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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 18, 2021

Naftogaz drama highlights Ukraine’s politics of personal destruction

By
Adrian Karatnycky

In Ukraine, it seems, no public leader leaves office without being subjected to a wave of invective, criticism, and scorn. This negative culture was on display recently during a turbulent leadership change at Naftogaz.


Energy Markets & Governance


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

May 13, 2021

Putin’s key Ukraine ally charged with treason

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s leading pro-Kremlin politician, Viktor Medvedchuk, has been charged with treason this week as the Zelenskyy administration escalates its efforts to counter Russian influence in the country.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 13, 2021

Putin’s Ukraine War: EU warns Russia is “de facto integrating” occupied east

By
Peter Dickinson

The European Union has warned that Russia is seeking to “de facto integrate” the Kremlin-controlled separatist republics of east Ukraine. The EU raised the alarm in a note to member states, Bloomberg reported on May 12.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

May 13, 2021

A new vision for Ukraine’s Prosecution Service

By
Iryna Venediktova

Since Ukraine regained independence in 1991, successive attempts to reform the country’s prosecution service have met with only limited success. Efforts are now underway to change this disappointing picture.


Democratic Transitions


Human Rights


UkraineAlert

May 11, 2021

Blinken Kyiv visit analysis: What next for US-Ukraine ties?

By
Peter Dickinson

What can US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent visit to Kyiv tell us about the current state and future prospects for bilateral relations between America and Ukraine?


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 11, 2021

The only way to deter Putin is to arm Ukraine

By
Yelyzaveta Yasko

Vladimir Putin continues to menace Ukraine with border region troop buildups and the threat of a major escalation in the seven-year war between the two countries. The best way for the West to deter Russia is to arm Ukraine.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 10, 2021

Is Ukraine about to cut the Gordian knot of judicial reform?

By
John Lough

Under pressure from its international partners, the Zelenskyy administration is again pushing to overhaul the procedures for appointing members of Ukraine’s 21-member High Council of Justice.


Democratic Transitions


Political Reform


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2021

Blinken in Kyiv: US “stands strongly” with Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Kyiv on May 6 for a high-profile visit as Ukraine continues to face the threat of a major Russian escalation in the simmering seven-year war between the two countries.


Conflict


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2021

Naftogaz fiasco risks undermining Ukraine

By
Alan Riley and Suriya Jayanti

The recent decision to suspend the Naftogaz Supervisory Board and fire CEO Andriy Kobolyev risks undermining Ukraine’s security and exposing the country to greater dependence on Russian gas.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2021

Ukraine’s inaccessible cities

By
Iryna Ozymok

Ukraine's cities remain highly inaccessible for people with physical disabilities or limited mobility, but a growing number of civil society initiatives are helping to boost efforts to improve accessibility.


Civil Society


Inclusive Growth

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

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

UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2015

No Easy Outs for Putin: US Presidential Candidates United on Ukraine

By Ariel Cohen

Ukraine will remain at the heart of the conflict between the US and Russia beyond the 2016 presidential election. In the polls, Americans are united on Ukraine; the majority of respondents support increased sanctions on the Kremlin. All of the major presidential candidates, save Senator Rand Paul, take a tough approach with Moscow and support […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2015

The Achilles’ Heel of Ukraine’s Mighty Oligarchs

By Brian Mefford

The Ukrainian government’s well-executed showdown in March 2015 to rein in the country’s wealthiest oligarch is the first of many battles with the oligarchs that lie ahead. In the battle with the oligarchs, President Petro Poroshenko—the owner of Roshen Confectionery Corporation and an oligarch himself—is uniquely positioned to fight. The President and his reform-minded parliament will […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2015

Ukrainian Fighter Pilot’s Case More About Politics, Less About Law, Says Attorney

By Melinda Haring

When Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine captured a fighter pilot loyal to Kyiv in June 2014, they got more than they bargained for. Nearly a year later, Nadiya Savchenko is on trial in Russia, and at the center of an international imbroglio. “This isn’t an ordinary case,” Russian attorney Mark Feygin said at the Atlantic […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2015

Out of the Abyss: Anders Åslund Sees Hope for Ukrainian Economy

By Thomas O. Melia

Ukraine: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It, the new book by Anders Åslund of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, presents so compelling an argument that—even before publication on April 17—it has already persuaded the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Western nations to adopt a $40 billion economic stabilization program for Ukraine. This […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 14, 2015

The Balkan Piece of the Putin Puzzle

By Stephen Blank

While the Russian threat to Poland and the Baltic States has sparked justified anxiety, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s imperial adventure is just as much of a threat to the Balkans.  Moscow is putting on a full-court press—using energy exports, information warfare, trade, arms sales, and efforts to obtain military bases in Cyprus, Montenegro and Serbia—to […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Apr 14, 2015

A View from Luhansk: Waiting for War to Return

By Alina Polyakova

Luhansk Oblast – Ukrainians are waiting for war to start again. Since a ceasefire agreement went into effect in February, the winter has been relatively quiet in Luhansk Oblast, marred only by sporadic rockets fired from the territory of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR). In many respects, life appears oddly normal in the small […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2015

New Ukraine Disrupts Old Ukraine

By John E. Herbst

There’s good reason for guarded optimism in the new Ukraine. President Petro Poroshenko and the parliament brought the country’s most powerful oligarch to heel in March 2015 and the justice department has set its sights on the richest oligarchs.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 9, 2015

Poroshenko Goes Hunting for Oligarchs

By Brian Mefford

Ukraine won an important battle in the war against the oligarchs with the removal of Dnipropetrovsk Governor Ihor Kolomoyskyi last week. But Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the Ukrainian parliament are just getting started.  On April 7 the government challenged billionaire Rinat Akhmetov’s grip on energy companies. Some parliamentarians are pushing to curb the power […]

Ukraine