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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

Jul 28, 2022

Vogue diplomacy: First Lady Olena Zelenska is Ukraine’s secret weapon

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has recently sparked debate by posing for a Vogue photo shoot with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz that some slammed as frivolous but others praised as a soft power masterstroke.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2022

Putin believed his own propaganda and fatally underestimated Ukraine

By Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin likes to pose as an expert on all things Ukrainian but in reality his understanding of Ukraine is hopelessly distorted by propaganda that has led him to fatally underestimate Ukrainian resilience.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jul 27, 2022

Ukraine’s tech excellence is playing a vital role in the war against Russia

By Valeriya Ionan

Ukraine's tech sector excellence is playing a key role in the war against Russia by providing rapid solutions to frontline challenges in ways that the more traditional top-down Russian military simply cannot match. 

Conflict Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2022

More Russians must face personal sanctions over Ukraine invasion

By Oleksandr Novikov

As the world seeks ways to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Oleksandr Novikov of Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention says dramatically expanded personal sanctions are the most effective available tool.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2022

Ukrainian footballers prepare to defy Putin with wartime premier league

By Andrew Todos

The Ukrainian Premier League is preparing to begin the 2022-23 season in August despite Russia's ongoing invasion of the country as Ukrainians turn to football to demonstrate their determination to defy the Kremlin.

Central Europe Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jul 21, 2022

Russian gas attack: Europe must not give in to Putin’s energy blackmail

By Diane Francis

The CEO of Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz has told European leaders to prepare for a complete Russian gas cut off and warned that any concessions to the Kremlin will only serve to encourage further energy blackmail.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2022

Ukraine can win

By Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

If the West takes active measures to ensure Ukraine can't defeat Putin's Russia, it won't. But if it commits to supplying the range of capabilities required for modern, high intensity warfare, Ukraine can win, and it will win.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2022

Ukraine confronts Kremlin infiltration threat at unreformed state bodies

By Andrew D’Anieri

Last week's dismissal by President Zelenskyy of two key figures from Ukraine's state security and prosecution services has highlighted the threat posed by Kremlin agents infiltrating unreformed Ukrainian state bodies.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jul 19, 2022

Ukraine’s vibrant civil society deserves key role in post-war transformation

By Mykhailo Zhernakov

Ukraine's vibrant civil society sector is the country's secret weapon in its civilizational struggle against Putin's Russia and should be a key focus of support efforts as the international community looks to rebuild Ukraine.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2022

The West must take urgent steps to prevent Ukrainian economic collapse

By Bate Toms

Recent talk of a Ukrainian Marshall Plan for the post-war period is certainly welcome but Ukraine also needs action from the West without delay to avoid a potentially catastrophic economic collapse while the war continues.

Conflict Economy & Business

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UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2022

Ben Wallace: Putin’s bogus NATO fears disguise Ukraine ambitions

By Peter Dickinson

As geopolitical tensions continue to mount in Eastern Europe, UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace has published an essay exposing the chilling reality behind Russian President Vladimir Putin's imperial ambitions in Ukraine.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jan 17, 2022

Countering the growing Russian naval threat in the Black Sea region

By Skyler Blake

With Russian President Vladimir Putin currently threatening to escalate his eight-year war against Ukraine, it is now vital to implement an effective NATO security strategy for the Black Sea region.

Conflict Maritime Security

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2022

Kyiv Diary: Ukrainians await Putin’s invasion and Poroshenko’s arrest

By Vladislav Davidzon

The threat of a full-scale Russian invasion and the prospect of a major political scandal sparked by the arrest of former president Petro Poroshenko have failed to induce panic among the hardy crisis veterans of Kyiv.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2022

Calls grow within Germany for tougher stance towards Putin’s Russia

By Alexander Motyl

German foreign policy experts have published an appeal demanding Germany’s Russia policy be fundamentally changed from tacit encouragement to open resistance of Vladimir Putin’s expansionist designs.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Jan 15, 2022

Moscow’s Memory Wars: Putin seeks to whitewash Russia’s Stalinist past

By Gina Lentine

Russia's recent move to shut down the Memorial International human rights organization is part of an ongoing Kremlin campaign to rehabilitate the Soviet era and whitewash the crimes of Russia's Stalinist past.

Civil Society Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jan 14, 2022

Western weakness has emboldened Putin and invited Russian aggression

By Tinatin Khidasheli

The West's weak response to repeated instances of Russian aggression in the ex-USSR has emboldened Vladimir Putin and created today's European security crisis, says former Georgian defense minister Tinatin Khidasheli.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2022

Russia Crisis: War fears mount as West rejects Putin’s ultimatum

By Peter Dickinson

A week of high-stakes meetings between Kremlin officials and their US, NATO and OSCE counterparts has failed to defuse tensions in Eastern Europe or reduce the threat of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Conflict NATO

UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2022

Cutting off Russia from SWIFT will really sting

By Harley Balzer

While Russia has attempted to reduce its dependence on the SWIFT payment system, it remains vulnerable to a sanctions cut-off in the event of a new Kremlin offensive in Putin's eight-year undeclared war against Ukraine.

China Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 11, 2022

Ukrainians call on US Senate to sanction Putin’s pipeline weapon

By Ukrainian civil society representatives

US senators are set to vote in the coming days on a bill for new sanctions against Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Ukrainian civil society representatives have issued an appeal calling on senators to back sanctions.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jan 10, 2022

The US and NATO must attack Vladimir Putin’s intimidation strategy

By Harlan Ullman

The current US approach to the crisis with Russia is predictable and conventional. The principle author of the "shock and awe" doctrine, Harlan Ullman, believes it is time to turn Putin's intimidation tactics against him.

Conflict Defense Policy