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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

How to Make Sense of Japan’s Delicate Balance Between Russia and Ukraine

UkraineAlert
Jan 20, 2026

Ukraine’s best security guarantee is the ability to strike back inside Russia

By
Serhii Kuzan

With Kyiv’s Western allies unlikely to risk war with Russia, Ukraine’s most realistic security guarantee remains a strong military coupled with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia, writes Serhii Kuzan.

Conflict
Defense Policy

How to Make Sense of Japan’s Delicate Balance Between Russia and Ukraine

UkraineAlert
Jan 15, 2026

Veterans can shape the future of Ukrainian democracy

By
Vasyl Sehin

The participation of military veterans in Ukraine’s political life has the potential to dramatically strengthen Ukrainian democracy and safeguard the country’s historic transition from centuries of Russian autocracy, writes Vasyl Sehin.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

How to Make Sense of Japan’s Delicate Balance Between Russia and Ukraine

UkraineAlert
Jan 8, 2026

Ukraine’s robot army will be crucial in 2026 but drones can’t replace infantry

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s growing robot army of land drones will play a vital role in the country’s defense during 2026, but they are not wonder weapons and cannot serve as a miracle cure for Kyiv’s manpower shortages, writes David Kirichenko.

Artificial Intelligence
Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2023

Putin’s Russia is trapped in genocidal denial over Ukrainian independence

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Mercedes Sapuppo</span>

Russia’s longstanding denial of Ukrainian national identity and refusal to accept the reality of Ukrainian independence are now fueling an invasion that many view as genocidal in nature, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2023

Ukraine’s fight against Russian imperialism is Europe’s longest independence struggle

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Peter Dickinson</span>

The war unleashed by Vladimir Putin eighteen months ago is best understood as the latest chapter in a dark saga of Russian imperial aggression against Ukraine that stretches back centuries, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Democratic Transitions


Fast Thinking

Aug 23, 2023

What Prigozhin’s plane crash tells us about Putin’s Russia

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Atlantic Council</span>

Atlantic Council experts share their insights on the apparent death of Wagner Group founder Yevgeniy Prigozhin.


Conflict

Europe & Eurasia


UkraineAlert

Aug 22, 2023

Putin weaponizes history with new textbook justifying Ukraine invasion

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Taras Kuzio</span>

A new Kremlin-approved history textbook for Russian schoolchildren offers an unapologetically imperialistic view of Russia's past while attempting to justify the current invasion of Ukraine, writes Taras Kuzio.


Conflict

Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Aug 22, 2023

Belarus dictator Lukashenka must face justice for role in Russia’s Ukraine war

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Katie LaRoque</span>

It is time for a serious conversation on how to hold Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka accountable for his participation in Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, writes Katie LaRoque.


Belarus

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2023

Ukraine’s state authorities must follow private sector in unlearning old habits

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Roman Waschuk</span>

To achieve individual, business, and national goals of renewal, Ukrainians need their government to be just as nimble and adaptive as the country’s private sector, writes Ukraine's Business Ombudsman Roman Waschuk.


Conflict

Corruption


UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2023

Ukraine’s vibrant tech ecosystem is a secret weapon in the war with Russia

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Mykhailo Fedorov </span>

Ukraine’s secret weapon in the war against Russia is a vibrant and sophisticated tech ecosystem including around 300,000 IT professionals and hundreds of defense tech startups, writes Mykhailo Fedorov.


Cybersecurity

Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2023

Putin must not be allowed to turn the Black Sea into a Russian lake

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Melinda Haring</span>

Western countries must take urgent action to prevent Vladimir Putin from turning the Black Sea into a Russian lake, warns Melinda Haring.


Conflict

European Union


UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2023

Ukraine strikes back against Russia as world’s first drone war escalates

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Marcel Plichta</span>

Recent drone attacks in Moscow and on Russian shipping in the Black Sea are an indication that Ukraine is becoming increasingly bold as it seeks to strike back in what is the world's first ever drone war, writes Marcel Plichta.


Conflict

Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Aug 12, 2023

Winter is coming: Is Ukraine’s power grid ready for new Russian attacks?

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti</span>

Last winter, Russia launched a six-month bombing campaign to methodically destroy Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure. With a new winter heating season now fast approaching, is Ukraine prepared for a repeat?


