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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

Nov 30, 2022

As Putin retreats in Ukraine, he is also losing Kazakhstan

By
Kamila Auyezova

Putin's rapidly unraveling invasion of Ukraine is eroding Russian influence throughout the former Soviet Empire. This process of imperial retreat is nowhere more visible than in Kazakhstan, writes Kamila Auyezova.


Central Asia


China


UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2022

Fueling Ukraine’s fight back against Russia’s blackout blitz

By
Oleksiy Chernyshov

Russia's bombing campaign of civilian infrastructure means Ukraine faces the toughest winter season in the country's 31-year independent history, writes newly appointed Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2022

Former moderate Dmitry Medvedev becomes Putin’s pro-war cheerleader

By
Alexander Motyl, Dennis Soltys

Once seen in the West as a source of hope for better ties with Russia, former president Dmitry Medvedev has emerged since February 2022 as a pro-war cheerleader who regularly demonizes Ukraine on social media.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 25, 2022

The West must urgently overcome its fear of provoking Putin

By
Daniel Bilak

Western leaders insist they will stand with Ukraine until Russia's invasion is defeated but fear of provoking Putin continues to constrain the democratic world's response to a war that has already cost tens of thousands of lives.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Nov 23, 2022

Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis: Putin is no Khrushchev

By
Harlan Ullman

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis may offer some useful insights as Western leaders seek the right response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent nuclear saber-rattling over Ukraine, writes Harlan Ullman.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2022

Putin’s peace ploy is a ruse to rearm

By
Dennis Soltys

Russia is currently calling for a return to the negotiating table but Ukrainian leaders are convinced Vladimir Putin is merely seeking to buy time in order to regroup and rearm before the next phase of his invasion.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2022

Ukraine must be allowed to strike back against targets inside Russia

By
Ira Straus

In order to defeat Putin and end the war, Ukraine must be allowed to strike back inside Russia. At present, this is not possible due to restrictions imposed by Ukraine's overly cautious international allies, writes Ira Straus.


Arms Control


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2022

Putin’s invasion has strengthened the case for Ukrainian NATO membership

By
Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin's ongoing invasion has highlighted the dangers of allowing Ukraine to exist in a geopolitical gray zone and strengthened arguments for the country's post-war NATO integration, writes Taras Kuzio.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 17, 2022

Kherson euphoria highlights the folly of a premature peace with Putin

By
Peter Dickinson

Footage of the euphoric scenes in liberated Kherson should be compulsory viewing for anyone who still believes in the possibility of a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia, argues Peter Dickinson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Nov 16, 2022

Ukrainian victory can deal a decisive blow to Russian imperialism

By
Danylo Lubkivsky

Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is an attempt to drag the world back to an era of imperial aggression. The best way to make sure he fails is to provide Ukraine with the arms and financial support it needs to win the war.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions

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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

Oct 20, 2014

Ukraine Prepares to Elect Its Most Pro-European Parliament in History

By New Atlanticist

Poroshenko’s Party Leads; Yatsenyuk Improves Chance of Remaining Prime Minister On Sunday, Ukrainians will elect their first parliament since the Maidan revolution and the Russian invasions of Crimea and Donbas. Kyiv-based political analyst Brian Mefford, now a nonresident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council, analyzes Ukrainian politics and elections on his website’s blog. Mefford’s analysis […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Oct 17, 2014

Yanukovych Birthday Video Reflects What Is Angering Ukrainians Now

By James Rupert

Kyiv Says It Fires 39 Officials as Voters Show Frustration Over Continued Corruption Eight months after Ukrainians forced the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, they will elect a parliament amid rising public anger over the persistence of government corruption under the still-new regime of President Petro Poroshenko. Public discussion about how many new leaders are […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 16, 2014

Putin’s Balkan Gambit

By Damon Wilson

Buoyed by Successes in Europe’s East, Russia’s Leader Turns His Gaze to Serbia and Its Neighbors Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine aims to deny that nation a European future, partly by closing the door permanently to membership in NATO or the European Union. Putin’s aims, however, are not limited to extending a Russian […]

Russia The Balkans

UkraineAlert

Oct 10, 2014

General Wesley Clark: America’s Global Strategy Begins With Ukraine

By James Rupert

Former NATO Commander Says Every US Strategic Interest Is Tied to Russia-Ukraine Crisis America’s five most broadly dangerous 21st-century challenges are disparate, says former presidential candidate and retired senior general Wesley Clark. They stretch from an aggressive China and frail cyber-security to climatic disruptions, unstable financial systems, and terrorism rooted in the Islamic world. All […]

Eastern Europe NATO

UkraineAlert

Oct 6, 2014

Four More Crimean Tatars Vanish, One Dead Amid Russian Crackdown

By James Rupert

19 Tatars Abducted or Disappeared Since Moscow’s Takeover of Crimea At least nineteen ethnic Tatars have been abducted or have disappeared in Russian-ruled Crimea, four of them in the past ten days, Tatar and human rights activists say. Russian authorities up to the office of President Vladimir Putin have promised to investigate the disappearances, which […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2014

Ukraine’s New Parliament Will Strengthen Poroshenko, but Independents Will Make It Unpredictable

By New Atlanticist

Analysis: Putin Unlikely to Scrap the Ceasefire Before October 26 Vote While Russia’s President Vladimir Putin still has unmet ambitions in Ukraine, he is likely to avoid launching any new military offensive there before Ukraine’s October 26 parliamentary election, writes Timothy Ash, an economist who directs emerging markets strategy at Standard Bank in London. Putin […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2014

Can US Support for Ukraine Help Prevent a New Russian Invasion?

By James Rupert

Canadian Analyst Says US Should Signal Moscow To Avoid Any Assault in South Amid the relative lull in the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian military specialists say Russia may soon re-invade Ukraine to seize a critical overland supply route to Crimea. But some analysts and officials in the West are less worried. In the end, says military […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2014

As Winter Nears in Ukraine, Will Moscow Attempt Another Strategic Invasion?

By James Rupert

Continued Attacks Show Kremlin May Be Preparing Drive Toward Crimea, Analysts Say Distracted US and European policymakers may feel grateful that this month’s truce has slowed the Russia-Ukraine war. The Obama administration is seized with the Syria-Iraq crisis and Congress has gone home to campaign for the November 4 election. Europe faces an internal battle […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2014

Ukraine’s Parliamentary Election: Poroshenko Leads Big at Campaign’s Start

By James Rupert

Early Voter Surveys Reflect Anti-Russian, Pro-Independence Mood Ukrainians will elect a new parliament in exactly thirty days, completing the electoral portion of the political revolution triggered by last winter’s Maidan movement. As the campaign began in recent weeks, two Ukrainian polling organizations conducted surveys that yielded similar numbers on the early mindset of Ukraine’s electorate. […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2014

A Dangerous October: Ukraine Contests an Election As It Fears a Truce

By John E. Herbst

Kyiv Feels Little Supported by the West, Hopes to Survive an Unequal Ceasefire With Russia KYIVA junction of war and politics dominates public life in Ukraine as autumn settles firmly in Kyiv. An unequal cease-fire this month in southeast Ukraine will let Moscow maintain there a core of the invasion force it sent in last […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy