Stay Updated

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

Apr 7, 2024

Western weakness in Ukraine could provoke a far bigger war with Russia

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

Western leaders must decide whether they would rather arm Ukraine for victory today or fight a resurgent and emboldened Russia tomorrow, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Apr 3, 2024

Ukraine’s Belarusian volunteers create headaches for Putin ally Lukashenka

By
Alesia Rudnik

Thousands of Belarusians are currently fighting for Ukraine and make no secret of their ambitions to eventually topple pro-Kremlin Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka, writes Alesia Rudnik.

Belarus
Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Apr 3, 2024

Ukraine’s allies divided over drone campaign targeting Russian refineries

By
Giorgi Revishvili

Ukraine’s expanding campaign of drone strikes on Russian refineries has inflicted significant damage on Putin’s oil and gas industry while also revealing divisions among Ukraine’s allies, writes Giorgi Revishvili.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

Apr 2, 2024

Putin is weaponizing corruption to weaken Europe from within

By
Francis Shin

Recent revelations regarding a Kremlin influence operation in the heart of the EU have highlighted Europe’s continued vulnerability to Russian weaponized corruption, writes Francis Shin.

Conflict
Corruption


UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2024

Russia’s new air offensive leaves Ukraine facing humanitarian disaster

By
Aura Sabadus

Unless Ukraine’s Western partners urgently enhance the country’s air defenses, Russia’s new air offensive will leave millions of Ukrainians without access to electricity, water, and heating, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict
Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2024

Ukraine urgently needs air defenses as Russia decimates power grid

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

A new Russian air offensive has destroyed much of Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure in a matter of days and threatens to spark a humanitarian catastrophe if Ukraine does not urgently receive enhanced air defenses, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2024

Putin has repeatedly used terror attacks to tighten his grip on Russia

By
Olivia Yanchik

The March 22 terror attack in Moscow has seriously damaged Putin’s carefully crafted public image as a strongman ruler who offers his subjects security in exchange for restrictions on their personal freedoms, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2024

Putin adds Islamist terror to the list of absurd excuses for Ukraine invasion

By
Peter Dickinson

In addition to imaginary NATO threats and phantom fascists, Putin has now added Islamist terrorism to the expanding list of absurd excuses for the invasion of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Mar 26, 2024

Is the US Congress finally poised to pass Ukraine aid?

By
Doug Klain

After almost eight months of deadlock, the US Congress may finally be moving toward a political solution that can unlock desperately needed US aid for Ukraine, writes Doug Klain.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Mar 26, 2024

Ukraine paves way for green energy future amid Russia’s escalating attacks

By
Aura Sabadus

Ukraine has lifted restrictions on the export of biomethane in a move that could make the country one of Europe’s biggest green energy suppliers, writes Aura Sabadus.

Energy Markets & Governance
Energy Transitions

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.

Follow us on social media
and support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2018

With Russia on the Sidelines, China Moves Aggressively into Ukraine

By James Brooke

On Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, the most active foreign actor is not Russia. It’s China. On the Danube, Chinese investors are mulling buying a Ukrainian river shipping company that could insert Chinese products deep into Eastern Europe. At the two big ports flanking Odesa, China Harbor Engineering Company just finished dredging Yuzhny and now is […]

China Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2018

How to Bring Peace to the Donbas. (Yes, It’s Possible)

By Alexander Vershbow

Last month Vladimir Putin reopened the door to the creation of a peacekeeping force in Eastern Ukraine. Deploying such a force, if done properly, could bring peace to a conflict that has dragged on for nearly four years. Without it, the conflict could return to a boil, jeopardizing Ukraine’s stability and destroying any basis for […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2018

Slain Lawyer Becomes an Icon of Unfinished Reforms in Ukraine

By Maxim Eristavi

The holiday season ended abruptly on January 1 as Ukrainians learned about the murder of lawyer and human rights activist Iryna Nozdrovska. This is a gruesome start for 2018, even for a country at war. We stopped having regular New Year’s holidays years ago. Not many felt like celebrating while soldiers were dying in the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2018

In Kyiv and Chisinau, Citizens Thirsty for Reform But the Governments Aren’t

By Dumitru Alaiba

On December 1, the European Union withheld payment of €600 million to Ukraine for falling short on four reforms. The deal is conditional, and this final tranche is on hold until Ukraine follows through on its commitments. Meanwhile, one week before, at the Eastern Partnership Summit, the EU agreed to provide Moldova with €100 million […]

Moldova Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2018

Why No Major Western Defense Company Will Invest in Ukraine

By Michael Carpenter

One of the biggest challenges facing Ukraine today is how to transform its inefficient, overcentralized, and opaque defense industry into a leading supplier of weapons and equipment for its frontline troops and an engine for economic growth and foreign currency revenues. Both of these goals are within reach, but only if Ukraine’s leaders can summon […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 3, 2018

President Trump One Year On: Better for Russia or Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

As Donald J. Trump took the oath of office in January 2017, there was a tangible sense of panic in Kyiv. Most analysts were extremely gloomy about the prospects for US-Ukrainian ties, with many predicting that Ukraine would be the primary victim of the Trump administration’s ambitious foreign policy. At the time, these grim forecasts […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 2, 2018

Nine Things Ukraine Should Do in 2018

By Olena Prokopenko and Christina Parandii

In September 2017, Parliamentary Speaker Andriy Parubiy branded the new political season “the autumn of reforms.” His prediction was partly right and partly wrong. Parliament did deliver on some overdue issues; however, the recent attacks on anticorruption institutions overshadowed a number of positive achievements. As Ukraine enters 2018, a year which precedes the presidential and […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 2, 2018

Which Will Be Europe’s Poorest Country? Ukraine or Moldova

By Anders Åslund

A year ago, I expressed my hope that “2017 should be the year when Ukraine’s economy takes off.” It should have been, but it was not. In the last quarter of 2016, Ukraine’s GDP grew by 4.8 percent. Alas, in each of the ensuing four quarters, the growth rate declined and GDP grew by only […]

Moldova Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2017

It’s the Holiday Season Again. Will Ukraine Be Ready for the Next Cyberattack?

By Vera Zimmerman

Experts anticipate a new cyberattack on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure this month; they have observed increased activity from the same hackers involved in a previous cyberattack. In the last two years, cyberattacks on Ukraine’s power grid coincided with the winter holidays, a sensitive time with a high demand for critical infrastructure. A cyberattack may target civilians […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2017

People Are Wrong about the War in the Donbas, Says US Envoy

By Melinda Haring

2017 has been the most violent year of the conflict in eastern Ukraine since it began, according to Kurt Volker, US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations. “A lot of people think that this has somehow turned into a sleepy, frozen conflict and it’s stable and now we have…a ceasefire,” Volker said on December 19 during […]

Russia Ukraine