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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

Ukrainians Are Totally Sick of Their Leaders. Here’s One Radical Way to Fix the Problem

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

Ukrainians Are Totally Sick of Their Leaders. Here’s One Radical Way to Fix the Problem

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

Ukrainians Are Totally Sick of Their Leaders. Here’s One Radical Way to Fix the Problem

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

Oct 24, 2023

Battle of Avdiivka: Putin’s new offensive continues despite heavy Russian losses

By
Olivia Yanchik

Russia has returned to the offensive in Ukraine in recent weeks with a major assault on the town of Avdiivka. The Russian offensive continues despite reports of catastrophic losses, underlining Putin’s determination to secure victory at any price in Ukraine, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2023

Alsu Kurmasheva arrest: Russia has detained two US journalists this year

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

The Russian authorities have detained Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva for failing to register as a foreign agent, making her the second US journalist to be jailed in Russia so far this year.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2023

Lend-Lease Act expiration will not affect current US aid to Ukraine

By
Olivia Yanchik

A Lend-Lease Act introduced by the US in spring 2022 to support Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression has now expired, but it may be worth renewing as a tool to bypass possible political obstacles to aid, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Defense Industry
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2023

Ukraine needs electoral reform now for resilient postwar elections

By
Peter Erben, Gio Kobakhidze

Prioritizing electoral reform now will position Ukraine for postwar democratic resilience and will underscore the nation’s dedication to sustaining and improving its democratic traditions, even in the face of great adversity.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2023

Zelenskyy should say a Churchillian “no” to wartime elections in Ukraine

By
Alan Riley

If Winston Churchill were still with us, he would surely be advising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to ignore mounting international pressure to call elections in wartime Ukraine, writes Alan Riley.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2023

War risk insurance can contribute to Ukrainian victory over Putin’s Russia

By
Yulia Svyrydenko

War risk insurance can play a key role in helping Ukraine to achieve victory on the economic front of the war with Russia, writes Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.

Conflict
Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Oct 17, 2023

Ukraine receives potentially game-changing long-range US missiles

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine has finally received long-range ATACMS missiles from the United States and has begun deploying them against Russian targets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on October 17.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Oct 16, 2023

The state of Russia’s war on Ukraine as it nears 2024

By
Mykola Bielieskov

The current fighting season is still far from over in Ukraine, but it is already clear that the war unleashed by Putin in February 2022 will continue into the coming year, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Oct 13, 2023

Ukraine’s neglected Danube region is a crucial front in the war with Russia

By
Michael Druckman

Ukraine’s Danube ports are at the heart of efforts to bypass Russia’s Black Sea naval blockade but years of neglect have left the Bessarabia region unprepared to play a key wartime role, writes Michael Druckman.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

Oct 12, 2023

The West must learn hard lessons from years of failed Russia policies

By
Kira Rudik

If Russia is able to achieve even a partial victory in Ukraine, the consequences for global security would be catastrophic. Western leaders must escalate their support for Ukraine to prevent this outcome and make sure Putin’s invasion ends in decisive defeat, writes Kira Rudik.

Conflict
Corruption

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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

Ukrainians Are Totally Sick of Their Leaders. Here’s One Radical Way to Fix the Problem

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

Ukrainians Are Totally Sick of Their Leaders. Here’s One Radical Way to Fix the Problem

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

Ukrainians Are Totally Sick of Their Leaders. Here’s One Radical Way to Fix the Problem

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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

May 3, 2018

Ukrainians Are Totally Sick of Their Leaders. Here’s One Radical Way to Fix the Problem

By Melinda Haring

One could be forgiven for mistaking the campus of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy in Kyiv for a small liberal arts college in the United States. With its red-brick dormitory and modern glass facade, light-filled cafeteria that doubles as a disco, easy camaraderie, and never-ending intellectual discussions, it transported me back to my undergraduate days in […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 2, 2018

Russia Isn’t Just Interfering in Elections Around the World. It’s Doing Something Far Worse

By Maxim Eristavi

Russian President Vladimir Putin will stop at nothing in his hunt for dissidents abroad. In his determination, he has found some powerful allies within Western democracies—a practice that should alarm those who prize justice and the rule of law. In recent weeks, I’ve been collecting stories of Russian dissidents who say they fell victim to […]

Moldova
Russia

UkraineAlert

May 2, 2018

The Forgotten Faces of Those Left Behind in the Donbas

By Ruslan Minich

“In the area of Avdiivka, you can hear 120 millimeter mortar shelling, while just 500 or 600 meters away, there is a bus stop with children waiting for a school bus,” remembers Vasyl Antoniak, a volunteer soldier who fought in the Donbas in 2014-15. For many Ukrainian soldiers, the line between war and normal life […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 1, 2018

Moscow’s Maritime Threats to Ukraine and the West

By Stephen Blank

Russia’s recent naval activity around Ukraine and the Baltic Sea is more than simply a threat to countries in the region. In fact, it represents a challenge to the international order, one that could be replicated by other rogue nations. Since invading Ukraine in 2014, Moscow has become significantly bolder.

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 1, 2018

Why the Seven Arguments Used to Justify Nord Stream II Are Just Plain Wrong

By Aliona Osmolovska

Proponents of Russia’s Nord Stream II pipeline rely on at least seven arguments to explain their support for the politically motivated project. The trouble is, these justifications are based on incorrect assumptions or outright disinformation. We identified the seven myths and then used publicly available facts to set the record straight.

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2018

Q&A: Ukraine’s Got Javelins Now. So What?

By Melinda Haring

On April 30, the US Department of State confirmed to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty the delivery of Javelin antitank missile systems to Ukraine. This issue has been long-standing: the Obama administration refused to send the weapons to Kyiv, while President Donald Trump changed course. Some experts warn that giving Ukraine lethal defensive weapons will only […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 26, 2018

Leak May Put Brakes on Putin’s European Pipeline Dominance

By Oleksandr Kharchenko

Gazprom has been making headlines in Europe lately. And not in a good way. The leaking of a 271-page report compiled by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, which describes violations of European legislation by the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, recently became a sensation. It’s not, however, because the report reveals any previously unknown facts. […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 25, 2018

What Happened to the Ships the US Tried to Give to Ukraine?

By Valeriya Yegoshyna

Editor’s note: On September 27, the United States officially transferred two former 110-foot Coast Guard cutters ships to Ukraine. However, the question remains: why did it take the Ukrainian government nearly four-and-a-half years to accept the US offer? We recommend the excellent RFE/RL “Schemes” investigation below.  Four years after Crimea’s annexation, Ukraine is still struggling to […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 24, 2018

What Europe’s Forgotten War Actually Feels Like

By Ruslan Minich

“We were moving through flashing fields. And I realized history was evolving right in front of my very eyes. I had yellow goggles on; everything was yellow with them. I took the goggles off, and then the wind started blowing in my eyes. I couldn’t see anything,” says volunteer soldier Bizhan Sharopov, who fought against […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 24, 2018

Ukraine May Be Getting Its Own Church, but Not as Fast as Poroshenko Thinks

By James J. Coyle

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced on April 17 that Ukraine might have an independent, unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church as early as July 28—the anniversary of Kyivan Rus’ adoption of Christianity. He made this prediction after the Ukrainian parliament voted to support the president’s efforts to convince Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to grant autocephalous status to the […]

Russia
Ukraine
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