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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

Vladimir Putin does Shakespeare

UkraineAlert Jan 20, 2026

Ukraine’s best security guarantee is the ability to strike back inside Russia

By Serhii Kuzan

With Kyiv’s Western allies unlikely to risk war with Russia, Ukraine’s most realistic security guarantee remains a strong military coupled with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia, writes Serhii Kuzan.
Conflict Defense Policy
Vladimir Putin does Shakespeare

UkraineAlert Jan 15, 2026

Veterans can shape the future of Ukrainian democracy

By Vasyl Sehin

The participation of military veterans in Ukraine’s political life has the potential to dramatically strengthen Ukrainian democracy and safeguard the country’s historic transition from centuries of Russian autocracy, writes Vasyl Sehin.
Conflict Democratic Transitions
Vladimir Putin does Shakespeare

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

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2025

Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s fight against Russian cyber warfare

By Oleksandr Bakalynskyi, Maggie McDonough

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is among the most technologically advanced wars the world has seen. But while rapid developments in drone warfare tend to attract most attention, the cyber front also offers important lessons for international audiences, write Oleksandr Bakalynskyi and Maggie McDonough.

Conflict Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2025

EU praises Ukraine’s progress but warns Zelenskyy over corruption

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s bid to join the EU received a boost this week with the release of a report praising the country’s progress toward future membership, but EU officials also warned President Zelenskyy about the dangers of backsliding on anti-corruption reforms, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2025

Europe finally moves to ban Russian gas but potential loopholes remain

By Aura Sabadus

The EU has recently moved to impose a full ban on Russian gas imports by 2028. After years of using energy exports to blackmail Europe and fund the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is finally facing the loss of its last European costumers, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2025

Russia’s advance on Pokrovsk exposes Ukraine’s growing manpower crisis

By Peter Dickinson

As Russian troops close in on the strategically crucial city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv’s growing manpower shortages are becoming increasingly apparent, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2025

Belarusian balloons pose new threat in Putin’s hybrid war against Europe

By Hanna Liubakova

Lithuanian officials have accused neighboring Belarus of using balloons to violate EU airspace and disrupt air traffic as part of the Kremlin's ongoing hybrid war against Europe, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus Conflict

UkraineAlert

Oct 28, 2025

UN report: Russia targets civilians in systematic bid to depopulate Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Russia is deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians in a deadly drone strike campaign that aims to depopulate large parts of the country and constitutes a crime against humanity, according to a new United Nations report, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2025

Russia’s ‘human safari’ in southern Ukraine is a warning to the world

By Oleksandr Tolokonnikov

Russia's escalating campaign of drone attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine's Kherson region highlights the destructive power of modern drone technologies, writes Oleksandr Tolokonnikov.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2025

US voices concern over Chinese support for Russia’s Ukraine invasion

By Katherine Spencer

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has raised concerns over Chinese components in Russian military drones amid fresh allegations of Beijing’s mounting support for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, writes Katherine Spencer.

China Conflict

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2025

Budapest summit postponed as Putin rejects Trump’s ceasefire proposal

By Peter Dickinson

Just days after US President Donald Trump announced plans for a new summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, their proposed Budapest meeting has been thrown into doubt by Russia's rejection of a ceasefire in Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2025

Vladimir Putin’s war machine may finally be running out of fuel

By Vladyslav Davydov

Ukraine’s deep strikes on Russia's energy industry have exposed Putin’s Achilles heel and helped demonstrate that the Russian economy is far more fragile than many in Moscow would like us to believe, writes Vladyslav Davydov .

Conflict Drones
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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
Vladimir Putin does Shakespeare

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.

Read More
Vladimir Putin does Shakespeare

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
Vladimir Putin does Shakespeare

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

Apr 29, 2019

Vladimir Putin does Shakespeare

By Stephen Blank

Vladimir Putin’s newest display of talent is his excelling in theatrics. He recently elected to play Macbeth or Richard III. Having nothing left to offer Russia as the indices of immiseration pile up, Putin’s recourse to imperial theatrics has dramatically accelerated. But ultimately this performance, like those of his predecessors on stage and in reality, […]

Conflict Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Apr 26, 2019

What is wrong with the Ukrainian economy?

By Anders Åslund

Construction is booming in Kyiv, Ukraine, but not the rest of the economy. A major reason is that Ukrainians with some extra savings do not put their money into banks but buy additional apartments instead. Others keep their savings in cash. On average, Ukrainian MPs keep $700,000 at home. Those who have a lot of […]

Financial Regulation Fiscal and Structural Reform

UkraineAlert

Apr 25, 2019

10 ways the west should engage with Ukraine after 2019 elections

By Chatham House

Five years after the annexation of Crimea and the instigation of conflict in the Donbas, the reasons for continued sanctions on Russia have not gone away. Crimea is still occupied. War grinds on in the Donbas. Ukraine held presidential elections this spring and will hold parliamentary elections in the fall. Whatever the results, events in […]

Defense Policy Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Apr 25, 2019

What Zelenskiy’s victory means for Ukraine

By David J. Kramer

The temptation in Kyiv and elsewhere is to look past Sunday’s overwhelming victory by upstart Volodymyr Zelenskiy over incumbent Petro Poroshenko and try to divine what it means for Ukraine. This piece will yield to that temptation—but after acknowledging the importance of what happened Sunday and throughout the election campaign. Free and fair elections in […]

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Apr 24, 2019

How history will judge Poroshenko

By Alexander J. Motyl

The majority of Ukraine’s voters and pundits detest President Petro Poroshenko who lost his chance at a second term on April 21. However, history will prove them wrong and judge him as Ukraine’s most successful leader. Indeed, Poroshenko will go down in the annals as the man who consolidated Ukraine’s state, nation, democracy, and the […]

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2019

Why Poroshenko lost

By Dennis Soltys

On April 21, television star Volodymyr Zelenskiy crushed incumbent president Petro Poroshenko in the second round of Ukraine’s presidential election. Even though Zelenskiy has never held elected office, voters were so tired of corruption and economic stagnation that they were willing to take a risk. Zelenskiy ran an unusual campaign. He made few programmatic promises […]

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2019

Transition challenges for an outsider president

By Adrian Karatnycky

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, elected to Ukraine’s presidency Sunday in a landslide, may be one of the least prepared leaders to head a democracy in world history. Not only is he an outsider, whose main experience of politics has been to play a president in a satirical television program, he has done little to prepare for the job. […]

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Apr 18, 2019

How the west helped put a comedian in reach of Ukraine’s presidency

By Mary Mycio

With polls putting Ukraine’s incumbent president Petro Poroshenko far behind TV actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy ahead of Sunday’s run-off election, it is worth considering how the West helped put this secretive comedian, backed by oligarchs, on the cusp of becoming commander-in-chief of a country at war with the Kremlin. A case in point occurred in February, […]

Conflict Elections

UkraineAlert

Apr 18, 2019

Don’t believe the hype. Presidential elections aren’t what matters in Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

There’s election fever in Kyiv, and with less than a week before Ukrainians go to the polls to likely elect an inexperienced comedian as their next president, the outcome is all but certain. Volodymyr Zelenskiy should easily defeat incumbent President Petro Poroshenko on April 21.      The far more interesting question is who will […]

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

Apr 17, 2019

What does it mean to be Ukrainian today?

By Bohdan Nahaylo

The day of judgement in the Ukrainian presidential election is almost upon us. This is not just a contest between two political contenders and their supporters, representing different backgrounds, styles, and constituencies, or even visions, but something more fundamental. It is a clash between the old and the new. Between traditional Ukraine, in the political […]

Defense Policy Elections
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