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.

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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

Zelenskyy at home: One year of domestic reform?

UkraineAlert Jan 20, 2026

Ukraine’s best security guarantee is the ability to strike back inside Russia

By Serhii Kuzan

With Kyiv’s Western allies unlikely to risk war with Russia, Ukraine’s most realistic security guarantee remains a strong military coupled with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia, writes Serhii Kuzan.
Conflict Defense Policy
Zelenskyy at home: One year of domestic reform?

UkraineAlert Jan 15, 2026

Veterans can shape the future of Ukrainian democracy

By Vasyl Sehin

The participation of military veterans in Ukraine’s political life has the potential to dramatically strengthen Ukrainian democracy and safeguard the country’s historic transition from centuries of Russian autocracy, writes Vasyl Sehin.
Conflict Democratic Transitions
Zelenskyy at home: One year of domestic reform?

UkraineAlert Jan 8, 2026

Ukraine’s robot army will be crucial in 2026 but drones can’t replace infantry

By David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s growing robot army of land drones will play a vital role in the country’s defense during 2026, but they are not wonder weapons and cannot serve as a miracle cure for Kyiv’s manpower shortages, writes David Kirichenko.
Artificial Intelligence Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2026

As Russian battlefield losses mount, Putin is turning to Africa for soldiers

By Katherine Spencer

Russia’s growing reliance on African recruits to continue the war in Ukraine is a powerful symbol of an invasion that has gone horribly wrong for Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, writes Katherine Spencer.

Africa Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2026

Ukrainian defense tech companies must prepare for export opportunities

By Michael Druckman

Ukraine’s defense sector has already demonstrated enormous battlefield credibility. The next phase is commercial and institutional credibility, writes Michael Druckman.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2026

A bad Ukraine peace could ignite new wars in Russia’s former empire

By Joseph Epstein

If a settlement in Ukraine frees up Russian military resources without establishing credible deterrents against further Kremlin aggression, Moscow will have the means and the motive to reassert dominance elsewhere in its former empire, writes Joseph Epstein.

Central Asia European Union

UkraineAlert

Feb 12, 2026

Vladimir Putin is trapped in a war he cannot win but dare not end

By Peter Dickinson

As the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale Ukraine invasion approaches, Vladimir Putin finds himself trapped in a war he cannot win but dare not end for fear of entering Russian history as the man who lost Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 12, 2026

Ukraine says lifting football ban would risk legitimizing Russia’s invasion

By Mark Temnycky

Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi has slammed calls for Russia’s return to international football and warned that any attempt to reinstate the Russians would risk legitimizing the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, writes Mark Temnycky.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 9, 2026

The Putin regime faces mounting pressure but is still far from collapse

By Will Dixon, Maksym Beznosiuk

Russia is facing mounting challenges on the battlefield in Ukraine and on the home front, but predictions that the Putin regime is on the brink of collapse remain premature, write Will Dixon and Maksym Beznosiuk.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2026

Death by cold: Russia is attempting to freeze millions of Ukrainian civilians

By Kristina Hook

Russia is methodically bombing Ukraine's power and heating infrastructure amid arctic weather conditions in a bid to freeze millions of Ukrainian civilians and make much of the country unlivable, writes Kristina Hook.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Feb 5, 2026

Ukrainian democracy is proving its resilience in wartime conditions

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

Since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago, Ukrainians have accepted the necessity of wartime measures to concentrate power while remaining committed to safeguarding the country's hard-won democratic gains, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 5, 2026

Vladimir Putin must not have a veto over security guarantees for Ukraine

By Iulian Romanyshyn

If European leaders want to secure a place at the negotiating table, they must demonstrate to the Kremlin that Russia does not have a veto over security guarantees for Ukraine, writes Iulian Romanyshyn.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2026

Ukraine is leading a military revolution but needs more Western support

By Marc De Vore

The military revolution Ukraine is leading has already succeeded in democratizing the production of long-range strike systems. With more support from Kyiv’s partners, this revolution offers a viable pathway to Russia’s battlefield defeat and can set the stage for an acceptable peace, writes Dr Marc De Vore.

Conflict Defense Industry
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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
Zelenskyy at home: One year of domestic reform?

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
Zelenskyy at home: One year of domestic reform?

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
Zelenskyy at home: One year of domestic reform?

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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Content

UkraineAlert

May 28, 2020

Zelenskyy at home: One year of domestic reform?

By Adrian Hoefer

Since his election last year, President Zelenskyy and his government have pledged to transform and energize Ukraine’s economy. Those pledges have not been realized. Why, and what should the government do this year to live up to those promises?

Economy & Business Political Reform

UkraineAlert

May 28, 2020

Can post-pandemic Ukraine prevent another exodus?

By Michael Druckman

As Ukraine looks towards the post-coronavirus recovery period, the country needs to think hard about how it intends to persuade millions of Ukrainian migrant workers to build their futures at home.

Coronavirus Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

May 27, 2020

Ukrainians who fled Putin face new pandemic realities

By Iryna Matviyishyn

For the estimated 1.4 million Ukrainians internally displaced by Putin's war, the past six years have brought traumatic change. These IDPs are now facing the further challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

Conflict Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2020

Ukrainian local elections: Will Zelenskyy win again?

By Mykola Vorobiov

Ukraine will hold local elections in October 2020. This will be the first big test for President Zelenskyy and his Servant of the People party since landslide victories in 2019's presidential and parliamentary votes.

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2020

Statement by former US Ambassadors to Ukraine

By Atlantic Council Eurasia Center

Former US ambassadors to Ukraine emphasize the importance of the US-Ukraine relationship.

Politics & Diplomacy Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2020

Ukraine’s showbiz president shuns mainstream media

By Tetiana Gaiduk

Volodymyr Zelenskyy won the Ukrainian presidency with a campaign that positioned him as an everyman alternative to the country's discredited political elite, but a lack of media engagement now risks undermining his democratic credentials.

Democratic Transitions Internet

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2020

Russo-Ukrainian War: Zelenskyy unable to find path to peace with Putin

By Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy’s talk of a new approach to peace with Russia proved hugely attractive to the war-weary Ukrainian public in 2019. However, one year on, there is very little to show for this initial optimism.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2020

Ukraine’s novice president may yet live up to the hype

By Tetiana Popova

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has struggled to match the sky high expectations that accompanied his historic 2019 election win, but he has done enough during his first year to suggest he may yet live up to the hype, says Tetiana Popova.

Crisis Management Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

May 20, 2020

Ukraine’s road agency head: Vast infrastructure upgrade continues despite pandemic

By Oleksandr Kubrakov

The coronavirus crisis is creating huge challenges for the global economy and Ukraine is no exception. Nevertheless, the most ambitious construction undertaking in independent Ukraine’s history remains very much on track.

Coronavirus Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

May 20, 2020

Walking a tight rope, one year of Zelenskyy’s foreign policy

By Adair Appleton

One year ago, Zelenskyy promised to make Ukraine rich, slay corruption, and bring peace to eastern Ukraine. Skeptics will say that his moves amounted to nothing, but others are impressed that he’s putting in the work.

Conflict Defense Policy
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