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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.

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Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

May 8, 2025

Russia’s coming summer offensive could be deadliest of the entire war

By Mykola Bielieskov

As the US-led peace initiative continues to falter, the unfolding summer campaigning season in Ukraine promises to be among the bloodiest of the entire war, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2025

Putin’s parade cynically exploits WWII to justify his own criminal invasion

By Peter Dickinson

Putin is expected to use this week’s Victory Day parade marking 80 years since the defeat of Hitler to legitimize his current invasion of Ukraine. But if anyone is guilty of echoing the crimes of the Nazis, it is Putin himself, writes Peter Dickinson.

Brazil China

UkraineAlert

May 6, 2025

Putin is escalating the war in Ukraine. He will not stop until he is stopped.

By Alyona Nevmerzhytska

Today, Ukrainians are paying a terrible price for the West’s reluctance to confront Russia. If Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, many other countries will also count the cost of this failure, writes Alyona Nevmerzhytska.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

May 6, 2025

The shadow of 1930s appeasement hangs over US-led peace talks

By Oleksandr Merezhko

As the world prepares to mark the eightieth anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the shadow of events leading up to World War II hangs over efforts to end Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine, writes Oleksandr Merezhko.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

May 1, 2025

Putin confirms North Korean troops are fighting for Russia against Ukraine

By Olivia Yanchik

More than six months after the story was first reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially confirmed the presence of North Korean troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

May 1, 2025

Cautious optimism in Kyiv as Ukraine reacts to landmark US minerals deal

By Peter Dickinson

There was a sense of cautious optimism in Kyiv on Thursday morning as Ukrainians reacted to news that a long-awaited natural resources agreement with the United States had finally been signed, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Apr 29, 2025

Putin announces ceasefire to protect Moscow parade from Ukrainian attack

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin is now so emboldened by Western weakness that he believes he can personally pause the war to host a military parade on Red Square before resuming his invasion three days later, writes Peter Dickinson.

Brazil China

UkraineAlert

Apr 29, 2025

Kyiv accuses China of deepening involvement in Russia’s Ukraine war

By Katherine Spencer

As US-led efforts continue to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Kyiv has recently accused China of deepening its involvement in Moscow’s invasion, writes Katherine Spencer.

China Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 24, 2025

Ukraine’s innovative army can help Europe defend itself against Russia

By David Kirichenko

Faced with an isolationist US and an expansionist Russia, Ukrainians and their European partners are increasingly acknowledging that their collective future security depends on closer cooperation, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Apr 24, 2025

A pro-Putin peace deal in Ukraine would destabilize the entire world

By Elena Davlikanova, Lesia Ogryzko

Handing Russia victory in Ukraine may temporarily create the illusion of peace, but in reality it would set the stage for a dangerous new era of international insecurity marked by militarization, nuclear proliferation, and wars of aggression, write Elena Davlikanova and Lesia Ogryzko.

Conflict International Norms

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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.

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.

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UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2020

Ukraine must address the legal ambiguity enabling Putin’s not-so-secret war

By Wayne Jordash

Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is one of the world's worst-kept secrets, but a failure to end the legal ambiguity shrouding Russia's role in the ongoing conflict makes progress towards peace impossible.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2020

Zelenskyy’s old new faces

By Adrian Karatnycky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to power in 2019 promising a new era in Ukrainian politics but the recent appointment of figures from the discredited past raises questions about this fresh start.

Democratic Transitions Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Aug 6, 2020

Can new legislation revive Ukraine’s defense reforms?

By Serhiy Piontkovsky

Ukraine's defense industry has become a major source of state spending since the onset of hostilities with Russia in 2014, but corruption allegations have been a problem. Can new legislation revive reform efforts?

Defense Policy Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2020

From Russian war to European opportunity: Reinventing eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region

By Oleksii Reznikov

Putin has place eastern Ukraine's Donbas region at the heart of his "Russian World" mythology, but in reality the region has a cosmopolitan heritage that could help to inspire a new era of European investment.

Conflict Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2020

How to overcome Ukraine’s IT industry brain drain

By Bill Brown

Ukraine’s booming IT industry is fueling the country's economic growth. The future of the sector depends on creating a professional climate that will convince talented young Ukrainian IT professionals to stay.

Entrepreneurship Internet

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2020

For Ukraine, endless Putin means endless hybrid war

By Mark Temnycky

Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent constitutional amendments will allow him to extend his reign until 2036. This undermines faint hopes for an end to the six-year Russo-Ukrainian War.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Aug 1, 2020

Kyiv names street in honor of journalist who exposed Stalin’s Ukrainian genocide

By Peter Dickinson

Kyiv City Council has confirmed plans to name a street in the Ukrainian capital in honor of British journalist Gareth Jones, who first brought news of Stalin's 1933 Ukrainian genocide to international audiences.

Disinformation Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2020

The coronavirus crisis and statelessness in Ukraine

By Andrew D’Anieri

For the estimated 35,000 stateless people living in Ukraine, access to even the most basic resources like food, medicine, and hygienic products, has been all but cut off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Jul 29, 2020

Hard political realities threaten Ukraine’s soft power ambitions

By Marina Pesenti

The Ukrainian Institute was established in 2018 in order to make the most of the country's untapped soft power potential, but this cultural diplomacy initiative faces numerous political and bureaucratic obstacles.

Civil Society Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2020

Zelenskyy’s bad economics: Inflation and devaluation will not help Ukraine grow

By Anders Åslund

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s policymakers are causing concern by flirting with the dangerous idea that high inflation and substantial currency devaluation can boost economic growth.

Democratic Transitions Economy & Business