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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

Jun 11, 2024

Victory in Ukraine would dramatically strengthen Putin’s war machine

By Peter Dickinson

Victory in Ukraine would greatly strengthen Russia militarily, economically, and strategically, while severely weakening the West. Faced with such uniquely favorable circumstances, it is fanciful to suggest a triumphant Putin would simply stop, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2024

The terrible cost of Russia’s war is being felt far beyond the battlefield

By Mark Temnycky

From mental health and population decline to the economy and education, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had a profoundly negative impact on Ukrainian society that will be felt for generations to come, writes Mark Temnycky.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2024

Allies stand with Ukraine as Russian threat looms over D-Day anniversary

By Peter Dickinson

Putin has tried to justify his invasion of Ukraine by portraying Ukrainians as Nazis. But as this week’s D-Day anniversary made clear, it is Putin himself who is seen as the greatest single threat to peace in Europe since Adolf Hitler, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2024

Russia is winning the energy war and plunging Ukraine into darkness

By Elena Davlikanova

Electricity blackouts are the new normal in Ukraine as the country struggles to cope with the consequences of a devastating Russian air offensive that has destroyed around half of Ukraine’s wartime power-generating capacity since the start of 2024, writes Elena Davlikanova.

Conflict
Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2024

Vladimir Putin just tacitly admitted Crimea is not really part of Russia

By Peter Dickinson

Russia claims to have annexed five Ukrainian provinces but refuses to extend security red lines to these regions. This highlights the pragmatic political realities behind Putin’s talk of historic conquests, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

May 30, 2024

If the West wants a sustainable peace it must commit to Ukrainian victory

By Hanna Hopko, Andrius Kubilius

Since 2022, Western policies of escalation management have failed to appease Putin and have only emboldened the Kremlin. If the West wants peace, it must help Ukraine win, write Hanna Hopko and Andrius Kubilius.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 28, 2024

‘The time has come’: Calls grow to allow Ukrainian strikes inside Russia

By Peter Dickinson

Pressure is building for the US and other NATO allies to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons for Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

May 28, 2024

Only enhanced air defenses can save Ukraine from winter energy collapse

By Aura Sabadus

Ukraine’s power grid has been decimated in recent months by a major Russian bombing campaign. In order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe this winter, the country urgently needs more air defenses, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

May 27, 2024

Russia is bombing book publishers as Putin wages war on Ukrainian identity

By Maria Avdeeva

Russia’s recent targeted bombing of a major Ukrainian book publishing plant in Kharkiv is part of the Kremlin’s wider war against Ukrainian national identity, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2024

Pride of Ukraine: Oleksandr Usyk’s historic victory boosts wartime morale

By Joshua Stein

Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk’s remarkable achievement in unifying the heavyweight division for the first time this century has provided war-torn Ukraine with a welcome morale boost, writes Joshua Stein.

Conflict
Resilience & Society

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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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UkraineAlert

Oct 25, 2021

Europe must face up to the chilling reality of Putin’s energy blackmail

By Aura Sabadus

Recent developments in Moldova and the EU leave little doubt that Vladimir Putin is intent on using energy supplies as a geopolitical weapon and demonstrate the urgent need to diversify away from reliance on Russia.

European Union
Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2021

US and EU must react to escalating global energy crisis

By Anders Åslund

Recent mistakes by Germany, the EU, and the United States on gas policy are potentially disastrous and will have major costs unless all three parties urgently rethink their positions and address the growing energy crisis.

China
European Union

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2021

Ukraine’s classical music superstar Oksana Lyniv makes history again

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's superstar classical music conductor Oksana Lyniv made history yet again in October 2021 when she was named as the first ever female musical director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in Italy.

Resilience & Society
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2021

Now is the moment to transform Ukraine

By Kristina Kvien, Matti Maasikas, Melinda Simmons

Ukraine is on the verge of achieving a breakthrough towards judicial reform and transforming the rule of law situation in the country but President Zelenskyy must demonstrate the political will to overcome opposition.

Corruption
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2021

Ukraine strengthens independence of key anti-corruption agency

By Anastasia Radina

Ukrainian MPs adopted a landmark law on October 19 that will safeguard the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the key agency in the country’s struggle against corruption.

Corruption
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2021

Putin’s Ukraine war is world’s worst-kept secret but he remains in denial

By Peter Dickinson

Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to acknowledge his country's involvement in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine makes progress towards peace virtually impossible.

Conflict
Russia

UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2021

Russia is the world’s leading exporter of instability

By Iuliia Mendel

Vladimir Putin's Russia has emerged over the past two decades as the world's leading exporter of instability via tools ranging from digital disinformation and weaponized corruption to cyber attacks and military mercenaries.

Cybersecurity
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Oct 15, 2021

Ukraine flirts with disastrous return to gas price caps

By Anders Åslund

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party has proposed a potentially disastrous new law to “temporarily” prohibit private companies from selling gas at commercial market prices.

Energy Markets & Governance
Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2021

Open Skies agreement will deepen Ukraine’s European integration

By Peter Dickinson

The Open Skies aviation agreement signed in Kyiv on October 12 will strengthen connectivity between Ukraine and the EU while significantly enhancing Ukraine's ongoing European integration.

Economy & Business
European Union

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2021

Old problems threaten Ukraine’s new Bureau of Economic Security

By Victor Tregubov

Ukraine is currently in the process of reforming the country’s tax police. While there was much initial optimism earlier this year over the creation of a Bureau of Economic Security, familiar concerns are now creeping in as this new agency slowly takes shape.

Corruption
Economy & Business