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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

Jul 2, 2025

Ukraine’s drone wall is Europe’s first line of defense against Russia

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s drone wall is rapidly emerging as Europe’s first line of defense against the mounting military threat posed by an expansionist Russia, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2025

Putin’s escalating air offensive is overwhelming Ukraine’s defenses

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Russian aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities are expanding rapidly and killing growing numbers of civilians. Kyiv must urgently find technological solutions to defend against Putin’s escalating air offensive, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict
Defense Industry


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

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Content

UkraineAlert

Sep 11, 2018

Why We Must Speak Out about Oleg Sentsov Now

By Natalia Arno

Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker imprisoned by Russian forces in 2014, is on the verge of death. More than one hundred days ago, he began a hunger strike to demand that Russian President Vladimir Putin free sixty-four Ukrainian political prisoners being held in Russia.  Since then, Sentsov has lost almost 70 pounds and suffered cardiac complications. In early August, he confided to his lawyer that “the end was near” and this […]

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2018

Why Independence for Ukraine’s Orthodox Church Is an Earthquake for Putin

By Taras Kuzio

The creation of an autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church is Ukraine’s ultimate answer to Putin’s aggression.

Civil Society Russia

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2018

New Law Invites Corruption but Ukraine’s Government Is Actually Fixing It

By Paul Thomas

Corruption remains Ukraine’s greatest scourge. But while there are ample examples of it around the country, signs are emerging that government is heeding civil society’s cries for change. A new tax policy implemented in July 2018 is a key example: the fight to change this policy in order to directly reduce corruption is being waged […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2018

How to Lose a Presidential Election Before It Even Starts: Ukraine’s Top Reform Party Turns on Itself

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine’s Maidan reformers had a real shot at reaching a tipping point and changing the country once and for all. In 2014, the reform-oriented Samopomich party, led by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, performed far better than expected in the parliamentary elections just a few months after street protests ejected pro-Russian President Victor Yanukovych. The Lviv-based […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2018

Why Does the Press Still Take Moscow at Its Word?

By Paul Niland

Reporting on the recent killing of Alexander Zakharchenko in Donetsk, Ukraine, has enraged many, and with good reason. Far too many reports from top outlets included the phrase or something similar, “Moscow denies sending regular troops and heavy weaponry to Ukraine, the rebels, or separatists.” Of course, Moscow regularly issues such denials. However, the time […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2018

Forget Javelins. What Ukraine Needs to Get Putin’s Attention

By Stephen Blank

US Ambassador Kurt Volker recently toldThe Guardian that the United States was prepared to offer Ukraine new weapons to defend itself. There is no doubt that Ukraine needs these weapons; in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, Moscow is waging a simultaneous military and economic war against Kyiv. It has blockaded the Sea […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2018

The Past Comes Back to Haunt Putin’s Man in Ukraine

By Mykola Vorobiov

A current controversy brewing in Ukraine illustrates just how relevant the Soviet past is to Ukraine’s present and future—and just how powerful the forces are that aim to reconnect Ukraine and its former hegemon, Russia.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 5, 2018

Straight Talk: Odesa Businessman Says Foreign Investors Aren’t Worried About What You Think

By Oksana Bedratenko

Andrey Stavnitser is a second generation businessman with a clean reputation in Ukraine. He’s also young and ambitious. The bushy-bearded thirty-six-year old turned his father’s TiS company into the largest private port in Ukraine and the largest of all Ukraine’s ports by dry cargo turnover. By investing aggressively in infrastructure, Stavnitser is proving that the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 5, 2018

Mass detention of journalists exposes emerging shifts in Belarus

By Maxim Eristavi

The crackdown is the product of a transitioning Belarus, in which the forces of modernization are clashing with efforts to slow down or even halt the changes.

Belarus

UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2018

Why John McCain Scared Putin

By Stephen B. Nix

Many accolades will be written about Senator John McCain this week and deservedly so. He was a consistent champion for democracy and human rights throughout the world, and a man who always stood by his principles. In his role as chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI), McCain was considered a champion, particularly in the […]

Russia Ukraine