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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

Jun 26, 2025

Putin cannot attend BRICS summit in Brazil as he fears arrest for war crimes

By
Peter Dickinson

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend next week’s annual BRICS summit in Brazil as he fears possible arrest for war crimes committed during the invasion of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Brazil
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2025

Russia’s persecution of the Crimean Tatars must not be forgotten

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

Events will take place across Ukraine this week to mark Crimean Tatar Flag Day. However, there will be no celebrations in Crimea itself, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Conflict
Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2025

US secures release of Belarusian prisoners but pressure must continue

By
Hanna Liubakova

The release of fourteen prominent Belarusian political prisoners last weekend is welcome news. But the 1172 who remain behind bars in Belarus deserve more than symbolic gestures from the West, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2025

North Korea is playing a key role in Russia’s war against Ukraine

By
Olivia Yanchik

North Korea is playing an increasingly vital support role in Russia’s war against Ukraine. This includes providing the Kremlin with vast quantities of ammunition, ballistic missiles, and thousands of men, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Defense Industry
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jun 23, 2025

‘All of Ukraine is ours’: Putin’s Russian imperialism is now on full display

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin declared last week that “all of Ukraine is ours.” The Kremlin dictator’s revealing comments highlight the resurgent Russian imperialism driving Europe’s largest invasion since WWII, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2025

New EU and US energy sanctions are needed to disarm Putin’s war machine

By
Aura Sabadus

The EU and US have prepared measures that could dramatically weaken Russia’s energy weapon and undermine Putin’s war machine. The question now is whether they have the political leadership to proceed, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2025

Addressing Georgia’s slide away from European integration

By
Matteo Mecacci

Officials in Brussels and Tbilisi must act to rebuild trust and address the deteriorating relationship between Georgia and the European Union, writes Matteo Mecacci.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2025

Putin’s Kyiv blitz sends message to G7 leaders: Russia does not want peace

By
Peter Dickinson

As G7 leaders gathered on Monday for a summit in Canada, Russia unleashed one of the largest bombardments of the Ukrainian capital since the start of Moscow’s invasion more than three years ago, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
European Union


UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2025

Russia and Ukraine are locked in an economic war of attrition

By
Anders Åslund

As the Russian army continues to wage a brutal war of attrition in Ukraine, the two nations are also locked in an economic contest that could play a key role in determining the outcome of Europe’s largest invasion since World War II, writes Anders Åslund.

Conflict
Corruption


UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2025

Ukraine is shaping the future of drone warfare at sea as well as on land

By
Peter Dickinson

Kyiv’s string of remarkable naval victories in the Battle of the Black Sea confirm that Ukrainian innovation is shaping the future of drone warfare at sea as well as on land, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry

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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

Oct 23, 2018

How Ukraine’s Cities Are Sharing Their Good Ideas

By Iryna Ozymok

Today, 54 percent of the world’s population lives in cities, and by 2030, two-thirds likely will. Mayors are city managers, responsible not only for quality of life issues like access to water, roads, and infrastructure; they’re also facing global challenges like climate change, security, and migration.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2018

How Ukraine’s Never Ending Transition Makes the Rich Richer and Everyone Else Poorer

By Tymofiy Mylovanov and Richard van Weelden

After twenty-seven years of independence, the Ukrainian economy continues to struggle. The country appears to be stuck in partial transition from the command to market economy. Many state-owned companies have been privatized, but many more remain in the custody of the state and are mismanaged. There is corporate governance and independent boards, but the assets […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2018

Good News: Ukraine Finally Gets New IMF Agreement

By Anders Åslund

On October 19, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it had finally reached a staff-level agreement with Ukraine on renewed lending. Ukraine hasn’t received any IMF funds since April 2017. Experts had warned that without an IMF tranche, Ukraine’s economy might face a serious financial crisis this fall.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 18, 2018

Church Splits, and Putin Loses Big

By Stephen Blank

Ukraine has just won a tremendous victory by obtaining the right of autocephaly, or the right to constitute the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as fully independent and free of any subservience to Moscow. This victory represents a shattering blow to Vladimir Putin’s pretenses of a Russian world (Russkii Mir) and the entire arcana imperii (Imperial relics) […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 17, 2018

The New Cold War Could Learn a Lot from the Old One

By John E. Herbst

Territories between great powers—borderlands—have always been areas of strife. So it is with the countries caught between Russia and the West, those that were once part of the Soviet Union or firmly within its sphere of influence. Much of Europe has consolidated and, with the United States, established a lasting liberal democratic order, but Russia […]

Moldova The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Oct 17, 2018

How Ukraine Can Avoid Disaster in 2019

By Taras Kuzio

Ukraine’s 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections are the most important since the country became independent nearly three decades ago. If next year’s elections follow those held in 2014 when five pro-reform political forces won a constitutional majority, Ukraine’s European integration and withdrawal from the Russian world will be assured by the next election cycle in […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 16, 2018

Ukraine, Anti-Semitism, Racism, and the Far Right​

By Adrian Karatnycky

October 14 saw the latest in a string of annual mass marches by the far right in Ukraine. As many as 10,000 people participated, mainly young men, chanting fiercely. A nighttime torchlight parade with signs proclaiming “We’ll return Ukraine to Ukrainians,” contained echoes of Nazi-style symbolism. Lax law enforcement and indifference by the security services to the operations of the far right is being noticed by extremists from abroad who […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 15, 2018

What Really Happened in Constantinople Last Week

By Cyril Hovorun

Last week Ukraine’s Orthodox Church got confirmation that it will likely receive the independence from Moscow that it has long sought. The issue is complex, and the terminology foreign to most readers. The issue of the Ukrainian church is similar to an iceberg. What appears above the surface is political, but the largest part underneath […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2018

Kyiv Patriarchate Vs. Moscow Patriarchate: David Triumphs Over Goliath

By Margo Gontar

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church will become independent. It’s hard to overestimate the significance of this change; Moscow will no longer have power over it. And that’s exactly what Russia cannot tolerate.

Civil Society Russia

UkraineAlert

Oct 11, 2018

Three more reasons why I’m optimistic about Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

There are plenty of principled, young and not-so-young people, in the pipeline.

Civil Society Corruption