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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

What Zelenskyy’s perfect picture is missing

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
What Zelenskyy’s perfect picture is missing

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
What Zelenskyy’s perfect picture is missing

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

Jan 13, 2026

Putin is weaponizing winter as Russia tries to freeze Ukraine into submission

By Peter Dickinson

Russia is “going all in” to destroy Ukraine’s power system, Ukrainian Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk said on January 13 following the latest in a series of major bombardments targeting civilian energy infrastructure in cities across the country.

Conflict
Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2026

Putin cannot accept any peace deal that secures Ukrainian statehood

By William Dixon, Maksym Beznosiuk

Putin has no obvious route to victory in 2026 but cannot accept a compromise peace as any settlement that safeguarded Ukrainian independence would be seen in Moscow as an historic Russian defeat, write William Dixon and Maksym Beznosiuk.

Conflict
Nationalism

UkraineAlert

Jan 11, 2026

Belarus hosts nuclear-capable Russian missiles despite talk of US thaw

By Mercedes Sapuppo

Russia’s recent delivery of nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles to Belarus is a very deliberate act of nuclear saber-rattling that underlines Belarus’s continued role in Putin’s war machine as Minsk seeks to improve ties with the US, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Belarus
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2026

Russia’s war on Ukrainian farmers threatens global food security

By Oleksandr Tolokonnikov

By attacking Ukrainian farmers, Russia seeks to undermine Ukraine’s food security, just as it targets the country’s energy infrastructure to deprive the civilian population of access to electricity and heating, writes Oleksandr Tolokonnikov.

Conflict
Drones

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

UkraineAlert

Jan 7, 2026

Ukraine security guarantees are futile without increased pressure on Putin

By Peter Dickinson

Western leaders have hailed progress toward “robust” security guarantees for Ukraine this week, but until Putin faces increased pressure to make peace, Russia will remain committed to continuing the war, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
France

UkraineAlert

Dec 24, 2025

The art of war is undergoing a technological revolution in Ukraine

By Oleg Dunda

Ukraine’s battlefield experience since 2022 confirms that in order to be successful in modern warfare, armies should model themselves on technological giants like Amazon and SpaceX, writes Oleg Dunda.

Conflict
Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Dec 23, 2025

Reclaiming Russia’s ‘historical lands’: How far do Putin’s imperial ambitions extend?

By Peter Dickinson

Putin has again vowed to “liberate Russia’s historical lands” via negotiations or military means. The list of countries that could qualify as “historically Russian” in Putin’s revisionist worldview is long and extends far beyond Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Central Europe
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 18, 2025

Prisoner releases are welcome news but talk of a Belarus thaw is premature

By Hanna Liubakova

The freeing of 123 political prisoners in Belarus last week is encouraging news but should not be interpreted as an indication of more fundamental change, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 18, 2025

What’s in the new US defense bill for Ukraine?

By Doug Klain

The NDAA includes the best legislative support from Congress that Ukraine has received all year. At the same time, it also underscores the dramatic reduction in overall US support for Ukraine during 2025, writes Doug Klain.

Conflict
Human Rights
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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
What Zelenskyy’s perfect picture is missing

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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What Zelenskyy’s perfect picture is missing

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
What Zelenskyy’s perfect picture is missing

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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2019

What Zelenskyy’s perfect picture is missing

By Olena Prokopenko

The future of Ukraine’s key reform driver, its vibrant civil society, is missing and seriously threatened both by internal and external challenges.

Civil Society
Elections

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2019

Ukraine’s libertarian revolution

By James Brooke

Many Ukrainian free marketers are sulking in the sidelines because they misread the Zelenskyy movement last spring.

Elections
Macroeconomics

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2019

Removing the stigma: Ukraine launches suicide prevention hotline for veterans

By Peter Dickinson

Mental health issues remain largely taboo in Ukrainian society, where the prevalence of traditional machismo culture has long fueled a “boys don’t cry” mentality

Conflict
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Sep 8, 2019

It was worth it

By Alexander Khrebet

The whole world watched his first steps in this direction today on the tarmac of the Boryspil airport, and this success may give the new president greater confidence as well.

Conflict
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Sep 8, 2019

What price did Ukraine pay for prisoner exchange?

By Iryna Matviyishyn

The long-awaited return brought tears not only to the eyes of their loved ones but also to many Ukrainians who rooted for their liberation.

Conflict
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Sep 8, 2019

Q&A: What does Ukraine-Russia prisoner swap mean?

By Melinda Haring

"Putin may hope that Western praise for his 'humanitarian gesture' will reduce the pressure on Moscow to end its undeclared war in the Donbas and place the onus on Zelenskyy to make all of the concessions."

Conflict
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2019

The saga of David and Goliath on the outskirts of Kyiv

By Yuri Polakiwsky

As a newly elected president and parliament have been sworn in, and a new government formed, the new political class must be ready to radically transform the values of Ukraine’s business culture.

Economy & Business
Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Sep 4, 2019

Danger ahead

By Willem Aldershoff

Although every Ukrainian understandably wishes a quick end to the war in the Donbas and a lasting settlement of the conflict, Ukraine is strongly advised to approach any Minsk Summit with the greatest care.

European Union
International Norms

UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2019

So far, so good

By Oleh Havrylyshyn and Basil Kalymon

The Zelenskyy administration’s very positive statements, if translated into policies, would open a new era of economic growth and opportunity for Ukraine.

Macroeconomics
Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2019

Want investors to take Ukraine seriously? The solution is obvious

By Mykhailo Zhernakov

Now is time to change Ukraine’s courts, and we can make it happen, so long as our Western friends speak out loudly and forcefully at the right moments.

Corruption
Political Reform
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