Conflict

Energy Transitions

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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

How to Make Sense of Japan’s Delicate Balance Between Russia and Ukraine

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

How to Make Sense of Japan’s Delicate Balance Between Russia and Ukraine

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

How to Make Sense of Japan’s Delicate Balance Between Russia and Ukraine

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

May 17, 2018

How to Make Sense of Japan’s Delicate Balance Between Russia and Ukraine

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Maria Shagina</span>

Showing solidarity with other G7 countries following Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, Japan imposed sanctions on Russia—albeit reluctantly. The Ukraine crisis occurred amid Japan’s efforts to reinvigorate Japan-Russia relations in the hope of solving the long-standing territorial dispute over the Northern territories (the Kuril Islands in Russian). Subsequently, maintaining Japan’s balance between other G7 countries […]

China Japan

UkraineAlert

May 16, 2018

Do Ukraine’s Reformers Have a Real Shot at the Presidency?

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Melinda Haring</span>

Ukraine’s opposition is a mess—but this is hardly news. Through Ukraine’s nearly three decades of independence, its opposition has never gotten its act together. Consequently, the same corrupt elite continues to govern the country of 45 million to its detriment. Ukraine managed to squander the gains of its street revolution in 2004, and as the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2018

What Does Ukraine’s New Military Approach Toward the Donbas Mean?

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Vera Zimmerman</span>

Ukraine wants to reframe its approach to resolving the ongoing conflict with Russia. Beginning last month, the military is now in charge of ground operations. The launch of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) replaced the four-year Anti-Terrorism Operation (ATO) and marks Ukraine’s shift to a more active defense. President Petro Poroshenko thinks that the new […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 15, 2018

The Only Way to Improve Ukraine’s Courts

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Mykhailo Zhernakov</span>

No state can function without justice, and Ukraine is no exception.  For years, corruption and the absence of justice, together with Russian military aggression, have held back the country. After four years of struggle and numerous pieces of legislation, there has been little progress. Ukraine started out with a good idea: reformers wanted to create […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 14, 2018

Absurd Price Hikes and Epic Hospitality: Kyiv’s Champions League Showcases Best and Worst of Ukraine

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Peter Dickinson</span>

Kyiv’s preparations to host the 2018 Champions League Final on May 26 have been something of a rollercoaster ride that has highlighted the very best and worst of Ukraine. The international media buildup to the big match began with a flurry of negative stories criticizing Ukrainian hoteliers and apartment rental services for inflating prices to […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 9, 2018

No Longer a Soldier: Ukraine’s Returned Volunteers Are Embracing Second and Third Careers

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Ruslan Minich</span>

“Finding myself in Kyiv now, I smell blood and diesel from time to time. These triggers will always be there,” says Alina Viatkina, a paramedic for the volunteer Hospitallers Medical Battalion. “But you can’t lose control for three days every time. You are learning how to calm yourself: OK, this is the smell of blood. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 9, 2018

Ukraine’s Least Celebrated Oligarch-Free Institution That You Haven’t Heard Of

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Oksana Bedratenko</span>

As Ukraine’s economy begins to grow modestly, its Central Bank is striving to become an anchor of stability. The country needs to preserve the fragile macroeconomic stability it has achieved and use the upswing in the global economy to conduct reforms and stimulate economic growth. The task, however, still meets formidable obstacles; a number of […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 9, 2018

Unreality TV: Why the Kremlin’s Lies Stick

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Diane Francis</span>

In 2014, Russian-backed rebels used a Moscow-supplied missile to shoot down Malaysia Airlines flight 17 over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. Russian state TV made wild claims such as the passengers were already dead, a Ukrainian fighter jet shot down the plane, and the CIA was behind the plot. Since 2016, Russian […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 8, 2018

Here’s How Ukraine Should Remember Victory Day

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Iuliia Mendel</span>

Ukraine’s post-Maidan leadership has focused on building patriotism to unite the nation as it suffered from turbulence and war. The patriotism that emerged from the Euromaidan promoted a nationalistic symbolism that rejected and replaced the prevailing Russian and Soviet identities. But instead of uniting the country, the current effort has expanded the divide between Ukrainians […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2018

Why the Bucharest Summit Still Matters Ten Years On

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Walter Zaryckyj</span>

A decade ago, I received a four word message from a close German acquaintance who had accompanied Chancellor Angela Merkel to the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, that was tasked to decide whether to provide Georgia and Ukraine with a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). It read: “Yes, but not now!” Having just seen a […]

Moldova Russia
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