UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics, economy, civil society, and culture. UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders, politicians, experts, and activists from Ukraine and the global community. UkraineAlert has become a major publication in Ukraine’s news landscape and has established itself not only through its quality of content but also significant partnerships with English, Ukrainian, and Russian-language media through the country.

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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

Q&A: Will scandal sink Poroshenko’s second term chances?

UkraineAlert Sep 3, 2026

Putin cannot defeat NATO but he could divide and discredit the alliance

By Peter Dickinson

If Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to attack NATO, his goal will be to divide and discredit the alliance rather than actually defeating it, writes Peter Dickinson.
Conflict Defense Policy
Q&A: Will scandal sink Poroshenko’s second term chances?

UkraineAlert Aug 27, 2026

Ukrainians are not superheroes with endless powers of resilience

By Lauren Van Metre, Elena Davlikanova

By celebrating Ukrainian resilience as an almost superhuman quality, the international community risks obscuring the much less glamorous reality that Ukrainians are actually ordinary people who have endured extraordinary violence for far too long, write Lauren Van Metre and Elena Davlikanova.
Civil Society Conflict
Q&A: Will scandal sink Poroshenko’s second term chances?

UkraineAlert Aug 25, 2026

A cultural renaissance is reshaping national identity in wartime Ukraine

By Davis Richardson

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is fueling a defiant cultural outpouring that is redefining and strengthening Ukrainian national identity in ways that challenge centuries of Kremlin imperialism, writes Davis Richardson.
Civil Society Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2020

Bipartisan US support for Ukraine at risk as Republicans echo Kremlin

By Steven Pifer

Republicans seeking to defend President Trump have taken to accusing Ukraine of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. This echoes Kremlin talking points and puts longstanding bipartisan US support for Ukraine at risk, says former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer.

Politics & Diplomacy Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 21, 2020

Ukraine’s top five 2020 reform priorities

By Ilona Sologoub

The Zelenskyy government has outlined an ambitious reform agenda for 2020 but will they live up to the expectations of an electorate hungry for change? These five key reform areas will give a good indication of the new government's reformist credentials.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jan 20, 2020

A frozen conflict may be Ukraine’s best option

By James Brooke

Many hoped President Zelenskyy's April 2019 election could break the deadlock in peace talks with Russia. However, it now looks like the best Ukraine can expect is a transition from hot war to frozen conflict. That may not be such a bad outcome, argues James Brooke.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 20, 2020

Is Belarus Putin’s next target?

By Diane Francis

Vladimir Putin has been turning up the pressure on Belarus in recent months as Moscow seeks to move forward with plans to merge the country into a so-called Union State with Russia, but Minsk is proving evasive. Will Belarus be the scene of Putin's next big foreign policy adventure?

Belarus Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2020

Startup culture in a frontline city

By Diane Francis

1991 Mariupol is a new startup hub located a stone's throw away from the frontlines of Ukraine's undeclared war with Russia. Can tech innovation create opportunities for young Ukrainians facing an uncertain future due to Kremlin aggression?

Education Technology & Innovation

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2020

Think again

By John E. Herbst

In a recent National Interest article, George Beebe dismisses US policy on Ukraine as “steeped in illusions” and argues for a “sensible alternative.” It is a nice try, but what he comes up with does not pass muster.

Conflict NATO

UkraineAlert

Jan 15, 2020

Putin makes changes as Russia stagnates

By Michael Newton

With Putin’s presidential term set to end in 2024 and parliamentary elections to take place in late 2021, Medvedev’s resignation and Putin’s proposed changes come at a time when the Russian president is looking to secure a possibly uncertain political future.

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 15, 2020

Zelenskyy’s vision for Ukrainian national identity

By Bohdan Nahaylo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s New Year 2020 address to the nation was a bold call for unity at a time of acute sensitivity towards issues of national identity – but is Ukraine ready to embrace diversity with country still facing an existential threat from ongoing Russian aggression?

Politics & Diplomacy Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2020

Iran plane tragedy proves lessons of MH17 have not been learned

By Michael Bociurkiw

Amid the outpourings of anger and grief over the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane by Iran, the disaster also raises troubling questions about aviation security and the apparent failure to learn from past tragedies of this nature such as the 2014 MH17 attack.

