Ukraine

In February 2022, Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine after a months-long military build-up, threatening the country’s sovereignty and its future. This existential moment for the country follows the 2014 Maidan revolution, a nexus for Ukraine’s Europe-focused foreign policy and reform efforts. The ensuing Russian invasion and occupation of Crimea, aggression in Ukraine’s east, and Kremlin disinformation efforts, cast a shadow over Ukraine’s independence.

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

Article

Mar 4, 2014

Transatlantic Focus is Key to Helping Moldova Join Europe

By Damon Wilson

As a Small Nation Faces Russian Pressure, Europe’s Future is on the Line Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leancă’s meetings at the White House today are a crucial sign of US support for his leadership and for Moldova’s Euro-Atlantic future, especially alongside Russia’s invasion of Moldova’s neighbor, Ukraine. In November, Moldova, alongside Georgia, signed a European […]

Eastern Europe Moldova

In the News

Mar 4, 2014

Pavel: Perceived US Weakness Emboldens Putin

By Barry Pavel

Atlantic Council VP and Brent Scowcroft Center Director Barry Pavel is quoted in the National Post on the failure of Western powers to check Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Eastern Europe:

Russia Ukraine

Article

Mar 3, 2014

Russia, Ukraine, the Neighbourhood: Changing Putin’s Risk Calculus

By Matthew Bryza

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is part of the highest-stakes gambits of President Putin’s career. Putin is not bent on war or on dismembering Ukraine. Rather, he seeks to reverse his humiliating defeat in failing to intimidate Ukraine into abandoning its return to Europe.

Russia Ukraine

In the News

Mar 3, 2014

Benitez: Russian Invasion of Ukraine Demands NATO Response

By Jorge Benitez

Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Fellow and NATOSource Director Jorge Benitez writes for The Hill on how NATO should respond to Russia’s occupation of Crimea:

Russia Ukraine
Meeting of the North Altantic Council in Foreign Ministers' session, Dec. 3, 2013

NATOSource

Mar 3, 2014

NATO Describes Ukraine Crisis as Threat to Its Members

By NATO

The North Atlantic Council, which includes the ambassadors of all 28 NATO Allies, will meet on Tuesday 4 March, following a request by Poland under article 4 of NATO’s founding Washington Treaty.

NATO Poland

New Atlanticist

Mar 3, 2014

US Must Pull Germany Into Helping Lead NATO Against Russia

By Erik Brattberg

If Russia pursues and consolidates its armed seizure of Ukrainian territory in Crimea, the US and NATO have no politically viable option for reversing that advance by military force. What the West can do, however, is too modify Moscow’s calculations, making it more costly for Putin to sustain his aggressive effort to hold Ukraine within […]

Germany Russia

Transcript

Mar 3, 2014

Transcript: Moldovan Prime Minister – Ukraine Crisis Deepens Our Need to Join Europe

On Monday, March 3, Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca joined the Atlantic Council to speak on the crisis in Ukraine and how Moldova intends to step up its efforts to reform its economy and political system so it can integrate as quickly as possible with Europe.

Europe & Eurasia Moldova
President Barack Obama discussing Ukraine with national security advisors, Feb. 28, 2014

NATOSource

Mar 3, 2014

President Obama’s Foreign Policy is Based on Fantasy

By Editorial Board of the Washington Post

For five years, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality.

China Russia

In the News

Mar 3, 2014

Burns on Ukraine: “The Stakes Are High”

By Nicholas Burns

McClatchy news quotes Atlantic Council Board Director Nicholas Burns on the United States’ response to conflict in Ukraine: “By any standard this is the most difficult, the most complex international crisis he’s faced,” said former NATO ambassador Nicholas Burns, a former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs and member of the Atlantic Council Board […]

Ukraine
President Barack Obama Talking on Phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, March 1, 2014

NATOSource

Mar 3, 2014

Ukraine Crisis Tests Obama’s Foreign Policy Focus on Diplomacy Over Military Force

By Scott Wilson, Washington Post

Ukraine has emerged as a test of Obama’s argument that, far from weakening American power, he has enhanced it through smarter diplomacy, stronger alliances and a realism untainted by the ideology that guided his predecessor.

Syria Ukraine

Experts

Events