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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 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

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2024

Ukraine faces long-term mental health challenges among veteran community

By Claire Szewczyk

Far away from the front lines of the country’s ongoing war with Russia, growing numbers of Ukrainian veterans are facing up to the psychological aftermath of their military service, writes Claire Szewczyk.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2024

President Zelenskyy’s term is over but he’s still a legitimate wartime leader

By Elena Davlikanova

Kremlin attempts to question the legitimacy of Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy due to the end of his official term in office ignore the obvious impossibility of holding elections amid Europe’s biggest invasion since World War II, writes Elena Davlikanova.

Civil Society Conflict

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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

Apr 28, 2020

Coronavirus crisis spells doom for Putin’s dreams of rebuilding the Soviet empire

By Solomiia Bobrovska

The coronavirus crisis has sparked a collapse in oil prices that is hitting Russia hard. With the Kremlin coffers increasingly empty, could change be on the horizon in Moscow for the first time since 1991?

Coronavirus Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2020

Three more reasons to be optimistic about Ukraine’s future

By Adair Appleton and Doug Klain

After spending a year studying with some of the best political scientists and economists in the United States, Ukraine's up-and-coming innovators make their mark.

Civil Society Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2020

Is Saakashvili the right choice for Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili is on the verge of a highly unlikely return to Ukrainian politics as the country's new Deputy Prime Minister for Reforms. What might this mean for Ukraine?

Democratic Transitions Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2020

Does Putin want peace?

By Peter Dickinson

The election of Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine's new president in April 2019 raised hopes of a breakthrough towards peace in the country's war with Russia. One year on, it is clear that only Putin can end the conflict.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2020

Unprepared Ukraine must learn from Chornobyl fires

By Iryna Matviyishyn

Wildfires in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone generated global headlines in April and also served as a warning to Ukraine of what to expect this summer following a dry winter season of record high temperatures.

Climate Change & Climate Action Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2020

From virtual candidate to compromised president: Zelenskyy’s tough first year

By Ilya Timtchenko

Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected as the sixth president of independent Ukraine in April 2019 with a mandate to transform the way the country was governed. One year on, many voters are disillusioned.

Democratic Transitions Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2020

Ban on farmland sales to foreigners risks starving Ukraine of investment

By Bate Toms

Ukraine has recently moved to end a two-decade ban on the sale of farmland, but restrictions on purchases by foreigners will remain in place and threaten to block a key source of international investment.

Economy & Business Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2020

Ukraine cannot stay neutral in Putin’s history war

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has sought to enforce his version of history on Ukraine as part of efforts to dominate the country. It is time for Ukraine to fight back and establish its own national narratives.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2020

Coronavirus proves what Ukrainians already knew—the UN doesn’t work

By Pavlo Klimkin and Andreas Umland

The coronavirus crisis has left the United Nations badly exposed. This has not come as a surprise to many in Ukraine, where distrust of the UN has been strong since the start of Russian aggression in 2014.

Coronavirus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic: Ukraine flies to the rescue

By Alyona Getmanchuk

Ukrainian cargo planes are currently delivering vital anti-coronavirus medical supplies from China to NATO member countries, underlining Ukraine's value as a strategic partner of the Euro-Atlantic community.

Coronavirus NATO