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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

Oct 21, 2025

Budapest summit postponed as Putin rejects Trump’s ceasefire proposal

By Peter Dickinson

Just days after US President Donald Trump announced plans for a new summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, their proposed Budapest meeting has been thrown into doubt by Russia’s rejection of a ceasefire in Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2025

Vladimir Putin’s war machine may finally be running out of fuel

By Vladyslav Davydov

Ukraine’s deep strikes on Russia’s energy industry have exposed Putin’s Achilles heel and helped demonstrate that the Russian economy is far more fragile than many in Moscow would like us to believe, writes Vladyslav Davydov .

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Oct 16, 2025

Putin seeks more foreign fighters amid mounting Russian losses in Ukraine

By David Kirichenko

With fewer and fewer Russians ready to volunteer for the war in Ukraine, Putin is seeking to recruit more foreign fighters from across Africa, Asia, and beyond, writes David Kirichenko.

Africa Americas

UkraineAlert

Oct 16, 2025

Ukraine’s drone sanctions are working but don’t expect a Russian revolt

By Christopher Isajiw

Ukraine’s long-range drone strike campaign has brought Putin’s invasion home to Russia but mounting domestic problems are unlikely to spark a rebellion against the Kremlin dictatorship, writes Christopher Isajiw.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2025

Tomahawk missiles are Russia’s latest red line. Will Trump call Putin’s bluff?

By Peter Dickinson

Time and again since 2022, Moscow has declared a new red line while warning of the West of nuclear escalation, only to then do nothing when their red lines are crossed. Trump can now call Putin’s bluff over Russia’s latest red line by providing Ukraine with Tomahawks, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

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

UkraineAlert

Oct 9, 2025

Putin the geopolitical gangster is trying to intimidate Europe

By Peter Dickinson

Putin the geopolitical gangster is trying to intimidate Europe into abandoning Ukraine with an escalating campaign of gray zone aggression designed to highlight the continent’s vulnerability to Russian attack, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Oct 8, 2025

Ukraine’s defense tech sector must guard against innovation drain

By Andriy Dovbenko

Without robust intellectual property (IP) protections, Ukraine may lose control of the defense tech innovations that are currently helping to defend the country on the battlefield, writes Andriy Dovbenko.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Oct 6, 2025

Putin rejected Trump’s generous deal. Time to try peace through strength.

By Sergiy Solodkyy

President Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine by offering Putin Kremlin-friendly peace terms have failed to convince the Russian dictator. It is now time to speak to Putin in the language of strength, the only language he truly understands, writes Sergiy Solodkyy.

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Oct 4, 2025

Putin’s Moldova election failure highlights Russia’s declining influence

By Kateryna Odarchenko

Russia’s failed bid to sway recent elections in Moldova underscores the challenges Putin faces as he seeks to reassert Russian dominance over countries once ruled from the Kremlin at a time when Moscow’s ability to project power is increasingly in question, writes Kateryna Odarchenko.

Conflict Corruption

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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

Aug 1, 2018

Even with ProZorro, we should expect the same old thing when it comes to privatization in Ukraine

By Paul Thomas

The Ukrainian government should be commended for its recent improvements to the privatization process but it must, after twenty-five years, finally adopt a privatization strategy that benefits the economy and not just the budget.

Economy & Business Fiscal and Structural Reform

UkraineAlert

Aug 1, 2018

How One Entrepreneur Is Changing Ukraine One Bowl of Borscht at a Time

By Kateryna Kruk

A successful entrepreneur, graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, winner of a popular cooking show, social media influencer, and brand chief at several Kyiv restaurants, it would seem that thirty-one year old Ievgen Klopotenko has it all. However, few know that his most ambitious plan isn’t about business. He wants to change […]

UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2018

If Trump Wants to Show He’s Tough on Russia, Here’s What He Should Do Next

By Roman Sohn and Ariana Gic

On July 25, the United States reaffirmed its rejection of Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. In the Crimea Declaration, the United States recognizes that by annexing Crimea, Russia violated the fundamental principle of the United Nations Charter by using force against the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine, and calls on […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2018

Why It’s Too Soon to Celebrate Ukraine’s New National Security Law

By Lada L. Roslycky and Olena Tregub

Ukraine’s Soviet-based national security framework has finally been replaced. Ukraine’s Rada passed the bill on June 21 and its passage was greeted with a mix of praise and skepticism. The US State Department publicly welcomed Ukraine’s new national security law, noting that the framework will increase cooperation with NATO, and its full implementation will deepen […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2018

Good Things Are Happening in Ukraine, Even if They Don’t Make Headlines

By Tim Ash

Ukraine just got a big win. On July 25, the International Monetary Fund signaled its support for Ukraine’s amended plans to create an Anticorruption Court. The Rada passed the original bill in June and amended it on July 12 to address concerns subsequently raised by the IMF.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2018

Why Is Ukraine Giving Fugitive Oligarch Dmytro Firtash a $1 Billion Windfall?

By Oleksandr Kharchenko

Editor’s note: On July 27, it was announced that implementation of the gas transportation system code has been delayed until October 1. The problems that Kharchenko outlines below with the new code still apply.  Christmas comes early this year for Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash. On August 1, the tycoon may pocket about $1 billion through […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2018

How to Make Disappointed Ukrainians Believe Again

By Elena Tribushnaya

This month, the Ukrainian magazine Novoye Vremya interviewed fifty experts to assess President Petro Poroshenko’s achievements after four years. The result was a score of just six out of twelve.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2018

Why Is Ukraine Still So Poor?

By Basil Kalymon and Oleh Havrylyshyn

Ukraine should have been a prosperous, middle-income country by now. Instead, it is one of the poorest in Europe. Ukrainians are only slightly richer than Moldovans. Since Ukraine’s independence, we, as members of the diaspora, have had a keen interest in the country’s development. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, there were great expectations […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2018

Drones, Video Cameras, and Online Searches: How One Team Catches Ukraine’s Crooks

By Josh Cohen

Exposing corrupt Ukrainian judges and prosecutors might sound dangerous, but for Kate Butko, it’s nothing compared to what she’s previously dealt with. Butko runs PROSUD, an eleven-person project founded in 2016 by activists from the Automaidan, an anticorruption nongovernmental organization that organized car owners during the Euromaidan. Funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and […]

UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2018

Ukrainians Want New Leaders. Here’s How They Can Bring in Fresh Faces

By Brian Mefford

It’s no surprise that public opinion polls show that Ukrainians are largely disappointed with the same old faces and choices in politics. The candidates expected to run in the 2019 presidential election aren’t new. Out of frustration with the unaccountability of the current parliament, there was a big push this spring to switch to an […]

Ukraine