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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

Jan 12, 2022

Cutting off Russia from SWIFT will really sting

By Harley Balzer

While Russia has attempted to reduce its dependence on the SWIFT payment system, it remains vulnerable to a sanctions cut-off in the event of a new Kremlin offensive in Putin’s eight-year undeclared war against Ukraine.

China
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 11, 2022

Ukrainians call on US Senate to sanction Putin’s pipeline weapon

By Ukrainian civil society representatives

US senators are set to vote in the coming days on a bill for new sanctions against Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Ukrainian civil society representatives have issued an appeal calling on senators to back sanctions.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Jan 10, 2022

The US and NATO must attack Vladimir Putin’s intimidation strategy

By Harlan Ullman

The current US approach to the crisis with Russia is predictable and conventional. The principle author of the “shock and awe” doctrine, Harlan Ullman, believes it is time to turn Putin’s intimidation tactics against him.

Conflict
Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Jan 9, 2022

How to make a Russian invasion of Ukraine prohibitively expensive

By Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Bolstering Ukraine’s ability to wage an effective asymmetric campaign on home soil may be the most effective way to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Jan 6, 2022

Can diplomacy deter Vladimir Putin and avert a major war in Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

Senior Russian and Western officials will hold a series of meetings next week in a bid to defuse mounting tensions and avert the possibility of a major escalation in Vladimir Putin’s eight-year war against Ukraine.

Conflict
NATO

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2022

Appeasing Putin in Ukraine would be disastrous for European security

By Stephen Blank

Any attempt to appease Moscow and Beijing over Ukraine and Taiwan would be a dangerous betrayal of Western values that would invite bolder acts of aggression against a much more enfeebled West.

China
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 30, 2021

How to deal with the Kremlin-created crisis in Europe

By Eurasia Center

The Kremlin appears to be setting the stage for a major conventional assault on Ukraine. Twenty-five distinguished experts and former senior officials urge the Biden administration to take decisive action.

Conflict
Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Dec 29, 2021

Debunking the myth of a divided Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

Russia’s attempts to promote the false narrative of an artificial and divided Ukraine are a central element of the Kremlin’s ongoing campaign of imperial aggression against the country.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Dec 26, 2021

Top 10 Ukraine articles of 2021

By Peter Dickinson

The top ten ranking of 2021’s most popular UkraineAlert articles is dominated by content exploring Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deadly obsession with returning Ukraine to the Kremlin orbit.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Dec 23, 2021

Is Ukraine’s reformed military ready to repel a new Russian invasion?

By Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Alina Frolova, Hans Petter Midtunn, Oleksii Pavliuchyk

Ukraine’s military has undergone a major transformation since the outbreak of hostilities with Russia in 2014 but the changes that have taken place are still not fully assessed or understood.

Defense Industry
Defense Policy

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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

Jan 30, 2025

Ukrainian Holocaust survivor: Russia is waging ‘war of extermination’

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian Holocaust survivor Roman Schwarzman has implored Germany to increase support for Ukraine in the fight against Russia’s “war of extermination,” writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 29, 2025

The West must study the success of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces

By Doug Livermore

The success of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces in the war against Russia can provide a range of valuable lessons for Kyiv's Western partners that will shape military doctrines for years to come, writes Doug Livermore.

Artificial Intelligence
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 29, 2025

Can increased energy sector sanctions pressure Putin into peace talks?

By Aura Sabadus

US President Donald Trump has warned Russia that he will impose economic measures including taxes, tariffs, and sanctions unless Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to end the war in Ukraine, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Jan 28, 2025

Ukrainian drones and missiles target Putin’s war machine inside Russia

By David Kirichenko

Ukraine has begun 2025 with an ambitious air offensive utilizing the country's expanding arsenal of domestically produced drones and missiles to target Putin's war machine inside Russia, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jan 23, 2025

NATO chief: Cost of Russian victory in Ukraine would be ‘trillions not billions’

By Peter Dickinson

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has warned NATO leaders that a Russian victory in Ukraine would cost alliance members "trillions not billions," writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jan 23, 2025

North Korea is using Russia’s Ukraine invasion to upgrade its army

By Alina Hrytsenko

North Korea's participation in Russia's Ukraine invasion is a dangerous escalation in what is already the largest European war since World War II with potentially alarming implications for global security, writes Alina Hrytsenko.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Jan 23, 2025

European Parliament and United States condemn ‘sham’ Belarus vote

By Mercedes Sapuppo

The European Parliament has condemned this weekend’s presidential election in Belarus as a “sham” designed to keep the country’s long-serving dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka in power, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Belarus
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 21, 2025

Ukrainian parliament prepares to vote on Bulgarian nuclear reactor purchase

By Stephen Blank

Ukraine is poised to purchase a pair of Soviet-era nuclear reactors from Bulgaria in a deal that highlights the country’s struggle for greater energy security amid Russia’s ongoing bombardment of civilian infrastructure, writes Stephen Blank.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Jan 21, 2025

Donald Trump’s promise of strong US leadership should begin with Ukraine

By Arseniy Yatsenyuk

By resolutely backing Ukraine, President Trump can prevent the slide toward World War III and reestablish US leadership in a world threatened by Putin's Axis of Autocrats, writes former Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2025

Ukraine’s escalating air attacks bring Putin’s invasion home to Russia

By Maria Avdeeva

Ukraine has begun 2025 with a series of increasingly ambitious long-range air attacks against strategic military and industrial targets that are succeeding in bringing Putin’s invasion home to Russia, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Conflict
Defense Industry