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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

Ukraine’s top five 2020 reform priorities

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
Ukraine’s top five 2020 reform priorities

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
Ukraine’s top five 2020 reform priorities

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

May 6, 2025

The shadow of 1930s appeasement hangs over US-led peace talks

By Oleksandr Merezhko

As the world prepares to mark the eightieth anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the shadow of events leading up to World War II hangs over efforts to end Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine, writes Oleksandr Merezhko.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

May 1, 2025

Putin confirms North Korean troops are fighting for Russia against Ukraine

By Olivia Yanchik

More than six months after the story was first reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially confirmed the presence of North Korean troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Conflict
Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

May 1, 2025

Cautious optimism in Kyiv as Ukraine reacts to landmark US minerals deal

By Peter Dickinson

There was a sense of cautious optimism in Kyiv on Thursday morning as Ukrainians reacted to news that a long-awaited natural resources agreement with the United States had finally been signed, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Critical Minerals

UkraineAlert

Apr 29, 2025

Putin announces ceasefire to protect Moscow parade from Ukrainian attack

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin is now so emboldened by Western weakness that he believes he can personally pause the war to host a military parade on Red Square before resuming his invasion three days later, writes Peter Dickinson.

Brazil
China

UkraineAlert

Apr 29, 2025

Kyiv accuses China of deepening involvement in Russia’s Ukraine war

By Katherine Spencer

As US-led efforts continue to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Kyiv has recently accused China of deepening its involvement in Moscow’s invasion, writes Katherine Spencer.

China
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 24, 2025

Ukraine’s innovative army can help Europe defend itself against Russia

By David Kirichenko

Faced with an isolationist US and an expansionist Russia, Ukrainians and their European partners are increasingly acknowledging that their collective future security depends on closer cooperation, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Apr 24, 2025

A pro-Putin peace deal in Ukraine would destabilize the entire world

By Elena Davlikanova, Lesia Ogryzko

Handing Russia victory in Ukraine may temporarily create the illusion of peace, but in reality it would set the stage for a dangerous new era of international insecurity marked by militarization, nuclear proliferation, and wars of aggression, write Elena Davlikanova and Lesia Ogryzko.

Conflict
International Norms

UkraineAlert

Apr 22, 2025

Putin’s cynical Easter ceasefire stunt backfires as Zelenskyy calls his bluff

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin’s surprise Easter ceasefire announcement was clearly a cynical stunt, but it did inadvertently serve an important purpose by underlining the simple fact that Russia can end the war whenever it chooses, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Apr 22, 2025

US-led peace talks hampered by Trump’s reluctance to pressure Putin

By Olivia Yanchik

US-led efforts to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine are being hampered by Donald Trump’s reluctance to put pressure on Vladimir Putin and force the Kremlin leader to accept a compromise peace, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Conflict
Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

UkraineAlert

Apr 17, 2025

Putin is attempting to intimidate Merz with yet more Russian red lines

By Peter Dickinson

As Germany’s next chancellor Friedrich Merz prepares to boost support for Ukraine, the Kremlin is already seeking to deter him with intimidation tactics, writes Peter Dickinson. Merz’s response will help define whether he is capable of leading Europe.

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
Ukraine’s top five 2020 reform priorities

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.

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Ukraine’s top five 2020 reform priorities

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
Ukraine’s top five 2020 reform priorities

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

Jan 21, 2020

Ukraine’s top five 2020 reform priorities

By Ilona Sologoub

The Zelenskyy government has outlined an ambitious reform agenda for 2020 but will they live up to the expectations of an electorate hungry for change? These five key reform areas will give a good indication of the new government's reformist credentials.

Corruption
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jan 20, 2020

A frozen conflict may be Ukraine’s best option

By James Brooke

Many hoped President Zelenskyy's April 2019 election could break the deadlock in peace talks with Russia. However, it now looks like the best Ukraine can expect is a transition from hot war to frozen conflict. That may not be such a bad outcome, argues James Brooke.

Conflict
Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 20, 2020

Is Belarus Putin’s next target?

By Diane Francis

Vladimir Putin has been turning up the pressure on Belarus in recent months as Moscow seeks to move forward with plans to merge the country into a so-called Union State with Russia, but Minsk is proving evasive. Will Belarus be the scene of Putin's next big foreign policy adventure?

Belarus
Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2020

Startup culture in a frontline city

By Diane Francis

1991 Mariupol is a new startup hub located a stone's throw away from the frontlines of Ukraine's undeclared war with Russia. Can tech innovation create opportunities for young Ukrainians facing an uncertain future due to Kremlin aggression?

Education
Technology & Innovation

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
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