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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

Jul 14, 2025

Russia’s bombing campaign is killing record numbers of Ukrainian civilians

By
Peter Dickinson

As Russia’s bombing campaign continues to escalate, June 2025 saw the highest monthly casualties among the Ukrainian civilian population in more than three years, according to new data from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jul 14, 2025

A Western-funded drone surge could end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

By
Mark Boris Andrijanič

Ukraine has the technology, talent, and industrial potential to prevail in the war with Russia, but currently lacks the funding to scale drone production to the necessary levels, writes Mark Boris Andrijanič.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2025

Ukraine can benefit from growing tech ties between Gulf states and the US

By
Anatoly Motkin

As the Middle East adjusts to new geopolitical realities, growing tech sector cooperation between the US and the Gulf states is creating a range of opportunities for Ukraine, writes Anatoly Motkin.

Conflict
Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2025

Ukraine Recovery Conference: Europe underlines long-term commitment

By
Edward Verona

The 2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference, which took place in Rome on July 10-11, has provided a clear demonstration of continued European commitment to Ukraine, writes Edward Verona.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

Jul 10, 2025

Russia accused of escalating chemical weapons attacks against Ukraine

By
Katherine Spencer

Ukraine has called for an international investigation into what officials in Kyiv claim is Russia’s escalating use of chemical weapons on the battlefield, writes Katherine Spencer.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2025

Cautious optimism in Ukraine as Trump vows to send more weapons

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainians have welcomed US President Donald Trump’s July 7 announcement that he intends to provide Ukraine with more weapons, but many remain deeply cynical over the longer term prospects for continued US support, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2025

Putin is winning the drone war as Russia overwhelms Ukraine’s defenses

By
Maksym Beznosiuk

Russia is now winning the drone war against Ukraine thanks to a massive increase in domestic drone production and a series of technological upgrades, writes Maksym Beznosiuk. This is enabling Putin to dramatically escalate the bombardment of Ukrainian cities.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jul 2, 2025

Russia applauds US decision to halt key weapons deliveries to Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

The Kremlin has cheered this week’s US decision to halt the delivery of crucial defensive weapons to Ukraine as Russia continues to pursue its maximalist goal of extinguishing Ukrainian statehood, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

Jul 2, 2025

Iran becomes the latest Russian ally to discover the limits of Kremlin support

By
Elena Davlikanova

Iran has recently joined fellow Kremlin allies Armenia and Syria in discovering the limits of Russian support. Putin’s army is dangerously overextended in Ukraine and is in no position to embark on new military adventures, writes Elena Davlikanova.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

Jul 2, 2025

Ukraine’s drone wall is Europe’s first line of defense against Russia

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s drone wall is rapidly emerging as Europe’s first line of defense against the mounting military threat posed by an expansionist Russia, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Industry

spotlight

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

Nov 13, 2017

The Best Way to Improve Kyiv’s Military Odds Isn’t What You Think It Is

By Josh Cohen

As Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russian aggression in the east, there is one thing Kyiv can do to improve its odds for military success: reform its corruption-riddled defense sector. Transparency International’s most recent Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index gives Ukraine a D grade, indicating a high risk of corruption. It’s not difficult to see […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2017

Here’s One Way Ukraine Can Hold Russia Accountable Now

By Lauren Van Metre

Ukraine’s internally displaced persons (IDPs) have struggled. After having fled their houses due to military conflict and living with the uncertainty of whether they will ever regain that property, some have been poorly regarded in their new host communities. How the displaced were received often depended on where they came from. In general Ukrainians have […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 12, 2017

Why Putin Cannot Risk Peace in Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Imagine the scene: a patch of overgrown wasteland on the outskirts of an east Ukrainian rust belt town. Emergency services personnel are methodically excavating a large plot of earth while a huddle of journalists and aid workers look on. The date is October 2019. Another mass grave has just been uncovered. This grim but all-too-conceivable […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2017

Why There’s More to Alex Ovechkin’s Team Putin Movement than Meets the Eye

By Adrian Karatnycky

Hockey superstar Alex Ovechkin’s November 2 announcement that he is creating a social movement to support Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be an ill-considered PR move by the Washington Capitals captain. In the capital of a country awash in anti-Putin sentiment, Ovechkin is defiantly flaunting his loyalty to a leader who has supported military […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2017

Unfreezing Eurasia’s Frozen Conflicts May Not Be as Hard as You Think

By Laura Linderman

It was nearly impossible to find an empty seat on the twice-weekly WizzAir flight from Berlin to Kutaisi this summer. The budget airline carries mostly German hikers to Georgia’s second largest city. From there, the hikers transfer in Zugdidi to reach their final destination, the remote and breathtaking Svaneti region, high in the Greater Caucasus. […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2017

Why Russia’s War against Ukraine May Never End

By Kornely Kakachia and Joseph Larsen

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently requested a UN peacekeeping mission for eastern Ukraine. While at home this looks like a peace overture, Putin is not motivated by the desire for amity. The proposal is similar to Russian actions in Georgia prior to 2008, when it supported a UN observer mission in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone […]

Russia The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2017

Why Are Prestigious Institutions Sponsoring a Russian Propaganda Concert in Washington?

By Diane Francis

In April 2015, Ukrainian-born pianist Valentina Lisitsa was to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. But the concert was abruptly canceled because she expressed, to her huge online following, hurtful anti-Ukrainian messages and support for pro-Russia separatists who had invaded and occupied eastern Ukraine. “As one of Canada’s most important […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2017

What the Odesa Port Saga Means for Reform in Ukraine

By Peter J. Marzalik

In an interview last October, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman revealed that not a single x-ray scanner was operational at customs checkpoints in Ukraine, suggesting that corrupt customs officers had deliberately damaged the equipment to facilitate criminal activity. The accusation speaks to the severity of entrenched corruption in the customs services of Ukraine, even amid […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2017

Q&A: How Can Ukraine Get a Better Grade on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index?

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine just received a marginally better grade on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, moving from 80th place in 2017 to 76th place in 2018. Kyiv reduced the cost of construction permits, strengthened minority investor protections, and reduced labor taxes. To put things in perspective, it’s easier to do business in Azerbaijan, Belarus, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2017

Why We Don’t Live Like Britain

By Sergey Fursa

Having admitted to a decade-old sexual harassment incident in which he touched a journalist’s knee at a party conference, British Defense Minister Michael Fallon resigned, stating, “I accept that in the past I have fallen below the high standards that we require of the Armed Forces that I have the honor to represent…I am therefore […]

Ukraine