UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics, economy, civil society, and culture. UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders, politicians, experts, and activists from Ukraine and the global community. UkraineAlert has become a major publication in Ukraine’s news landscape and has established itself not only through its quality of content but also significant partnerships with English, Ukrainian, and Russian-language media through the country.

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

Death of Kharkiv mayor Kernes marks end of era

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
Death of Kharkiv mayor Kernes marks end of era

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
Death of Kharkiv mayor Kernes marks end of era

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

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Aug 20, 2026

As pressure mounts on Putin, Russia is escalating against Ukraine’s allies

By Peter Dickinson

With the Russian army struggling to advance in Ukraine and Ukrainian strikes increasing inside Russia, Putin is escalating his gray zone campaign against Kyiv's European allies in a bid to deprive Ukraine of vital support and rescue his faltering invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Aug 20, 2026

Zelenskyy’s recent Serbia visit was a win for Ukraine and the West

By Stephen Blank

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent visit to Serbia highlighted growing ties between Kyiv and Belgrade while also underlining wartime Ukraine's emergence as an important geopolitical player, writes Stephen Blank.

Conflict Elections

UkraineAlert

Aug 18, 2026

Odesa under attack: Russia is cutting Ukraine off from the Black Sea

By Michael Bociurkiw

Russia's current bombing strategy is not simply to punish Odesa. Moscow aims to make Ukraine's largest Black Sea port city functionally landlocked, writes Michael Bociurkiw.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Aug 18, 2026

Echoes of Odysseus in Ukraine’s ingenious approach to the art of war

By Brian Mefford

Christopher Nolan's new blockbuster film version of the Odyssey is shaped by timeless values of military ingenuity, righteous justice, and a longing for one’s homeland that offer ancient echoes of modern-day Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, writes Brian Mefford.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2026

Russian atrocities in Ukraine are escalating and demand urgent action

By Kristina Hook

When leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin embrace an ideology of national group destruction, history offers little reason to believe they can be persuaded to abandon that objective, writes Kristina Hook.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2026

Russia’s escalating bombardment of Ukraine is not ‘retaliation’

By Zahar Hryniv

Russia is attempting to portray the bombardment of Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure as "retaliation" for Ukraine's own efforts to defend itself against Putin's invasion. This "retaliation" narrative is dangerously misleading, writes Zahar Hryniv.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2026

Western weakness is encouraging Putin to test NATO

By Peter Dickinson

As Moscow's hybrid war against NATO continues to escalate, the alliance's reluctance to impose any additional costs on the Kremlin will only only embolden Putin and fuel Russian perceptions of Western weakness, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Aug 6, 2026

Ukraine cannot defeat Putin’s ballistic blitz by defensive measures alone

By Mykola Bielieskov

Putin is ramping up Russian ballistic missile production and clearly intends to bomb Ukraine into submission. If he is not stopped, the Ukrainian civilian population will pay a terrible price and Kyiv may be pushed toward capitulation, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Defense Technologies European Union

UkraineAlert

Aug 6, 2026

We should not fear a post-Putin Russia

By Brian Mefford

Some believe a post-Putin Russia could become even more aggressive toward the West. However, past experience and current practicalities suggest that the next Russian ruler may be forced to seek a less hostile path, writes Brian Mefford.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2026

Winter is coming: Ukraine warns of escalating Russian ballistic strikes

By Maksym Beznosiuk, Will Dixon

Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal has warned that Moscow will expand attacks on the country’s civilian population and critical infrastructure in the coming months as Putin seeks to finally break Ukraine’s resistance, write Maksym Beznosiuk and Will Dixon.

Conflict Defense Technologies
Load More

spotlight

Resilience in the face of adversity

Ukraine’s transformation

Ukraine has moved tentatively toward an open society and market economy since independence. The country has held several democratic elections and made halting progress in addressing corruption and state control in its economy. Since the 2014 Maidan Revolution, Ukraine has undertaken significant governance and economic reform and moved decisively toward a Europe-Atlantic foreign policy. Since 2022, Ukraine has resiliently continued to advance some reforms despite fighting for its very existence against the full-scale Russian invasion.

