issue spotlight


Ukraine response

Founded sixty years ago at the height of Cold War tensions with Moscow, the Atlantic Council is driven by our mission of “shaping the global future together.” The Council is a nonpartisan organization that galvanizes US leadership and engagement in the world in partnership with allies and partners. Building on that mission, we have responded quickly and comprehensively to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, harnessing our editorial and convening power to help the United States and its allies to act swiftly and effectively—and to unify the disparate voices in favor of democracy, prosperity, and the transatlantic alliance.

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Events

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.

Content

Ukrainians hold flags and signs bearing their latest concerns as they gather in a veche (people’s assembly) at Maidan Nezalezhnosti on Sunday, June 1. The meeting was the latest in a long public debate over the future of the Maidan movement that toppled the corrupt presidency of Viktor Yanukovych in February. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Article

Jun 1, 2014

Ukraine and the Logic of Civil Resistance: Confronting Russian-Fueled Insurgency

By Maciej Bartkowski and Maria J. Stephan

As Ukraine and its supporters consider how the country can best confront Russia’s violent aggression, two scholars focus on non-violent resistance. Here, they explore some lessons of history that suggest how Ukraine might non-violently defend its unity and independence. See their companion article, which notes that Ukraine’s EuroMaidan movement (as well as the Orange Revolution […]

Russia
Ukraine
Kyiv's Maidan movement presses its demands last winter for rule of law, an end to official corruption, and closer relations with the European Union. (CC License)

Article

Jun 1, 2014

How Ukraine Ousted an Autocrat: The Logic of Civil Resistance

By Maciej Bartkowski and Maria J. Stephan

As Ukraine and its supporters consider how the country can best confront Russia’s violent aggression, two scholars focus on non-violent resistance. They write that the EuroMaidan movement and the Orange Revolution of 2004 show the Ukrainians’ ability to force change with this approach. A companion article notes lessons of history that suggest how Ukraine might […]

Russia
Ukraine

In the News

May 31, 2014

Chalupa on the Efficacy of Vladimir Putin

By Irena Chalupa

The New York Times quotes the Atlantic Council’s Irena Chalupa in a piece on how recent international actions against Russia have not deterred President Vladimir Putin’s designs in the region:

Russia
Ukraine
A fighter with the pro-Russian "Vostok Battalion" aims a sniper rifle at the Donetsk provincial government headquarters in Ukraine after the unit took control of it from other pro-Russian separatists on May 29. Chechen fighters from Russia told reporters in the city they arrived recently to join the Vostok unit. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

New Atlanticist

May 30, 2014

Russia Allows – or Organizes – Chechen Fighters to Reinforce the Secessionist War in Ukraine

By James Rupert

Chechen Militiamen Talk to Western Journalists About Their Mission It’s clear this week that Russian government is allowing or actively organizing an unknown number of battle-hardened Russian fighters from Chechnya and nearby regions to reinforce the Russian-led militias battling to seize control of two provinces in southeastern Ukraine. The entry of fighters from Russia’s North […]

Russia
Ukraine

In the News

May 30, 2014

Brzezinski: Ukrainian Crisis is “Not a Blip”

By Ian Brzezinski

CTV, Canadian Television, interviews Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security’s Senior Fellow Ian Brzezinski on whether Russia’s current actions are an aberration or a trend, and where the West might look for future flashpoints of agression. Watch the interview here.

Russia
Ukraine
Journalists work in the newsrom at Russia's LIfe News TV channel. (CC License)

New Atlanticist

May 29, 2014

Kremlin Awards Medals for Courage (and Pension Bonuses) to Russian Journalists Who Cover Ukraine ‘Objectively’

By Irena Chalupa

An essential asset in the Kremlin’s not-quite-covert sponsorship of the secessionist warfare in southeast Ukraine has been its ability to use Russia’s mass media to shape the story for populations at home in Russia and in much of the former Soviet Union. President Vladimir Putin signaled the importance of this propaganda war this week in […]

Russia
Ukraine
Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada begins a session on February 20, 2014, days before it ratified the removal of President Viktor Yanukovych. (CC License)

New Atlanticist

May 29, 2014

As Ukraine Builds a Stronger Government, Parliamentary Elections Will Be Necessary – and Difficult

By Irena Chalupa

Ukraine’s election of a new president on May 25 was an essential first step in building a Ukrainian government with enough democratic legitimacy to lead the country through the crises it faces.  But establishing a government with a strong enough mandate to make painful economic reforms and resist Russia’s assault on Ukraine’s independence also will […]

Russia
Ukraine

New Atlanticist

May 29, 2014

Ukraine News Roundup | May 29

By Irena Chalupa

Chechens in Ukraine Capture Public Interest from Moscow Times The Invisible Refugee Crisis in Ukraine from The New Republic Ukraine’s Jews welcome results of presidential election from Haaretz Europe’s Ukrainian Lifeline from Project Syndicate Viktor Yanukovych’s palace is full of tasteless treasures – and London auction-house tags from The Spectator Putinology 101: The Kremlin’s Real […]

Ukraine
Estonia plans to upload government databases to the cloud

NATOSource

May 29, 2014

Concerned About Russian Invasion, Estonia Plans ‘Data Embassies’ in Allied Countries

By Tom Cheshire, SKY News

Estonia intends to back up crucial national databases in the UK and other countries, because of fears of a Russian invasion.

Cybersecurity
Northern Europe
President Barack Obama at West Point, May 28, 2014

NATOSource

May 28, 2014

Obama Sees US as the ‘Hub of Alliances’ Unrivaled in History

By Barack Obama, Federal News Service

From Europe to Asia, we are the hub of alliances unrivaled in the history of nations.

China
NATO

Experts