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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

Ukrainian Comedian Tops Polls but Race Far from Over

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

Ukrainian Comedian Tops Polls but Race Far from Over

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

Ukrainian Comedian Tops Polls but Race Far from Over

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

Feb 1, 2023

Europe’s last empire: Putin’s Ukraine war exposes Russia’s imperial identity

By
Botakoz Kassymbekova

Vladimir Putin’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine has exposed modern Russia’s unapologetically imperial identity but could yet lead to the collapse of the Kremlin’s broader imperial ambitions, writes Botakoz Kassymbekova.

Belarus
Central Asia


UkraineAlert

Jan 31, 2023

Russia’s cyberwar against Ukraine offers vital lessons for the West

By
Yurii Shchyhol

Ukraine’s experience in countering Russian cyber warfare can provide valuable lessons while offering a glimpse into a future where wars will be waged both by conventional means and increasingly in the borderless realm of cyberspace.

Conflict
Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jan 28, 2023

Poland is leading Europe’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

By
Diane Francis

Poland was the unsung hero of the recent landmark decision by Berlin and Washington to provide Ukraine with tanks as Polish leadership continues to shape the European response to Russia’s genocidal invasion.

Conflict
Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


UkraineAlert

Jan 27, 2023

Russia is losing the energy war as Putin’s winter gas attack backfires

By
Aura Sabadus

Putin expected to use gas exports to blackmail Europe and weaken Western support for Ukraine. Instead, this tactic has backfired disastrously and undermined Russia’s position on European energy markets.

Conflict
Energy Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2023

Tanks are vital but Ukraine will need much more to defeat Putin’s Russia

By
Jeffrey Cimmino, Shelby Magid

The decision by Germany and the United States to supply Ukraine with main battle tanks is an important landmark in international efforts to counter Putin’s invasion but much more is required to defeat Russia.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2023

Scholz tank drama casts unflattering light on Germany’s Russia problem

By
Diane Francis

After months of debates and delays, Germany finally succumbed to international pressure on January 25 and announced that it would be delivering German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine and allowing others to do so.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jan 24, 2023

Putin is facing defeat in the information war

By
Peter Dickinson

Russia’s entire invasion of Ukraine has been built on a web of deceit but Putin is now facing defeat in the information war as the gap between the Kremlin’s alternative reality and the real world becomes too big to bridge.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jan 24, 2023

Wartime Ukraine must maintain course from Russian past to European future

By
Andrew D’Anieri

As Russia continues its genocidal war against Ukraine, it is more important than ever for Kyiv to maintain its commitment to the European future that so many Ukrainians are currently fighting for, writes Andrew D’Anieri.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 24, 2023

Leopard tank saga: Germany remains haunted by history

By
Bohdan Vitvitsky

Germany’s reluctance to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine reflects the ongoing influence of war guilt for the crimes of the Nazi era while also highlighting a failure to differentiate between modern Russia and the Soviet Union.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2023

Putin’s nuclear blackmail must not prevent the liberation of Crimea

By
Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Putin’s nuclear threats have led some analysts to argue against attempts to liberate Crimea but bowing down to the Russian dictator’s nuclear blackmail would have dire consequences for global security, writes Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

Conflict
European Union

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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

Ukrainian Comedian Tops Polls but Race Far from Over

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

Ukrainian Comedian Tops Polls but Race Far from Over

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

Ukrainian Comedian Tops Polls but Race Far from Over

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

Feb 12, 2019

Ukrainian Comedian Tops Polls but Race Far from Over

By Katie LaRoque

In a few weeks, a comedian may become the next president of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an unlikely candidate who plays an ordinary history teacher that becomes president of Ukraine on his popular TV series, Servant of the People, ranks as one of the most popular candidates in Ukraine’s March presidential election. Zelenskiy’s character, Vasyl Petrovych […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2019

New Political Platform in Ukraine Deserves Second Look

By Vitalii Rybak

On February 4, a group of Ukrainian politicians and activists announced the formation of a new political platform. In Ukraine, this would hardly make news. New political platforms are announced regularly, especially during election years. But this new platform, the Euro-Atlantic Agenda for Ukraine, deserves a second look. (We previously reported that this platform was […]

NATO
Russia

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2019

Why the Sajdik Plan for the Donbas Will Not Work

By Maksym Khylko

In the last year, there hasn’t been any new momentum in the effort to bring peace to Ukraine. Amid this long-lasting stalemate, the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung recently published an interview with Martin Sajdik, special representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, under the ambitious title “We Have a New Plan […]

OSCE
Russia

UkraineAlert

Feb 8, 2019

Legal Threats to Minister Imperil Ukraine’s Health Care

By Melinda Haring

Ulana Suprun just wants to get back to work turning around Ukraine’s feeble healthcare system. But she can’t focus on reforms now: the fifty-six-year-old radiologist turned health minister of Ukraine is under attack. Worst of all, she’s not sure who is behind it. On February 5, Kyiv’s Regional Administrative Court ruled to suspend Suprun’s authority […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2019

Is the Kremlin Really Afraid of a Farmer?

By Vitalii Rybak

Birthdays are typically lavish affairs in Ukraine. But not for Volodymyr Balukh, who will spend his third birthday in prison for the simple act of displaying a Ukrainian flag in Crimea. On February 8, the Ukrainian farmer turns 48. His case shows how Moscow harshly punishes Ukrainians in Crimea who have the temerity to protest […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2019

Q&A: Why Are Ukraine’s Last Reformers Being Kicked Out?

By Melinda Haring

Less than two months before Ukraine’s presidential election, two independent-minded officials are being forced out. On February 5, Kyiv’s Regional Administrative Court ruled to suspend Detroit born physician Ulana Suprun’s authority to make any decisions or sign any documents as the acting minister of health. The court pointed to a regulation that limits an acting […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 3, 2019

Rating Ukraine’s Presidential Candidates

By Alexander J. Motyl and Dennis Soltys

Three candidates have the most plausible chance of winning the first round in Ukraine’s March 31st presidential election: President Petro Poroshenko; former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko; and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a politically untested comedian whose popular television show, Servant of the People, portrays him as an intrepid corruption fighter. Zelenskiy’s popularity can be explained as a […]

Russia
Ukraine
This is the picture

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2019

Two Big Problems with Ukraine’s Elections that No One Else Has Spotted

By Mykola Vorobiov

There are many reasons to worry about Ukraine’s elections this year. The 2019 elections may be as defining as those in 2014, when Ukraine left the Russian world for good. However, so far, most analysts have missed two factors that may play an outsized role. First, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is not only a sitting […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2019

Russia looks to strike at Ukraine’s south again?

By Andreas Umland

An escalation at the Azov Sea will threaten social stability in southeastern Ukraine.

Conflict
Maritime Security

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2019

Poroshenko Runs on Stay the Course Platform

By Ruslan Minich and Vitalii Rybak

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko finally announced that he will seek reelection at a packed forum on January 29 in Kyiv. Held on the anniversary of the battle of Kruty when students and Cossacks died defending Kyiv from Bolshevik forces in 1918, organizers were hoping to stress the symbolism: Ukraine started to move away from Russia […]

Ukraine
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