Learn more about Ukraine
Death of Kharkiv mayor Kernes marks end of era

UkraineAlert Dec 5, 2024

Ukraine’s entrepreneurial class can drive the country’s economic recovery

The Ukrainian SME sector has demonstrated remarkable wartime resilience and is poised to be at the forefront of efforts to create a modern, innovative, postwar economy, writes Anton Waschuk.

Read More
Death of Kharkiv mayor Kernes marks end of era

UkraineAlert Oct 1, 2024

Ukraine needs international investors to maintain defense tech momentum

By Mykhailo Fedorov

Ukraine’s rapidly expanding defense tech sector can play a game-changing role in the war against Russia but Ukrainian companies need international investment, writes Ukraine’s Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.
Artificial Intelligence Conflict
Death of Kharkiv mayor Kernes marks end of era

UkraineAlert Jun 13, 2024

Ukraine officially embraces English as historic westward pivot continues

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

By officially embracing English, Ukrainians aim to support their country’s historic pivot away from Moscow and return to the European community of nations, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.
Civil Society Conflict

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.

Learn more

Follow us on social media
and support our work

support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Dec 22, 2020

Death of Kharkiv mayor Kernes marks end of era

By Brian Mefford

The recent death of long-serving Kharkiv mayor Hennadiy Kernes marks the end of an era for the eastern Ukrainian city and ushers in a period of political jockeying in the months ahead.

Coronavirus Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2020

Ukraine’s education reforms are at risk of politicization

By Andrew D’Anieri

The controversial recent confirmation of Serhiy Shkarlet as Ukrainian Minister of Education has dragged the country's ambitious education sector reform agenda firmly into the political fray.

Education Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2020

Ukraine on trial

By Adrian Karatnycky

Fears are mounting that the prosecution of Maidan protest movement leader Tetyana Chornovol on murder charges is an attempt to put Ukraine's entire future as a European democracy on trial.

Democratic Transitions Resilience & Society

UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2020

Why East European gas markets should integrate

By Aura Sabadus

To meet the four key gas sector challenges facing them, regional countries including Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey will need to work in unison to satisfy mutual interests.

Eastern Europe Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2020

International Criminal Court is no panacea for Ukraine

By Wayne Jordash and Anna Mykytenko

The International Criminal Court announced plans in December 2020 for a probe into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine since 2014, but past experience indicates the road to justice will be long.

Conflict International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2020

International investigation into Ukraine war crimes is Kremlin’s worst nightmare

By Dmytro Kuleba

The International Criminal Court looks set to begin an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine since 2014, opening the way for a trial that could eventually hold Russia to account for its six-year war against Ukraine.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

Dec 14, 2020

The issue Ukraine’s first lady should champion vocally

By Laryssa Horodysky and Melinda Haring

A recent report by Amnesty International has highlighted the growing domestic violence crisis in war-torn eastern Ukraine. Coronavirus lockdown conditions are expected to add to the problem.

Coronavirus Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Dec 14, 2020

Reloading Ukraine’s privatization process

By Dmytro Sennychenko

The Ukrainian parliament is scheduled to consider a new bill in late December 2020 that aims to continue a radical reload of the country's privatization process begun in 2019.

Corruption Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Dec 12, 2020

National parties lose out to local candidates in Ukraine’s 2020 municipal elections

By Brian Mefford

The 2020 Ukrainian local elections were a victory for local over national politics. 11 of 24 oblast centers were won by candidates who were either self-nominated or representing their own regional party.

Elections Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 10, 2020

The EU must help resolve constitutional crisis in Kyiv

By Willem Aldershoff

Ukraine's Constitutional Court has plunged the country into a crisis that threatens its post-2014 progress. The EU can help Kyiv fight back by imposing sanctions on the MPs leading the attack on anti-corruption reforms.

Corruption Democratic Transitions
Load More