Stay Updated

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

May 18, 2022

Disarming Russia’s energy weapon: Ukraine begins electricity exports to Moldova

By Aura Sabadus

Less than two months after synchronizing with the European electricity grid, Ukraine has begun energy exports to neighboring Moldova in a move that is likely to further dent Russia’s grip over the region.

Conflict Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

May 17, 2022

Vladimir Putin is running out of options to avoid defeat in Ukraine

By Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin expected a quick victory in Ukraine but now finds himself facing a catastrophic defeat that will shatter Russia's pretensions to military superpower status while threatening Putin's own authoritarian regime.

Conflict Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

May 16, 2022

Ukraine War Diary: Everyday life is slowly returning to Fortress Kyiv

By Vitaly Sych

Ukraine War Diary: A semblance of normality is returning to life in the capital but Kyiv remains a fortress city where a strong military presence and an absence of children serve as constant reminders that the country is at war.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2022

Will Putin use chemical weapons in Ukraine?

By Ben Connable

Fears are mounting that Vladimir Putin may seek to save his failing Ukraine invasion by deploying chemical weapons, but there are reasons to believe that the Russian army is not capable of biological warfare.

Arms Control Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2022

Western advocates of appeasement need a crash course in Putinology

By Anders Åslund

The war in Ukraine has exposed the fundamental failure of international audiences to appreciate the true nature of modern Russia. Western advocates of appeasement clearly need a crash course in Putinology.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

May 14, 2022

Ukraine wins Eurovision as European voters show song contest solidarity

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's Eurovision victory is a soft power success story that underlines the country's dominance over Russia on the information front while highlighting the strength of international solidary and support for Ukraine.

Conflict Europe & Eurasia

UkraineAlert

May 12, 2022

Independent Ukraine’s first president Leonid Kravchuk dies aged 88

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s first post-Soviet president Leonid Kravchuk passed away on May 10. He is best remembered for his leading role in the 1991 Ukrainian Declaration of Independence and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

May 12, 2022

Putin’s Imperial War: Russia unveils plans to annex southern Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Kremlin officials have underlined the expansionist imperial agenda driving Putin's Ukraine war by announcing plans to officially annex Ukraine's Kherson Oblast and incorporate it into the Russian Federation.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 11, 2022

Kazakhstan cancels Victory Day in protest over Putin’s Ukraine War

By Wilder Alejandro Sánchez, Kamila Auyezova

Kazakhstan's recent decision to cancel the country's annual WWII Victory Day parade was a small but significant indication of Nur-Sultan's opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Central Asia Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 8, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s WWII victory cult is a recipe for international aggression

By Andrej Lushnycky

Vladimir Putin has transformed Russia's traditional Victory Day commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany into a nationalistic celebration of militarism that helps justify Moscow's war of aggression in Ukraine.

Civil Society Conflict

spotlight

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.

Follow us on social media
and support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2021

Ukraine’s unlikely new political heavyweight

By Adrian Karatnycky

Ukraine has an unlikely new political heavyweight. Oleksiy Danilov is Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. He has recently become Ukraine’s most compelling voice for reform.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2021

Why the Black Sea could emerge as the world’s next great energy battleground

By Aura Sabadus

The Black Sea has vast untapped oil and gas reserves along with enormous renewable energy possibilities. This makes it potentially one of the world's great energy battlegrounds in the decades ahead.

Eastern Europe Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2021

Putin plots Ukraine peace talks without Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian diplomats have voiced alarm over Russian plans to hold Ukraine peace talks without Ukraine’s participation. The news has revived fears that Moscow aims to bypass Kyiv and reach agreement directly with the West over Ukraine’s geopolitical future.

Conflict France

UkraineAlert

Mar 26, 2021

Five reasons why Ukraine rejected Vladimir Putin’s “Russian World”

By Taras Kuzio

Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to force Ukrainian acceptance of the country's place within the "Russian World" have proved disastrous and led to the collapse of Russian influence in Ukraine.

Conflict Nationalism

UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2021

The risks of rushing to internet voting in Ukraine

By Serhii Savelii and Meredith Applegate

Ukraine’s vision for digital transformation is ambitious and includes holding online voting for all elections and referendums, but this vision fails to take into account numerous practical obstacles and risks.

Cybersecurity Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2021

Returning the US-Ukraine relationship to normalcy

By John E. Herbst

The election of Joe Biden has raised the welcome prospect of a return to normalcy in US-Ukraine ties but the past two months have demonstrated that this return to the norm will not be without challenges.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2021

Maidan’s metamorphosis mirrors Ukraine’s national coming of age

By Peter Dickinson

Over the past three decades of Ukrainian independence, Kyiv's Independence Square has undergone a post-Soviet metamorphosis that mirrors Ukraine's own national coming of age.

Democratic Transitions Resilience & Society

UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2021

Young Ukrainian mayor offers hope of a new politics

By Brian Mefford

In November 2020, residents of the western Ukrainian city Rivne voted for a dramatic change in the local political status quo by electing 34-year-old Oleksandr Tretyak as their new mayor.

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Mar 21, 2021

Germany’s Greens vow to block Putin’s pipeline

By Diane Francis

Germany's Greens have confirmed plans to block Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline if, as expected, they form part of the new German coalition government following Bundestag elections in September 2021.

Geopolitics & Energy Security Germany

UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2021

Vladimir Putin does not want peace with Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy entered office in 2019 promising to negotiate a settlement with Vladimir Putin. He now appears to have recognized that Putin does not actually want peace with Ukraine.

Conflict Democratic Transitions