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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

Oct 24, 2024

North Korean troops could help Putin avoid a risky Russian mobilization

By Olivia Yanchik

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has turned to his north Korean ally for troops to help cover his own army’s catastrophic losses in Ukraine and avoid a politically risky second wave of mobilization in Russia itself, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2024

Ukrainian journalist who exposed Russian occupation dies in Kremlin captivity

By Mercedes Sapuppo

The death of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna in Kremlin custody serves as a chilling reminder of the war crimes being committed throughout Russian-occupied Ukraine, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2024

Western leaders offer underwhelming response to Zelenskyy’s victory plan

By Aleksander Cwalina

Western leaders have failed to rally behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s victory plan, highlighting the limitations of Western support for the Ukrainian war effort, writes Aleksander Cwalina.

Conflict
France

UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2024

Axis of Autocrats: North Korea’s escalating role in Russia’s Ukraine War

By Olena Tregub

North Korean troops are reportedly set to join the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If confirmed, this would represent the latest escalation in North Korea’s support for Vladimir Putin’s imperial aggression, writes Olena Tregub.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Oct 17, 2024

Russia is indoctrinating schoolchildren throughout occupied Ukraine

By Tetiana Kotelnykova

The Kremlin is conducting a massive indoctrination campaign throughout schools in Russian-occupied Ukraine that underlines Moscow’s intention to erase Ukrainian national identity, writes Tetiana Kotelnykova.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Oct 15, 2024

Ukraine may allow drone exports in bid to support domestic producers

By Marcel Plichta

Ukraine may allow the export of drones in a bid to boost domestic production amid limited state procurement budgets and to prevent Ukrainian drone manufacturers from relocating abroad, writes Marcel Plichta.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Oct 15, 2024

As the US election nears, anxiety is mounting in Ukraine

By Katherine Spencer

Few countries have more at stake in the coming US presidential election than Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on US aid to sustain its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion, writes Kate Spencer.

Conflict
Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Oct 10, 2024

Putin doesn’t have enough troops to defeat Ukraine and defend Russia

By Peter Dickinson

The Ukrainian invasion of Russia’s Kursk region has proved that Putin’s attempt to conquer Ukraine has left his army dangerously overstretched and unable to defend Russia itself, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Oct 8, 2024

The West must learn defense tech lessons on the Ukrainian battlefield

By Edward Verona

The Russia-Ukraine War is the most technologically advanced war in history but Western military strategists and weapons developers risk missing out on key lessons due to excessive caution, writes Edward Verona.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Oct 8, 2024

Ending Russian impunity: Why Ukraine needs justice as well as security

By Kateryna Odarchenko, Lesia Zaburanna

Failing to hold Russia accountable for war crimes committed in Ukraine would set a disastrous precedent for the future of international security and would create the conditions for more war, write Kateryna Odarchenko and Lesia Zaburanna.

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.

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

Jun 10, 2020

Ukraine’s $7 billion Russian gas transit deal at risk amid claims of political pressure

By Aura Sabadus

Alleged political pressure targeting Ukraine's recently unbundled gas transmission system operator GTSO is threatening to undo Ukraine's energy sector reforms and derail a multi-billion dollar transit contract with Russia's Gazprom.

Corruption
Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2020

Ukraine’s worst move yet

By Alan Riley

The Ministry of Finance “dismissed” Walter Boltz, the chair of the Ukrainian gas transmission system operator MGU. If that independence is undermined, Gazprom may pull the transit contract and with it the guaranteed fees that Ukraine needs.

Economy & Business
Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2020

IMF finally confirms new $5 billion program for Ukraine

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine's new $5 billion IMF program unleashes at least $2 billion of additional financing. This means Ukraine can feel quite safe regarding its external financial needs for 2020.

Coronavirus
Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2020

Crimea could become an expensive liability for Putin

By Andreas Umland

The annexation of Crimea is proving expensive for the Kremlin. With Russia now facing an economic crisis fueled by the coronavirus pandemic and falling global energy prices, Putin's crowning glory may become a political liability.

Conflict
Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2020

Minsk deadlock: West must reject Russian bid to limit Ukrainian sovereignty

By Duncan Allan

The Minsk agreements remain the only existing framework for ending the war in eastern Ukraine, but they rest on two irreconcilable interpretations: is Ukraine sovereign, as Ukrainians insist, or should its sovereignty be limited, as Russia demands?

Conflict
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2020

Farcical Putin referendum confirms Russia-Ukraine geopolitical divorce

By Victor Tregubov

Russia’s farcical Putin referendum in many ways confirms the country’s geopolitical divorce from democratic Ukraine and underlines the growing distance between two countries that were once widely seen as virtually indivisible.

Democratic Transitions
Russia

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2020

Ukraine needs a whole new approach to labor migration

By Lesia Dubenko

Millions of Ukrainians have sought employment abroad since 2014, creating one of the largest labor migrations in modern European history. This process is now reviving, creating new challenges for Ukraine.

Coronavirus
Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2020

Moderate Zelenskyy makes a mockery of the Kremlin’s anti-Ukraine propaganda

By Vitaliy Syzov

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has distanced himself from the national identity politics of his predecessor Petro Poroshenko. This has significantly complicated Russian efforts to demonize "nationalistic" Ukraine.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2020

Bringing startup culture to the Ukrainian parliament

By Diane Francis

Bringing startup culture to Ukrainian politics: 34-year-old Kira Rudik is a Ukrainian IT industry superstar who entered parliament last summer and now leads the country’s reformist Holos Party.

Democratic Transitions
Technology & Innovation

UkraineAlert

Jun 2, 2020

Trump’s G7 invite for Putin will encourage more war

By Yuliia Popyk

US President Donald Trump wants to invite Vladimir Putin to the next G7 summit, despite the Russian leader's refusal to end the aggression against Ukraine that led to his initial suspension from G8 in 2014.

Conflict
France