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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 26, 2021

Five reasons why Ukraine rejected Vladimir Putin’s “Russian World”

By
Taras Kuzio

Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to force Ukrainian acceptance of the country's place within the "Russian World" have proved disastrous and led to the collapse of Russian influence in Ukraine.


Conflict


Nationalism


UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2021

The risks of rushing to internet voting in Ukraine

By
Serhii Savelii and Meredith Applegate

Ukraine’s vision for digital transformation is ambitious and includes holding online voting for all elections and referendums, but this vision fails to take into account numerous practical obstacles and risks.


Cybersecurity


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2021

Returning the US-Ukraine relationship to normalcy

By
John E. Herbst

The election of Joe Biden has raised the welcome prospect of a return to normalcy in US-Ukraine ties but the past two months have demonstrated that this return to the norm will not be without challenges.


Corruption


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2021

Maidan’s metamorphosis mirrors Ukraine’s national coming of age

By
Peter Dickinson

Over the past three decades of Ukrainian independence, Kyiv's Independence Square has undergone a post-Soviet metamorphosis that mirrors Ukraine's own national coming of age.


Democratic Transitions


Resilience & Society


UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2021

Young Ukrainian mayor offers hope of a new politics

By
Brian Mefford

In November 2020, residents of the western Ukrainian city Rivne voted for a dramatic change in the local political status quo by electing 34-year-old Oleksandr Tretyak as their new mayor.


Democratic Transitions


Elections


UkraineAlert

Mar 21, 2021

Germany’s Greens vow to block Putin’s pipeline

By
Diane Francis

Germany's Greens have confirmed plans to block Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline if, as expected, they form part of the new German coalition government following Bundestag elections in September 2021.


Geopolitics & Energy Security


Germany


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2021

Vladimir Putin does not want peace with Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy entered office in 2019 promising to negotiate a settlement with Vladimir Putin. He now appears to have recognized that Putin does not actually want peace with Ukraine.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2021

Putin turns up pressure on Russian opposition ahead of September Duma elections

By
Peter Dickinson

Moscow police raided a conference of independent municipal lawmakers on March 13 in a move that marks an escalation in the Kremlin crackdown on political opposition ahead of September elections.


Civil Society


Elections


UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2021

New documentary chronicles the plight of Crimean Tatars under Russian occupation

By
Elina-Alem Kent

The recently released documentary film “Crimean Solidarity” chronicles the inspirational efforts of the Crimean Tatar community as it struggles against the oppressive reality of Russian occupation.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2021

Is the US still committed to stopping Putin’s pipeline?

By
Diane Francis

Concerns are growing over the Biden administration's commitment to blocking a controversial gas pipeline that threatens to significantly strengthen Putin's influence over Europe.


European Union


Geopolitics & Energy Security

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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

Mar 12, 2015

Did Kharkiv Just Become Russia’s Next Target in Ukraine War?

By New Atlanticist

A Criminal Case Could Turn the City’s Political Strongman Back into a Kremlin Ally  In Russia’s campaign to re-assert control over Ukraine, a logical target for its “hybrid war” is Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and a center of its Russian-speaking population. And indeed, Russia has been working steadily to destabilize Kharkiv (just 25 miles from […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 11, 2015

Ukraine’s Shrinking Hryvnia: How Alarming Is It?

By Yuriy Gorodnichenko

Kyiv Has Begun the Hard Steps of Reform; IMF and Allies Must Now Deliver Quickly The dramatic plunge last month in the value of the hryvnia, Ukraine’s currency, sparked speculation about an immediate, national economic collapse. Despite the drama—the hryvnia lost more than half of its value against the dollar in February, hitting a record […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 6, 2015

The Kremlin’s Secret War: Soldiers’ Families Shattered and Silenced

By New Atlanticist

A Vice News Documentary Shows What Russia Is Hiding—and How Since last summer, when President Vladimir Putin’s government first deployed major units of Russian conventional army troops to fight in its war against Ukraine, the Kremlin has used state secrecy, propaganda, intimidation, and violence to conceal the story. Police have obstructed journalists, arrested them—and in […]

Russia Ukraine

Testimony

Mar 6, 2015

US and Allies Risk War with Russia by a ‘Hesitancy on Ukraine’

By New Atlanticist

Wilson: Only the US Can Lead in Defending Europe Against Putin’s Rising Ambition The United States and its allies must confront the aggressive actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin because failing to do so will escalate his ambitions—perhaps to the point of forcing a war with NATO, the Atlantic Council’s Damon Wilson told the US […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO

UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2015

Before Russia’s Next Offensive, Obama Should Take the Lead

By New Atlanticist

Burns: Give Arms to Ukraine, More NATO Cover to Baltics—and Leadership for Europe President Barack Obama has given space for Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel to lead recently in the Western response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. But it’s now time for the US president to take the reins back, writes former Undersecretary of State Nicholas […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2015

The Myth of the West’s Threat to Russia

By Alexander J. Motyl

Did NATO Provoke a War By Trying to ‘Take’ Ukraine From Russia? Much Western thinking about the causes of the Russo-Ukrainian War is rooted in a myth. It posits that the West—or, more specifically, NATO—attempted to wrest Ukraine from Russia’s sphere of influence, thereby forcing Vladimir Putin to defend Russia’s legitimate strategic interests by going […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO

UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2015

Europe Averts Winter Gas Cutoff for Now with Ukraine-Russia Deal

By New Atlanticist

For Long-Term Security, EU Should Push Moscow to Obey Rules and Kyiv to Reform Gas Sector By brokering a March 2 interim gas deal between Ukraine and Russia, the European Union helped avert a wintertime cutoff of gas to Ukraine and other parts of Europe. Russia had threatened to halt supplies to Ukraine in the […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2015

To Secure Europe’s Energy, Build a Market and Integrate Ukraine

By Basil Kalymon and Adonis Yatchew

Europe Should Press Moscow to Respect EU Rules—and Kyiv to End Gas Monopoly In recent days, Russia has once more threatened the security of Europe’s gas supplies by announcing that it will refuse to pipe gas through Ukraine and will require that a southern alternative be built through Turkey. The European gas supply system has […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Mar 2, 2015

Is the IMF Bailout Enough for Ukraine?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

MIT Economist Says Rescue Plan Is Too Small, May Need Adjustment An International Monetary Fund bailout for Ukraine underestimates the banking sector’s needs and is unrealistic about government expenditure on security and defense, according to Andrei Kirilenko, a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ukraine has secured a $40 billion bailout from the IMF […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 1, 2015

Nemtsov Assassination Is Rooted in Putin’s Authoritarianism

By John E. Herbst

Passive Responses to Putin Darken the Future for Ukraine—and for Russia The professional killing of Boris Nemtsov February 27 confronts us with two facts that Western policymakers ignore at great cost in the Russia-Ukraine war. First, Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine is potentially a great domestic political liability for him. Second, it is central to […]

Russia Ukraine