Conflict Iran

UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2020

Playing for the enemy: The Ukrainian footballers who sign for Russian clubs

By Andrew Todos

Is it appropriate for Ukrainian footballers to play for Russian clubs at a time when the two countries are engaged in the sixth year of an undeclared war? This debate highlights the broader discussion over the nature of ties between the two historically and culturally intertwined post-Soviet nations.

Civil Society Politics & Diplomacy
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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
Q&A: Will scandal sink Poroshenko’s second term chances?

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
Q&A: Will scandal sink Poroshenko’s second term chances?

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
Q&A: Will scandal sink Poroshenko’s second term chances?

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.

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

Feb 28, 2019

Q&A: Will scandal sink Poroshenko’s second term chances?

By Melinda Haring

On February 25, investigative journalists accused President Petro Poroshenko’s close associates of getting rich by smuggling spare parts for military equipment from Russia. The Bihus.Info report claims that the son of Oleh Hladkovskiy, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, was the mastermind behind a scheme to buy spare parts from Russia in 2015. […]

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2019

Which Ukrainians will lose most if Zelenskiy becomes president?

By Alexander J. Motyl

It goes without saying that all Ukrainians will be losers if and when a dreadfully inexperienced and politically ignorant comedian takes charge of Ukraine’s ship of state. As the economy goes into a tailspin, corruption flourishes, and Russian President Vladimir Putin bares his teeth, all Ukrainians will be far worse off than they are today. […]

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2019

Ukraine’s athletes shine through national gloom

By Mark Temnycky

Five years after the Euromaidan, most analysis of Ukraine is grim. It tends to focus on the patchy reforms that have been put in place, the country’s endemic corruption, the ongoing war in its east, and the current unpredictable presidential election campaign. Hardly any of the coverage is positive. But that’s not the full picture. […]

Civil Society Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Feb 27, 2019

The Eurovision guide to modern Ukrainian history

By Peter Dickinson

Anyone who feels that Eurovision has become too politicized need look no further than Ukraine for confirmation. Nobody takes the song contest quite as seriously as the Ukrainians, who treat it as an extension of foreign policy complete with furious nationwide debates and heavy-handed government interventions. The latest scandal, which has seen the winner of […]

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 26, 2019

The Audacity of Ulana Suprun

By Yuri Polakiwsky

There was a distinct sense of the theatrical inside and outside Kyiv’s Administrative Court #2 earlier this month as it decided the fate of Dr. Ulana Suprun, Ukraine’s acting minister of health. Leaving the proceedings, one was left with at least two seemingly absurd questions: what was this showdown all about and why was an […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2019

Is the Ukrainian Army Worthy of Greater Investment?

By Dennis Soltys

Last year Washington finally gave Kyiv the javelin missiles it had been begging for. But the javelins are mostly symbolic and won’t change much on the frontlines. For more than six months, Washington has been talking about giving Ukraine additional arms to improve its air and naval defenses. These arms are more likely after Russian […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2019

Let’s Make a Deal, Vladimir

By Johnny Herbst

The ongoing political standoff in Venezuela offers an opportunity for Washington to get something it wants: a democratically elected president in Venezuela and one less vocal Russian ally in its backyard. The Trump Administration recently announced that it plans to leave Syria without any conditions. Russia is involved in both Venezuela and Syria, so if […]

Russia Syria

UkraineAlert

Feb 21, 2019

Ukraine’s Leading Presidential Candidates (Minus Poroshenko) Promise to Fight Corruption

By Olena Haluskha

In Ukraine, demand for a genuine fight against corruption is still extremely high. According to recent surveys, voters name corruption as one of the three biggest problems in Ukraine. Nine out of ten Ukrainians consider grand political corruption the greatest threat to the country, while 80 percent are convinced that the main reason for corruption […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 21, 2019

Why Zelenskiy Is the Only Decent Choice for Ukraine

By Willem Aldershoff

Ukraine’s presidential elections present a difficult choice for those who want to see the country of 44 million finish what it started in 2014. Sadly all reliable opinion polls indicate that experienced reform candidates have no chance of winning. Former Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko currently stands at around 8 percent and Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2019

Why a Zelenskyy presidency would be a disaster for Ukraine

By Alexander J. Motyl

The world is in turmoil, Russia occupies part of Ukraine, reforms in Ukraine still have a way to go, and democracy is in retreat in much of Europe. One would think Ukrainians would be worried. One would think they would want an experienced person at the helm. Instead, they may be about to elect the […]

Europe & Eurasia Ukraine
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