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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

Why Ukraine’s Major Achievement in Government Transparency May Fail

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

Why Ukraine’s Major Achievement in Government Transparency May Fail

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

Why Ukraine’s Major Achievement in Government Transparency May Fail

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

Jul 7, 2023

Oleksii Reznikov: Ukraine’s defense doctrine will define country’s future

By
Oleksii Reznikov

Ukraine’s defense doctrine will define the country’s future and must reflect unique Ukrainian combat experience while making the most of domestic capabilities, writes Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2023

Wagner fallout: Time to begin preparing for a post-Putin Russia

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

As we assess the fallout from the Wagner revolt, it no longer makes sense to be afraid of a new Russian collapse. On the contrary, the time has come to begin preparing for the possibility of a post-Putin Russia, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2023

Wagner putsch is symptomatic of Russia’s ongoing imperial decline

By
Richard Cashman, Lesia Ogryzko

The attempted putsch by Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his Wagner troops in late June is perhaps best understood as a symptom of Russia’s ongoing imperial decline, writes Richard Cashman and Lesia Ogryzko.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2023

Putin’s Wagner weakness is a signal to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive

By
Taras Kuzio

With the short-lived Wagner mutiny exposing Vladimir Putin’s weakness for all to see, the time has come for Ukraine’s Western partners to provide the country with everything it needs to secure victory, writes Taras Kuzio.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Jun 28, 2023

Wagner drama drags Belarus deeper into Russia’s wartime turbulence

By
Hanna Liubakova

News that Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin and many of his battle-hardened troops will be exiled to Belarus has sparked concerns that the country is being dragged further into Russia’s wartime turmoil, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus
Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2023

Ukrainians have good reason to cheer Russia’s Wagner rebellion

By
Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Ukrainians have good reason to cheer the short-lived Wagner mutiny, which has removed Russia’s most effective military units from the battlefield while exposing the weakness of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, writes Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2023

How Ukraine can pin down Russia in Crimea without a land campaign

By
John B. Barranco

Many analysts believe Ukraine must liberate Crimea in order to win the war, but it could be possible to render the peninsula strategically irrelevant for Russia without launching a major land campaign, writes John B. Barranco.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2023

Five steps toward Ukrainian victory and a lasting peace with Russia

By
Arseniy Yatsenyuk

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk offers his five-step vision for the decisive defeat of Russia’s Ukraine invasion and a genuinely sustainable peace in Eastern Europe.

Conflict
Eastern Europe


UkraineAlert

Jun 25, 2023

Short-lived Wagner mutiny will undermine Russia’s Ukraine invasion

By
Peter Dickinson

The short-lived Wagner mutiny was over in less than two days but it will have a long-lasting consequences for Russia, for a weakened Vladimir Putin, and for the already faltering invasion of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy


Fast Thinking

Jun 24, 2023

Prigozhin walks away. Where does his halted mutiny leave Putin?

By
Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council experts share their insights on what happened with the Wagner Group founder’s halted mutiny and what it says about the stability of Putin’s regime and the war in Ukraine.

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia

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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

Why Ukraine’s Major Achievement in Government Transparency May Fail

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

Why Ukraine’s Major Achievement in Government Transparency May Fail

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

Why Ukraine’s Major Achievement in Government Transparency May Fail

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

Apr 2, 2018

Why Ukraine’s Major Achievement in Government Transparency May Fail

By Olena Prokopenko

The launch of Ukraine’s e-declaration system—one of the world’s most advanced—remains among the country’s biggest post-Maidan achievements. It has been a groundbreaking step toward the transparency broadly supported by the country’s Western partners. Yet ever since its inception, electronic asset declarations for officials has been under continuous sabotage and has been attacked on a wide […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2018

What’s Up with Nadiya Savchenko?

By Vera Zimmerman

Ukrainians are still trying to digest the shocking news of an averted military-style coup plot led by war hero and parliamentarian Nadiya Savchenko. The story broke on March 8 when Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) apprehended Volodymyr Ruban as he was illegally crossing a checkpoint in a van loaded with heavy weapons. Ruban, a volunteer prisoner […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2018

Ukraine’s Glaring National Security Gap that No One Has Heard Of

By Anders Åslund

My article about Ukraine’s new electricity tariffs aroused quite a few interesting comments, which deserve responses. Since these comments are private and many from people in high positions, I shall not mention their names. The arguments circle around pricing, ownership, privatization, investment, and taxation. The natural start is ownership. No one favors state enterprises. They […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 27, 2018

Good to Be King: Ukraine’s Fugitive Oligarch Blocks Reforms and Benefits from International Handouts While Under House Arrest

By Oleksandr Kharchenko

Corruption is still a major challenge in Ukraine, and the energy sector is particularly vulnerable to illegal activity. But although it is tempting to view corruption as a problem indigenous to Ukraine, outside actors—sometimes tolerated or even supported by the government in Kyiv—play a leading role in perpetuating corruption inside Ukraine. A key illustration of […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2018

Exclusive: New Owner of Kyiv Post Promises Editorial Independence

By Diane Francis

On March 21, the hearts of reformers and journalists sank when Mohammad Zahoor sold the crusading Kyiv Post to Odesa businessman Adnan Kivan. Many were convinced that the new owner would soften the editorial line of Ukraine’s top English language newspaper. But in an interview March 25, Kivan said he bought the newspaper because of […]

Russia
Syria

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2018

Ukraine Is Serious about Privatization This Time

By Oksana Bedratenko

Since 2014, privatization in Ukraine has made little progress. Well-connected oligarchs could no longer dominate the privatization process, as had often been the case in the past because of strengthened public scrutiny and involvement of international donors, yet vested interests were still powerful enough to block privatizations and the lingering problems associated with the country’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 21, 2018

Crucial EU Initiative that Outs Kremlin Lies Under Fire

By Halya Coynash

A crucial program that identifies Kremlin methods of disinformation has come under attack. Alarmingly, one of the key accusations is that its activities constitute an attempt to restrict freedom of speech. The situation could not be more absurd.  The program running into such controversy is the East Stratcom Task Force and the EU vs Disinfo […]

European Union
International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Mar 21, 2018

How the US Can Shore Up Ukraine’s Vulnerabilities in the Black Sea

By Stephen Blank

Four years after the invasion of Crimea and the Donbas, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine continues unabated. For all the failures of the government in Kyiv to reform, Ukraine is still fighting our war. Were it not for Ukrainians’ willingness to defend themselves, NATO would be spending a fortune to reform its past structures and procedures […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 20, 2018

Why Nord Stream 2 Isn’t Just an Ordinary Pipeline

By Diane Francis

Of all nations, Germany must heed the lessons of history, both current and past. This begs the question as to why Germany would help Europe become more energy dependent on a country like Russia that ignores norms, contracts, laws, treaties, and borders. And yet that is exactly what Germany is about to do if it […]

Germany
Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2018

Ukraine should remove “stringent” disclosure law on civil society

By Gina S. Lentine

There has been an ominous change in the state of freedom of association in Ukraine over the last year. One of Ukraine’s leading activists, Vitaliy Shabunin of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), is facing trial on criminal charges and could receive up to five years in prison. The charges are at best exaggerated and at […]

Corruption
Rule of Law
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