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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

Apr 28, 2023

Placing Russian nukes in Belarus could destabilize Putin’s last ally

By
Olivia Yanchik

Vladimir Putin’s decision to place nuclear weapons in Belarus will strengthen Russia’s grip on the country but could also spark a new wave of opposition to Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Belarus
Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2023

Iranian and Syrian factors shape Israeli response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion

By
Joseph Roche

Israel has sought to minimize its involvement in the international response to Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion, but deepening military cooperation between Russia and Iran may force a change in the Israeli position.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Apr 26, 2023

Xi calls Zelenskyy but doubts remain over China’s peacemaker credentials

By
Peter Dickinson

China’s Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke for over an hour by phone on April 26 in what was the first conversation between the two leaders since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began more than fourteen months ago.

China
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Apr 25, 2023

Putin’s dreams of a new Russian Empire are unraveling in Ukraine

By
Mark Temnycky

Putin saw the invasion of Ukraine as a key step toward rebuilding the Russian Empire. Instead, it has forced countries across the former Soviet Union to distance themselves from the Kremlin, writes Mark Temnycky.

Central Asia
Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Apr 25, 2023

Russia’s invasion highlights the need to invest more in Ukrainian studies

By
Oleksandra Gaidai

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the need for greater international investment into Ukrainian studies but has also created huge challenges for Ukrainian academia, writes Oleksandra Gaidai.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2023

There can be no lasting peace with Russia until Ukraine liberates Crimea

By
Mariia Zolkina

Some skeptics question the feasibility and wisdom of a military campaign to de-occupy Crimea, but no lasting peace with Putin’s Russia will be possible until the Ukrainian peninsula is liberated, argues Mariia Zolkina.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2023

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also being fought in cyberspace

By
Vera Mironova

While the war in Ukraine often resembles the trench warfare of the twentieth century, the battle for cyber dominance is highly innovative and offers insights into the future of international aggression, writes Vera Mironova.

Conflict
Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Apr 18, 2023

Russia’s Ukraine invasion is the latest stage in the unfinished Soviet collapse

By
Richard Cashman

Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is best understood as the latest stage in the unfinished collapse of the Soviet Union and as part of Russia’s historic retreat from empire, argues Richard Cashman.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Apr 18, 2023

Vladimir Kara-Murza’s 25-year sentence is a verdict against all Russians

By
Arseniy Yatsenyuk

Vladimir Kara-Murza’s 25-year prison sentence for speaking the truth about the invasion of Ukraine is a major milestone in modern Russia’s descent into Stalinism, says former Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Apr 14, 2023

Ukrainian victory “could help ensure Europe’s future energy security”

By
Diane Francis

Ukraine has massive potential to increase domestic energy production and could eventually replace Russian energy exports to the European Union in the post-war era, says Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov.

Conflict
European Union

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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

Sep 17, 2018

Six Steps to Move Ukraine Forward Before the 2019 Elections

By Olena Prokopenko

Ukraine has less than four months before the presidential campaign season begins in earnest on December 31. The media is already full of populist promises and ads defaming political competitors. Outdoor advertising is dominated by catchy slogans and the old faces of party leaders. TV channels are being redistributed between their oligarch owners. What can […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2018

Deep Dive: How Ukraine’s Presidential Candidates Plan to Win

By Olexiy Minakov

Ukraine’s presidential campaign season has unofficially begun. Almost half a year before the presidential race in March 2019, candidates have already settled on basic strategies. Let’s analyze their messages—how they separate themselves from their competitors and try to create an attractive image, what ideas “sell,” how they struggle with criticism, negativity, compromise, and ultimately, how […]

Russia Ukraine

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