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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

May 12, 2026

Ukrainian long-range drones are turning Russia’s size into a weakness

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine is waging a strategic bombing campaign of deep strikes across the Russian Federation that aims to exploit Russia's colossal size and transform it from a key strength into a fatal weakness, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

May 12, 2026

EU targets Kyrgyzstan as Brussels seeks to prevent Russian sanctions evasion

By Marc Goedemans

The latest EU sanctions on Russia also featured measures against Kyrgyzstan. This was the first use of so-called anti-circumvention tools, which are designed to prevent third countries from helping the Kremlin bypass restrictions over the invasion of Ukraine, writes Marc Goedemans.

Central Asia Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2026

Putin is dragging Belarus deeper into Russia’s Ukraine invasion

By Hanna Liubakova

Belarus may not currently be poised to join the invasion of Ukraine, but Vladimir Putin is clearly intent on dragging the country deeper into Russia’s war effort, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 6, 2026

Ukrainian battlefield gains expose Russia’s communications problems

By Miro Sedlák

Ukraine has demonstrated in recent months that it is capable of exploiting weaknesses in Russia’s front line defenses. Kyiv’s allies should now seek to prioritize the tools that will identify and exacerbate these weak points, writes Miro Sedlák.

Conflict Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2026

Zelenskyy rains on Putin’s parade: Kyiv and Moscow declare rival ceasefires

By Peter Dickinson

Victory Day was supposed to be an opportunity for Vladimir Putin to project power. Instead, this year’s drastically scaled down parade is exposing Russia’s weakness while revealing Ukraine's strength, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

May 1, 2026

Europe needs Ukraine as it looks to counter growing Russian threat

By Zahar Hryniv

More than a year since Trump returned to the White House, it is clear that Europe needs to develop its own strategic vision for the continent’s defense. It is equally apparent that Ukraine must be central to this vision, writes Zahar Hryniv.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2026

Putin’s parade once projected power. Now it reveals Russia’s weakness.

By Peter Dickinson

Russia's annual Victory Day parade has traditionally been an opportunity for Putin to project power. This year, however, the parade has been scaled down amid fears of Ukrainian attack and risks becoming a symbol of Russian weakness, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2026

Zelenskyy refuses Russian demands to surrender Ukraine’s vital fortress belt

By Marc Goedemans

Ukraine rejects Russian demands to withdraw from northern Donetsk province as part of a peace deal and insists the region's fortress belt is absolutely indispensable for the defense of the country as a whole, writes Marc Goedemans.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2026

Ukraine’s Zelennials have youth on their side in war against Putin’s pensioners

By Peter Dickinson

It is no exaggeration to state that the current war in Ukraine is a clash of generations pitting Russia’s staunchly Soviet leadership against the radically different post-Soviet mindset of the Ukrainian authorities, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2026

Iran war could leave Ukrainian civilians exposed to Russian missiles

By Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

With the Iran war depleting global stocks of Patriot air defense interceptor missiles, fears are mounting in Kyiv that Ukrainian civilians could be left exposed to Russian ballistic missiles during an anticipated summer bombing campaign, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.

Conflict Critical Infrastructure Policy

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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

Nov 2, 2020

Winners and losers of Ukraine’s local elections

By Brian Mefford

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 Anders Åslund

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 Stephen Blank

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 Olesya Khromeychuk

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 Anders Åslund

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 Aura Sabadus

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 Diane Francis

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 Brian Mefford

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

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2020

Russian revival in Ukraine: Pro-Kremlin parties tipped to advance in local elections

By Mykola Vorobiov

Ukrainians vote in local elections this weekend. With President Zelenskyy’s ratings in decline, many see the ballot as an opportunity for Ukraine’s pro-Russian forces to regain the political initiative.

Elections Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 20, 2020

Battle for borshch: Ukraine lays claim to soup dish amid identity war with Russia

By Mark Raczkiewycz

Popular soup dish borshch has recently emerged as the latest battleground in Ukraine’s struggle to assert an independent national identity and shake off centuries of Russian imperial domination.

Conflict Disinformation