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

New Atlanticist

Jun 13, 2025

Trump promised peace through strength. When will he use US strength to bring peace to Ukraine?

By John E. Herbst

Trump's rhetorical and policy choices this week suggest an unwillingness to confront a painful reality about Putin's Russia.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2025

Ukraine is shaping the future of drone warfare at sea as well as on land

By Peter Dickinson

Kyiv’s string of remarkable naval victories in the Battle of the Black Sea confirm that Ukrainian innovation is shaping the future of drone warfare at sea as well as on land, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2025

Putin’s peace plan is a blueprint for the end of Ukrainian statehood

By Tetiana Kotelnykova

Russia’s peace plan sends a clear signal that Moscow wants to erase Ukraine as a state and as a nation. If Western leaders wish to avoid this catastrophic outcome, they must convince Putin that the alternative to a negotiated peace is a Russian defeat, writes Tetiana Kotelnykova.

Conflict Freedom and Prosperity

EnergySource

Jun 11, 2025

Complex energy systems face low-tech threats

By Travis Nels

The daring destruction of Russian strategic bombers through an operation of the Ukrainian intelligence service highlights the power of asymmetric warfare. While a stunning feat for Ukraine, the operation serves as an important reminder that the use of cheap, low-end systems can also be used against critical, vulnerable infrastructure in the West—its grid, in particular.

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2025

Modern Ukraine’s national journey can be traced on Kyiv’s central square

By Peter Dickinson

Since 1991, Kyiv's Maidan square has emerged from Ukraine’s post-Soviet identity crisis via two popular uprisings to become the sacred ground zero of a nation forged in the crucible of revolution and war, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2025

Ukrainian innovations are redefining the role of drones in modern war

By Vitaliy Nabukhotny

Ukraine’s audacious drone strikes on Putin’s bomber fleet at airbases across Russia have been hailed as a watershed moment in military history, leading to claims that Ukraine is “redefining modern warfare,” writes Vitaliy Nabukhotny.

Conflict Defense Industry

In the News

Jun 9, 2025

Ullman in the Hill on importance of strategic innovation for US military superiority

On June 9, Atlantic Council Senior Advisor Harlan Ullman published an op-ed in the Hill on lessons the US can learn from Ukraine’s “Operation Spiderweb.” He argues that future success against adversaries will depend on the US military’s ability to use innovative tactics and remain agile.  

Russia Security & Defense

Inflection Points Today

Jun 8, 2025

A German leader’s D-Day lesson for Trump 

By Frederick Kempe

In the Oval Office, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered a message that no American should ignore.

Conflict Germany

New Atlanticist

Jun 6, 2025

Ukraine’s drone strikes offer four big lessons for US nuclear strategists

By Mark J. Massa

Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb should spur the US government to address strategic vulnerabilities that nuclear strategists have focused on for years.

Defense Policy National Security

New Atlanticist

Jun 6, 2025

Dispatch from Kyiv: Ukraine is putting new pressure on Russia. Will Trump follow?

By John E. Herbst

To bring a stable peace to Europe, the Trump administration must apply strong pressure on Russia in the form of sanctions and military aid to Ukraine.

Defense Policy Russia

Experts

Events