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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

Oct 1, 2025

Plight of Belarusian political prisoners must not be forgotten

By Craig Jackson

Belarusian human rights defender Andrei Chapiuk spent almost five years in prison and says the world must not forget about the more than one thousand Belarusian political prisoners who remain behind bars.

Belarus
Civil Society

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

UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2025

Belarus dictator must not be rewarded for releasing his own prisoners

By Hanna Liubakova

Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is attempting to repair relations with the West by trading political prisoners for concessions. If this hostage diplomacy proves successful, it will strengthen Lukashenka’s grip on power, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2025

Trump called Russia a ‘paper tiger’ because he believes Putin is losing

By Peter Dickinson

US President Donald Trump now says Ukraine can defeat Russia. His dramatic change in tone reflects growing recognition that Putin’s invasion is not going according to the Kremlin plan, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2025

Ukrainians believe there can be no lasting peace without security

By Yaroslava Shvechykova-Plavska

Ukrainians are acutely aware that Russia remains determined to erase Ukraine and understand that the war will not truly be over until the Kremlin has been decisively deterred from pursuing its imperial ambitions, writes Yaroslava Shvechykova-Plavska.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity

UkraineAlert

Sep 24, 2025

What we can learn from Tibetan and Ukrainian freedom fighters

By Nolan Peterson

Nolan Peterson reflects on his experience embedded in the Tibetan and Ukrainian freedom struggles as he has sought to understand how these two nations summoned the will to defy the empires that meant to destroy them.

China
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Sep 23, 2025

Putin is escalating Russia’s hybrid war against Europe. Is Europe ready?

By Maksym Beznosiuk

Putin has clearly been encouraged by Trump’s efforts to downgrade America’s involvement in transatlantic security and feels emboldened to escalate his own hybrid war against Europe, writes Maksym Beznosiuk.

Belarus
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Sep 22, 2025

Moldova accuses Russia of election interference ahead of key vote

By Aidan Stretch

Moldova is raising the alarm over Russian interference ahead of this weekend’s parliamentary election amid fears that a pro-Kremlin victory could derail Moldova’s EU ambitions and create a new front in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writes Aidan Stretch.

Conflict
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Sep 18, 2025

Putin’s Polish probe demands decisive response to restore NATO deterrence

By Zahar Hryniv

Putin’s recent drone escalation in the skies over Poland is an unmistakable signal that NATO’s credibility is under threat. Western leaders must now respond decisively to deter further Russian aggression, writes Zahar Hryniv.

Conflict
Drones

UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2025

Europe needs a new approach to Belarus focused on practical outcomes

By Valery Kavaleuski

Belarus is a strategically crucial European nation that no European leader can afford to ignore. Evidently, the policies adopted in 2020 have not prevented the country’s slide into deepening dictatorship. It is therefore time to consider new approaches and initiatives, writes Valery Kavaleuski.

Belarus
Conflict

spotlight

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

Jul 30, 2019

A plan to transform Ukraine’s notoriously bad parliament

By Yuri Polakiwsky

Passing such legislation in the early days of a new parliament would be a monumental achievement

Corruption
Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2019

His star is on the rise

By Melinda Haring

Now, Oleksiy Honcharuk may be the next prime minister of Ukraine.

Elections
Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2019

How Russians make and hide their dirty money abroad, and what can be done to stop it

By Oleh Havrylyshyn

Most readers will not be surprised by the message of Anders Åslund’s new book Russia’s Crony Capitalism—Russia has evolved into a kleptocracy based on a combination of state capitalism and market principles—but they may be shocked by the sheer scale of wealth concentration in the hands of the privileged few, in the tens and hundreds […]

Corruption
Financial Regulation

UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2019

The company you keep

By Andreas Umland

This year’s presidential and parliamentary elections cleaned house and swept out many of the old dinosaurs. But will these new faces make any difference in the way the country runs?

Political Reform
Rule of Law

UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2019

Reagan made history, and Zelenskyy can too. Here’s how.

By Michael Yurkovich

Zelenskyy would be wise to follow Reagan’s example and be equally bold and decisive in his efforts to improve the lives of ordinary Ukrainians and bring Ukraine to its rightful place in the world.

Democratic Transitions
Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Jul 23, 2019

A unique chance for change 

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine finally has a parliament no longer dominated by businessmen. This offers a unique chance to establish rule of law and break up the oligarchic system.

Fiscal and Structural Reform
Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Jul 22, 2019

Q&A: Comedian’s party wins big again in Ukraine. Why and what’s next?

By Melinda Haring

Atlantic Council experts and UkraineAlert contributors react to the Ukrainian presidential election.

Elections
Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2019

So you got elected president of Ukraine. Now comes the hard part.

By Adrian Karatnycky

If Zelenskyy musters a non-political government of experts in domestic policy and national security, they will significantly increase the chances that his term will have real impact on the living standards and security of the Ukrainian people.

Democratic Transitions
Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Jul 17, 2019

If Zelenskyy’s serious about reform, he’ll ditch the cronies

By Diane Francis

Leaders are judged by those closest to them, and Zelenskyy’s mishandling of this matter is destroying his “brand” and will impede his reform agenda.

Elections
Fiscal and Structural Reform

UkraineAlert

Jul 16, 2019

Rise of the Zelennials: Ukraine’s parliamentary elections signal generational shift

By Peter Dickinson

The message is unmistakable: after almost three decades of chronic corruption and repeated false starts, voters want fundamental change and are willing to gamble with the country’s future in order to get it.

Elections
Political Reform