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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

Feb 20, 2024

Outgunned Ukraine bets on drones as Russian invasion enters third year

By Mykola Bielieskov

As Putin’s invasion passes the two-year mark, tech-savvy Ukraine is betting on drones as the best way to overcome Russia’s increasingly overwhelming advantage in traditional firepower, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2024

Time is running out to help Ukraine and defend the West

By Victor Pinchuk

The West is potentially overwhelmingly stronger than Russia and can enable Ukraine to win. But this will require far more effort and speed, writes Victor Pinchuk.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Feb 15, 2024

Ukraine’s Black Sea success offers hope as Russian invasion enters third year

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s remarkable success in the Battle of the Black Sea exposes the emptiness of Russia’s red lines and provides a road map for victory over Putin, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Feb 12, 2024

Putin’s history lecture reveals his dreams of a new Russian Empire

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin turned his hotly anticipated interview with Tucker Carlson into a history lecture that laid bare the dangerous delusions and imperial ambitions driving the invasion of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 8, 2024

Removal of Ukraine’s ‘Iron General’ is one of Zelenskyy’s biggest gambles

By Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy’s decision to remove Ukraine’s top general comes as no surprise but is nevertheless one of his biggest gambles of the entire war, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Feb 8, 2024

President Zelenskyy’s dual citizenship proposal presents wartime dilemmas

By Mark Temnycky

President Zelenskyy’s recent proposal to allow dual citizenship is a potentially popular but impractical measure in the current wartime conditions, writes Mark Temnycky.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2024

Ukraine opens new front with drone strikes on Russia’s energy sector

By Mykola Bielieskov

Ukraine is seeking to bring the war home to Russia in 2024 with a new long-range drone strike campaign against Putin’s oil and gas industry, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2024

Russia’s Bashkortostan protests: Separatism isn’t the real threat facing Putin

By Dylan Myles-Primakoff, Lillian Posner

The main risk to the Putin regime is unity and solidarity across regions between Russians protesting shared forms of mistreatment at the hands of the state, write Dylan Myles-Primakoff and Lillian Posner.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2024

Wartime Ukraine ranks among world’s top performers in anti-corruption index

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s partners are right to expect maximum accountability, but there are currently no grounds for abandoning the country based on claims of corruption that are both exaggerated and outdated, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2024

Zelenskyy gives Putin a long overdue history lesson

By Taras Kuzio

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s weaponization of bad history has helped fuel the bloodiest European conflict since World War II, writes Taras Kuzio.

Civil Society Conflict

spotlight

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Content

Long Take

Jan 16, 2020

Think again

By John E. Herbst

In a recent National Interest article, George Beebe dismisses US policy on Ukraine as “steeped in illusions” and argues for a “sensible alternative.” It is a nice try, but what he comes up with does not pass muster.

Conflict NATO

UkraineAlert

Jan 15, 2020

Putin makes changes as Russia stagnates

By Michael Newton

With Putin’s presidential term set to end in 2024 and parliamentary elections to take place in late 2021, Medvedev’s resignation and Putin’s proposed changes come at a time when the Russian president is looking to secure a possibly uncertain political future.

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 15, 2020

Zelenskyy’s vision for Ukrainian national identity

By Bohdan Nahaylo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s New Year 2020 address to the nation was a bold call for unity at a time of acute sensitivity towards issues of national identity - but is Ukraine ready to embrace diversity with country still facing an existential threat from ongoing Russian aggression?

Politics & Diplomacy Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2020

Iran plane tragedy proves lessons of MH17 have not been learned

By Michael Bociurkiw

Amid the outpourings of anger and grief over the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane by Iran, the disaster also raises troubling questions about aviation security and the apparent failure to learn from past tragedies of this nature such as the 2014 MH17 attack.

Conflict Iran

UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2020

Playing for the enemy: The Ukrainian footballers who sign for Russian clubs

By Andrew Todos

Is it appropriate for Ukrainian footballers to play for Russian clubs at a time when the two countries are engaged in the sixth year of an undeclared war? This debate highlights the broader discussion over the nature of ties between the two historically and culturally intertwined post-Soviet nations.

Civil Society Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Jan 9, 2020

President Zelenskyy’s New Year message misreads Ukraine’s patriotic progress

By Taras Kuzio

President Zelenskyy used his traditional New Year's Eve address to celebrate Ukrainian diversity but his attempt to downplay the importance of national symbols was not well-received by Ukrainians who feel increasingly self-confident about their national identity

Democratic Transitions Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 9, 2020

Beyond the impeachment drama: Why Ukraine matters to America

By Mark Temnycky

The impeachment of President Donald Trump has thrust relations between the United States and Ukraine into the spotlight, but some in the United States have yet to appreciate the importance of bilateral ties for broader American interests on the global stage.

Conflict Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Jan 9, 2020

Prisoner exchange lifts the veil on Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine

By Adrian Karatnycky

Moscow's insistence on the inclusion of figures with no apparent relationship to the conflict in eastern Ukraine during a recent prisoner exchange has exposed the nationwide scale of Russia's hybrid hostilities against Ukraine.

Conflict Non-Traditional Threats

UkraineAlert

Jan 6, 2020

Ukraine’s underrated economy is poised for a strong 2020

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine's economy is currently in far better shape than many people realise. In order to build on the firm foundations laid by recent years of structural reforms, the process must now continue to include a comprehensive cleansing of the country's law enforcement architecture

Corruption Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2020

Can frontline disengagements help Ukraine secure a lasting ceasefire with Putin?

By Vera Zimmerman

The path to peace in eastern Ukraine remains unclear, but localized troop withdrawals in recent months have led to renewed hopes of a reduction in the bloodshed. Can further disengegement pave the way for a lasting ceasefire?

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding