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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

Aug 1, 2024

Ukraine’s new F-16 jets won’t defeat Russia but will enhance air defenses

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Mykola Bielieskov</span>

Ukraine's fledgling fleet of F-16 jets will not win the war but should strengthen the country's air defenses and help protect the civilian population from Russian bombardment, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2024

Paris Olympics: Ukrainian dedicates medal to athletes killed by Russia

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Mark Temnycky</span>

Ukrainian fencing star Olga Kharlan has won the country’s first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and dedicated her medal to the Ukrainian athletes "who couldn't be here because they were killed by Russia," writes Mark Temnycky .

Conflict France

UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2024

The West should articulate the possibility of a European future for Belarus now

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Richard Cashman</span>

Failure to articulate the possibility of a European future for Belarus leaves the Euro-Atlantic community at risk of being caught off guard without a plan when Belarus reaches its fork in the road, writes Richard Cashman.

Belarus Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2024

Putin is convinced he can outlast the West and win in Ukraine

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Mykola Bielieskov</span>

The West's collective fear of escalation and reluctance to commit to Ukrainian victory have convinced Putin that he can outlast his opponents and achieve an historic triumph in Ukraine, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jul 23, 2024

Putin accused of jailing US journalists as ‘bargaining chips’ for prisoner swap

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Mercedes Sapuppo</span>

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has been accused of using American journalists as bargaining chips after jailing US reporters Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva on dubious charges ahead of a possible prisoner swap, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Conflict Freedom and Prosperity

UkraineAlert

Jul 22, 2024

Andriy Yermak: Ukraine and NATO are restoring Europe’s security architecture

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Andriy Yermak</span>

Together with the country's allies, Ukraine has set out on the path to restore the European security architecture, writes the head of Ukraine’s Office of the President Andriy Yermak.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2024

Hungarian PM Orban poses as unlikely peacemaker for Russia’s Ukraine war

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Dmytro Tuzhanskyi</span>

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban recently embarked on a global "peace mission" to end the war in Ukraine but he may actually be more interested in strengthening his own position, writes Dmytro Tuzhanskyi.

China Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2024

Ukraine’s drone success offers a blueprint for cybersecurity strategy

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Anatoly Motkin </span>

Ukraine's rapidly expanding domestic drone industry offers a potentially appealing blueprint for the development of the country's cybersecurity capabilities, writes Anatoly Motkin.

Conflict Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Jul 16, 2024

Russia’s retreat from Crimea makes a mockery of the West’s escalation fears

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Peter Dickinson</span>

The Russian Navy's quiet retreat from Crimea highlights the emptiness of Putin's red lines and the self-defeating folly of Western escalation management, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Jul 16, 2024

I was sentenced to ten years in absentia for highlighting Belarus’s descent into dictatorship

By <span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Alesia Rudnik</span>

My recent ten-year sentence in absentia is a sure sign that Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is increasingly insecure and dependent on the Kremlin, writes Alesia Rudnik.

Belarus Civil 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.

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

Nov 4, 2020

Why war-torn east Ukraine votes for pro-Russian parties

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Mykhaylo Shtekel</span>

Pro-Russian parties did well in eastern Ukraine during local elections on October 25 as Kremlin-friendly politicians continued to dominate the region despite six years of undeclared war with Moscow.

Conflict Elections

UkraineAlert

Nov 3, 2020

Ukrainian local election results reflect country’s decentralized democracy

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Michael Druckman</span>

Ukraine's recent local elections were primarily a referendum on the quality of local governance in the country, and the result was a resounding vote of confidence in the existing municipal authorities.

Elections Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2020

Winners and losers of Ukraine’s local elections

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert">Brian Mefford</span>

Incumbent mayors emerged as the big winners of Ukraine's recent local elections with voters preferring familiar faces to rival candidates representing the country's major national political parties.

Elections Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 1, 2020

Zelenskyy vows to thwart Kremlin counter-revolution

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert">Anders Åslund</span>

A new ruling by Ukraine's Constitutional Court threatens to dismantle the entire anti-corruption framework established since 2014 and derail years of historic progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Oct 29, 2020

Reform-minded Russian industrialists can help the US contain Vladimir Putin

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Stephen Blank</span>

Independent and reform-minded Russian industrialists are potentially important allies for the United States and other Western powers as they seek to push back against Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adventurism.

Oil and Gas Russia

UkraineAlert

Oct 29, 2020

Kremlin memory wars and the search for a unifying Ukrainian national identity

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Olesya Khromeychuk</span>

Ukraine's post-Soviet quest for an inclusive national identity capable of uniting the country has had to contend with memory wars fueled by domestic political rivalries and renewed Russian imperial ambitions.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Oct 25, 2020

Ukrainian local elections: Zelenskyy fairytale is over

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert">Anders Åslund</span>

Ukraine's October 25 local elections served as a vote of no confidence in President Zelenskyy's ruling Servant of the People party and reflected a deep sense of disillusionment with all national political parties.

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2020

Ukraine’s gas market reforms can fuel change across Eastern Europe

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Aura Sabadus</span>

Ukraine’s post-2014 energy sector experience is both a success story and a role model. It is also proving increasingly persuasive in a neighborhood where energy sector reform is long overdue.

Eastern Europe Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2020

US expands sanctions against Putin’s pipeline

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert">Diane Francis</span>

US officials have this week announced more constraints on the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and put firms still involved on notice that they have 30 days to wind down operations.

European Union Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2020

City-by-city guide to Ukraine’s local elections

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert">Brian Mefford</span>

Ukrainians will vote in local elections on October 25. Brian Mefford offers a city-by-city guide to the mayoral races across the country and predicts who is likely to win in each of Ukraine's major cities.

Elections Ukraine