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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

Nov 18, 2025

Vladimir Putin fears entering Russian history as the man who lost Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Throughout his reign, Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin has become increasingly obsessed with the idea of erasing Ukrainian independence, but his decision to invade has backfired disastrously, eroding centuries of Russian influence and accelerating Ukraine’s European integration, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Nov 17, 2025

Zelenskyy faces the biggest corruption scandal of his presidency

By Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Amid Russia’s ongoing invasion, Ukraine in now facing the largest corruption scandal of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidency over alleged kickbacks in the graft-prone energy sector, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2025

New study: Ukrainian-American businesses generate billions for US economy

By Melinda Haring

Ukrainians in the United States are making a significant contribution to the US economy and are creating thousands of jobs according to a new study, writes Melinda Haring.

Conflict
Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Nov 10, 2025

Ukraine’s drone war lesson for Europe: Technology is nothing without training

By David Kirichenko

As Europe races to strengthen its defenses against the mounting threat posed by Russian drones, more and more countries are looking to learn from Ukraine’s unrivaled experience in the rapidly evolving art of drone warfare, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Nov 10, 2025

Angelina Jolie highlights the horrors of Russia’s ‘human safari’ in Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie paid a surprise visit to Ukraine in early November to help raise international awareness about Russia’s ‘human safari’ campaign of drone killings targeting Ukrainian civilians, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Drones

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2025

Vladimir Putin’s endless nuclear threats are a sign of Russian weakness

By Stephen Blank

Since 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly used nuclear threats to deter Western support for Ukraine, but this scare tactic risks exposing Russia’s inability to project strength via more conventional means, writes Stephen Blank.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2025

Ukraine’s youth exodus highlights mounting demographic challenges

By Kateryna Odarchenko, Zoryana Golovata

Thousands of young Ukrainian men have left the country since the relaxation of martial law travel restrictions in August. The exodus has highlighted Ukraine’s mounting demographic challenges, write Kateryna Odarchenko, Zoryana Golovata.

Conflict
Economy & Business

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
Economic Sanctions

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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.

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, 2019

Ukraine emerges from isolation

By James Brooke

Transportation links provide advance warnings as to where a society is going physically and mentally. Until five years ago, all of Ukraine’s roads led to Moscow. Now they go west. On land, more Ukrainians traveled by train to Europe than to Russia last year for the first time since Czarist railroads were built in the […]

Macroeconomics
Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 17, 2019

Trump Doesn’t Have to Quit NATO to Undermine It, Expert Warns

By Melinda Haring

On January 14, the New York Times confirmed that President Donald Trump talked about pulling out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization more than once in 2018. But can the president quit NATO unilaterally?

NATO
Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2019

Putin’s dream scenario for Ukraine

By Alexander J. Motyl

Ironically, by failing to acknowledge that everything has in fact changed, Ukrainians could wind up with the worst of all possible worlds—a reversal to the status quo ante and a return to Russia’s embrace.

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2019

Ukraine’s Euromaidan Democrats Have No Shot at the Presidency, but What About Parliament?

By Andreas Umland

Ukraine’s anti-oligarchic forces have finally started the process of forming a broad pro-reform coalition in advance of the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections. On January 11, a congress of various reformist groups announced its support for the presidential candidacy of former Minister of Defense Anatoliy Hrytsenko. While the meeting was largely an event of Hrytsenko’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2019

How Will Ukraine’s Next President View the World? A Look at the Top 5 Candidates

By Mykola Vorobiov

Ukraine’s presidential election season is in full-swing. After the holiday recess, the campaign is getting even more dynamic with about forty candidates who have already declared. While the ratings fluctuate almost daily, the top five remain steady, so it’s time to dig in and start evaluating their various views. Below we’ve analyzed their foreign policy […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2019

The Best Ukraine Can Hope for with Russia in 2019

By Anders Åslund

Donald Trump has been president of the United States for two years, but it remains uncertain whether he has a Ukraine policy. His administration does, but Trump is famously superficial in his knowledge. Trump has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, hardly said anything negative about Russia, and insisted on the need to cut sanctions […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 11, 2019

Two More Ways to Make Ukraine Independent

By Olga Bielkova

Ukraine’s Orthodox Church just broke with Moscow, and it’s time for us to move farther away from Russia in the energy sector as well. Even though it is an election year, Kyiv must deliver on the country’s two strategic priorities: increasing gas production in Ukraine and jointly operating Ukraine’s transmission system. After all, energy independence […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 10, 2019

Why a Comedian’s Bid for Ukraine’s Presidency Is No Laughing Matter

By Andreas Umland

Most experts have reacted negatively to the announcement that Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy will stand in the presidential election in spring 2019. Indeed, Zelenskiy’s candidacy is problematic for at least three reasons. Still, for all the skepticism, Zelenskiy’s participation in the race may also have a bright side.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 9, 2019

Ukraine’s 2019 elections may be completely unpredictable but five things are certain

By Brian Mefford

2019 is election year in Ukraine. Ukrainians will select a new president this spring and a new parliament in the fall. Even though the outcome of the presidential race is unpredictable, there are five things about this political cycle that are not. First, no openly pro-Russian candidate can win and this is a major change […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2019

Dispatch from the road: Ukraine’s most impressive civil society project is where?

By Melinda Haring

One could be forgiven for mistaking thirty-six-year-old Yuriy Fylyuk as just another of the bearded foodie entrepreneurs who dominate Ukraine’s culinary scene. But the soft spoken Fylyuk is far more.  

Civil Society
Ukraine