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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

East Ukraine: Between a pandemic and a war zone

UkraineAlert Sep 30, 2025

Putin’s dream of demilitarizing Ukraine has turned into his worst nightmare

By Peter Dickinson

Putin had hoped to demilitarize and decapitate the Ukrainian state, but his self-defeating invasion has inadvertently created the militarily powerful and fiercely independent Ukraine he feared most of all, writes Peter Dickinson.
Conflict Defense Technologies
East Ukraine: Between a pandemic and a war zone

UkraineAlert Oct 2, 2025

Drone superpower Ukraine is teaching NATO how to defend against Russia

By David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s unrivaled experience of drone warfare makes it a key partner for NATO and an indispensable ally in the defense of Europe as the continent faces up to the mounting threat posed by an expansionist Russia, writes David Kirichenko.
Conflict Defense Technologies
East Ukraine: Between a pandemic and a war zone

UkraineAlert Oct 14, 2025

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are a European problem

By Aura Sabadus

Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure are no longer just a Ukrainian problem. Moscow’s bombing campaign will become a wider European issue unless more support is offered to Kyiv, writes Aura Sabadus.
Conflict Drones

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Dec 23, 2021

Ukraine enters holiday season with anti-corruption reforms in danger

By Tetiana Shevchuk

As Ukrainians prepare for the festive holiday season, the country’s anti-corruption reforms are in grave danger after a designated selection panel refused to approve the appointment of the country’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor.

Civil Society
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2021

A Russian invasion of Ukraine could be Vladimir Putin’s downfall

By Taras Kuzio

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently threatening to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine but his plans do not appear to enjoy widespread support among the Russian public and could destabilize the regime.

Conflict
Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2021

Russian court accidentally delivers guilty verdict on Putin’s Ukraine war

By Peter Dickinson

A Russian court in Rostov has accidentally issued a guilty verdict on Putin’s Ukraine war by publishing official documents confirming the presence of Russian military units in Kremlin-occupied eastern Ukraine.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Dec 16, 2021

Vladimir Putin fears Ukrainian democracy not NATO expansion

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin’s claims of a growing NATO presence in Ukraine are not matched by facts on the ground. In reality, protests over NATO expansion are an excuse to escalate Russia’s eight-year war against Ukraine.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Dec 15, 2021

Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s post-Maidan reform experience

By Anton Yashchenko

Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s post-Maidan reform experience: the country’s Reforms Delivery Office team has shared ten key insights based on the past five years at the heart of the country’s ambitious reform agenda.

Civil Society
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Dec 11, 2021

Memo to the international media: Putin has already invaded Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

One depressing aspect of Russia’s latest military build-up on the Ukrainian border has been the flurry of headlines posing the same question: will Putin invade Ukraine? In reality, Russia has already invaded Ukraine and the war is now in its eighth year.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2021

Biden and Putin hold virtual Ukraine summit amid Russian invasion fears

By Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke via video link on December 7 to address growing concerns over a major Russian military build-up along the country’s border with Ukraine.

Conflict
NATO

UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2021

Independent Ukraine’s free speech gains are under threat

By Kira Rudik

Allegations of state pressure on media have left many questioning President Zelenskyy’s commitment to maintaining independent Ukraine’s hard-fought free speech gains.

Democratic Transitions
Media

UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2021

Biden warns Putin of high costs if Russia launches new Ukraine invasion

By Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that America and its European allies will impose a range of tough new sanctions if Moscow proceeds with its threatened invasion of Ukraine.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Dec 7, 2021

Coal mine methane is key to Ukraine’s climate commitment

By Conal Campbell

Ukraine joined the Global Methane Pledge at the November 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. The country’s approach towards the coal mining industry will be vital in making good on this pledge.

Climate Change & Climate Action
Economy & Business
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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
East Ukraine: Between a pandemic and a war zone

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
East Ukraine: Between a pandemic and a war zone

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
East Ukraine: Between a pandemic and a war zone

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.

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UkraineAlert

May 4, 2020

East Ukraine: Between a pandemic and a war zone

By Eric Fritz and Frank Martin

Covid-19 is a global crisis, but its impacts on war zones will prove to be uniquely tragic. Nowhere is this more evident than in the conflict-stricken Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Conflict
Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2020

Zelenskyy prefers to stay silent on Russian war guilt

By Taras Kuzio

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made ending the country’s ongoing war with Russia his top priority. However, his reluctance to hold Moscow publicly responsible for the conflict risks complicating efforts to secure peace.

Conflict
Russia

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2020

A serious but flawed look at peace in the Donbas

By John E. Herbst

The conflict in the Donbas cannot be solved by Ukraine and Russia alone, but the West must not unconditionally accept a "Russian consensus" to achieve it.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

May 3, 2020

Zelenskyy fails to deliver on promise of a new beginning

By David Clark

Volodymyr Zelenskyy won the Ukrainian presidency in spring 2019 as a political outsider promising an end to decades of corrupt government. One year on, Ukrainians are still waiting for evidence of this fight against corruption.

Democratic Transitions
Populism

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2020

Putin must end Ukraine war if he wants sanctions relief

By Lisa Yasko

The Kremlin is calling for sanctions to be relaxed as part of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, but Putin has shown no accompanying inclination to end Russia's six-year war in Ukraine.

Conflict
Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2020

Ukraine must continue electoral reform in 2020

By Harald Jepsen

Ukraine's fledgling democracy has made huge progress in recent years, but further reform of the country's Election Code is urgently required ahead of October's planned local elections, argues Harald Jepsen.

Democratic Transitions
Elections

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2020

Broadening Ukraine’s foreign policy horizons in the post-coronavirus world

By Hanna Shelest

Ukraine's foreign policy has traditionally focused on the choice between Russia and the West, but the country could benefit from a more global approach to diplomacy with clearly defined regional strategies.

Coronavirus
Politics & Diplomacy

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
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