policy towards Ukraine and Russia?


Germany


Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2020

Germany and Poland compete for Ukrainian migrant workers

By
Alexander Khrebet

New German labor laws introduced in March 2020 make it easier for Ukrainians to be employed in the country. This is sparking fears in Ukraine—and Poland—that we may soon see a new wave of Ukrainian economic migration.


Germany


Migration

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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2015

Why Mariupol Will Not be the Next Frontline

By Ruben Gzirian

Analysts and journalists have begun to ask where the Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine will go next now that the second ceasefire agreement has failed. Skirmishes on the frontline in Shyrokyne, less than ten miles from Mariupol’s city limits, have raised concerns that Mariupol will be the next target. Geographically and commercially speaking, Mariupol makes […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 20, 2015

Europe Needs to Help Ukraine Now

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine bleeds, but reforms impressively, while the West ignores it. The Minsk ceasefire agreement does not hold, though the intensity of the fighting has faded. In mid-March, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) doubled Ukraine’s international reserves, but the country’s finances remain fragile. Europe’s central banks should provide a large swap credit with minimum risks to […]

Ukraine

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