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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

May 30, 2024

If the West wants a sustainable peace it must commit to Ukrainian victory

By Hanna Hopko, Andrius Kubilius

Since 2022, Western policies of escalation management have failed to appease Putin and have only emboldened the Kremlin. If the West wants peace, it must help Ukraine win, write Hanna Hopko and Andrius Kubilius.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 28, 2024

‘The time has come’: Calls grow to allow Ukrainian strikes inside Russia

By Peter Dickinson

Pressure is building for the US and other NATO allies to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons for Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

May 28, 2024

Only enhanced air defenses can save Ukraine from winter energy collapse

By Aura Sabadus

Ukraine’s power grid has been decimated in recent months by a major Russian bombing campaign. In order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe this winter, the country urgently needs more air defenses, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

May 27, 2024

Russia is bombing book publishers as Putin wages war on Ukrainian identity

By Maria Avdeeva

Russia’s recent targeted bombing of a major Ukrainian book publishing plant in Kharkiv is part of the Kremlin’s wider war against Ukrainian national identity, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2024

Pride of Ukraine: Oleksandr Usyk’s historic victory boosts wartime morale

By Joshua Stein

Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk’s remarkable achievement in unifying the heavyweight division for the first time this century has provided war-torn Ukraine with a welcome morale boost, writes Joshua Stein.

Conflict
Resilience & Society

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2024

Ukraine faces long-term mental health challenges among veteran community

By Claire Szewczyk

Far away from the front lines of the country’s ongoing war with Russia, growing numbers of Ukrainian veterans are facing up to the psychological aftermath of their military service, writes Claire Szewczyk.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2024

President Zelenskyy’s term is over but he’s still a legitimate wartime leader

By Elena Davlikanova

Kremlin attempts to question the legitimacy of Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy due to the end of his official term in office ignore the obvious impossibility of holding elections amid Europe’s biggest invasion since World War II, writes Elena Davlikanova.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2024

Ukraine’s Western allies should fear Russian victory not Russian defeat

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says his country’s allies fear the potential geopolitical consequences of Russian defeat, but Russian victory is a far more realistic and alarming prospect, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2024

Ukraine’s soccer stars aim for Euro 2024 glory amid Russian invasion

By Mark Temnycky

The Ukrainian national soccer team heads to Euro 2024 in Germany this summer hoping to provide their war-weary compatriots with a much-needed morale boost, writes Mark Temnycky.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity

UkraineAlert

May 16, 2024

Anger and defiance in Kharkiv as advancing Russian troops draw closer

By Maria Avdeeva

The mood in Kharkiv is a mix of anger, anxiety, and defiance as Ukraine’s second city prepares to defend itself against a new Russian offensive, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Conflict
Drones

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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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2020

Germany and Poland compete for Ukrainian migrant workers

By Alexander Khrebet

New German labor laws introduced in March 2020 make it easier for Ukrainians to be employed in the country. This is sparking fears in Ukraine—and Poland—that we may soon see a new wave of Ukrainian economic migration.

Germany
Migration

UkraineAlert

Mar 2, 2020

US should revive Lend-Lease to contain Russia

By Stephen Blank

The Western world has repeatedly been caught out by each new phase of Vladimir Putin's hybrid war. Could a new Lend-Lease program for Central and Eastern Europe allow the West to regain the initiative from the Kremlin?

Central Europe
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 27, 2020

The lesson of Crimea: Appeasement never works

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

The international community's weak response to Vladimir Putin's 2014 seizure of Crimea was a watershed moment for global security but attempts to appease Russia continue despite six subsequent years of hybrid warfare.

Conflict
Non-Traditional Threats

UkraineAlert

Feb 26, 2020

Is Zelenskyy preparing for a thaw in Russia-Ukraine ties?

By Diane Francis

The appointment of Andriy Yermak as President Zelenskyy's new chief of staff has sparked debate over Yermak's ties to Moscow and links to pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians. Is Zelenskyy preparing for a thaw in ties with the Kremlin?

Conflict
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Feb 26, 2020

Ten steps to boost Ukraine’s economic growth in 2020

By Andy Hunder

Ukraine has achieved macroeconomic stability. It is now time to demonstrate accelerated growth. This can only be achieved by boosting Foreign Direct Investment. Andy Hunder outlines 10 steps towards achieve this goal.

Economy & Business
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 24, 2020

Why Azov should not be designated a foreign terrorist organization

By Anton Shekhovtsov

The authors of a recent New York Times op-ed produce no clear proof of ongoing links between American right-wing terrorists and a unit within Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2020

Russia loses leverage as Ukrainian exports go global

By Anders Åslund

Russia was once Ukraine's all-dominant trading partner but six years of undeclared war between the two countries has dramatically reduced bilateral trade while forcing Ukrainian exporters to broaden their horizons.

Russia
Trade and tariffs

UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2020

The case for high state salaries in Europe’s poorest country

By Peter Dickinson

As the top manager of a flagship state-owned Ukrainian company, Ukrposhta CEO Igor Smelyansky has been publicly vilified for his high salary - but he argues that competitive incomes are the only way to beat institutionalized corruption.

Corruption
Populism

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2020

How Kyiv views the 12 step plan

By ROK Movement Against Capitulation / (Рух Опору Капітуляції)

Russia must take political and material responsibility for the consequences for the crime it committed: aggression and the occupation of the Ukrainian territory.

Conflict
Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2020

Unsolved Maidan massacre casts shadow over Ukraine

By Bohdan Nahaylo

As Ukraine marks the sixth anniversary of the Maidan massacre the country is still waiting for justice. Could something akin to the kind of truth and reconciliation commissions that have proven effective in other countries also work in Ukraine?

Democratic Transitions
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding