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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

Oct 6, 2026

We are staying: European diplomats reject Russian calls to leave Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

European embassies in Kyiv sent a message of defiance to Moscow this week following the Kremlin’s latest call for diplomats to leave Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Drones


UkraineAlert

Oct 6, 2026

Jet drones are Putin’s secret weapon as he seeks to break Ukraine

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Russia’s air war against Ukraine has recently entered a deadly new phase with round-the-clock jet drone attacks on civilian targets across Kyiv as Vladimir Putin seeks to make the Ukrainian capital unlivable and break the country’s resistance, writes Mykola Bielieskov.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2026

Putin aims to break Ukraine by terrorizing the civilian population

By
Peter Dickinson

With the Russian army unable to defeat Ukraine on the battlefield, Putin is turning to terror tactics and is using ballistic missiles and jet drones in a bid to bomb Ukraine's civilian population into submission, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Drones


UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2026

Ukraine can play a key role enabling US energy exports to Europe

By
Stephen Blank

As Russia expands the bombardment of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, changes are taking place in the country's energy sector with implications for the United States and the future shape of European gas markets, writes Stephen Blank.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2026

Europe needs a new strategy for Russian gray zone aggression

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

Europe needs a new counter-hybrid playbook, but an approach that focuses on coordinating responses after Russian attacks have already taken place is not an effective deterrent, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Cybersecurity


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2026

Ukraine’s innovative robot offensive just reversed a year of Russian gains

By
David Kirichenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hopes of capturing eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region have been dealt a major blow in recent months by an innovative Ukrainian offensive that has reversed over a year of Russian territorial gains, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2026

Vladimir Putin only has two options in Ukraine: Total victory or endless war

By
Peter Dickinson

US-led efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine War by offering the Kremlin limited territorial concessions reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the imperial ambitions driving Putin's invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Sep 24, 2026

Ukraine’s defense tech sector must offer investors more than innovation

By
Olga Usenko

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has built one of the world’s most dynamic defense tech ecosystems under conditions few industries ever face. However, innovation alone will not be enough to win over potential investors, writes Olga Usenko.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Sep 23, 2026

Putin’s Ukraine invasion has made Russia China’s junior partner

By
Zahar Hryniv

Putin’s evident inability to secure Beijing’s backing for the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline is strengthening international perceptions that the invasion of Ukraine has reduced Russia to the status of China’s junior partner, writes Zahar Hryniv.


China


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Sep 22, 2026

Ukrainians are braced for a brutal winter. Are the Russians also ready?

By
Peter Dickinson

With Ukraine's air defenses running low, Russia is expected to escalate the bombardment of Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure ahead of the coming winter season in a bid to freeze the country into submission, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Technologies

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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Aug 16, 2018

How One Family Is Reviving Ukraine’s Pre-Soviet Tradition of Philanthropy

By Lauren Van Metre

Since the Euromaidan, we have seen extraordinary acts of volunteerism by Ukrainians. In the initial days of Russia’s invasion, citizen volunteers fought on the Donbas front to shore up the Ukrainian Army, which was on the verge of collapse. These citizen soldiers experienced high casualty rates. Volunteers organized supplies for the war and served as […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2018

How Corruption Actually Works in Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

It’s standard fare in any article about Ukraine to mention the country’s enormous, overwhelming, and everlasting corruption problem. It’s also incredibly boring, because hardly anyone has examples or knows how it actually works. In April, I sat down over coffee and sweets in Kyiv with investigative journalist Oleksa Shalayskiy, editor-in-chief of Nashi Groshi (Our Money), who […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2018

The Last Missing Piece to Make Ukraine Truly Independent

By Kateryna Kruk

One of the biggest differences between Eastern and Western Europe is the role of the church. On paper, they are separate, but in Eastern Europe, tradition trumps the law and the influence of the church is immense. In Ukraine, the church is the most trusted institution, which is a good thing, but the fact that […]

Europe & Eurasia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2018

Good News: IMF to Return to Kyiv in September

By Timothy Ash

Last week Ukraine’s finances didn’t look so promising and a fall fiscal crisis was entirely possible. Many worried that Ukraine wouldn’t satisfy the International Monetary Fund’s three main demands in time to receive a $1.9 billion tranche before annual budget debates begin. The IMF had been demanding an Anticorruption Court, market prices on gas for […]

Europe & Eurasia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2018

Ukraine Passes Anticorruption Court Law. What’s Next?

By Maksym Kostetskyi

Ukraine finally got an Anticorruption Court on June 26. That day, President Petro Poroshenko signed the law which establishes the court. Importantly, the shortcomings of the original law the Rada had passed in June were later corrected. All appeals cases under the jurisdiction of the Anticorruption Court will be reviewed only in the Anticorruption Court, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2018

Why Peace in Ukraine Cannot Wait

By Andreas Umland

The war in eastern Ukraine grinds on, forgotten by many. There’s no obvious way out. The ceasefire agreements have been continuously broken, high-level dialogue between Russia and the United States stopped months ago, and the unarmed OSCE monitors in conflict zone are continuously harassed. Some analysts suspect that Moscow is waiting until March when Ukraine […]

Europe & Eurasia Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2018

How Rejection and Time Abroad Changed One Kyiv Activist’s Life

By Mary Trichka

The Atlantic Council has been profiling some of Ukraine’s toughest but lesser-known female activists this summer. When I spoke with Iryna Shyba, a leader with the DEJURE Foundation in Kyiv, Ukraine, she almost rejected the premise of the piece. “I don’t feel like I am doing more than any other civil society activist,” Shyba said. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2018

The Forgotten Story Behind Crimea’s Only Displaced University

By Madeline Roache

“We could hear explosions during classes and the sound of helicopters flying overhead. But no one understood what was happening or how long it would last,” recalls Anna Gladchenko, a 23-year-old student at the Donetsk National Medical University in Ukraine. When war broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014, 150,000 college students and 10,000 faculty […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 9, 2018

Q&A: Will Ukraine Face a Serious Financial Crisis If It Doesn’t Get IMF Money Before November?

By Melinda Haring

Central bankers and economists are sounding the alarm in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Finance Ministry’s account balance has fallen to its lowest level in four years. The hryvnia is falling fast now, and fell nearly 4 percent over the last three weeks. Eurobond sales and foreign aid could remedy the cash-flow problem, but the International Monetary […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 8, 2018

In Ukraine, Attacks on Civil Society Spread to the Regions

By Yevhen Bystrytsky

Just about everyone credits Ukraine’s persistent activists for almost every reform win since 2014. But four years after the Maidan, the public demand to put corrupt officials behind bars remains unanswered. Does that mean that civil society and the energy of the Maidan have reached their limits? It means just the opposite, actually. Resistance to […]

Ukraine