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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

May 22, 2026

Vyshyvanka Day celebrates Ukrainian identity amid Russia’s genocidal war

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's annual Vyshyvanka Day holiday has emerged as a simple yet profound grassroots celebration of Ukrainian national identity at a time when Russia is attempting to destroy Ukraine as a state and as a nation, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2026

As Russian losses mount in Ukraine, Putin seeks more foreign fighters

By Marc Goedemans, Katherine Spencer

With no end in sight to the invasion of Ukraine, Putin is looking to recruit more foreign fighters to counter heavy Russian losses while avoiding a politically risky mobilization, write Marc Goedemans and Katherine Spencer.

Africa Central Asia

UkraineAlert

May 19, 2026

From Moscow to Crimea, Ukraine is winning the drone war against Russia

By David Kirichenko

As Russia’s full-scale invasion enters a fifth summer, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the tide in the drone war has turned in Ukraine’s favor, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

May 19, 2026

Ukraine’s experience can teach Europe how to defend against Russia

By Valeriya Ionan, Nicolas Dunais

Ukraine's wartime transformation should inform European defense modernization in both technology and doctrine. Europe must now choose: Seize the opportunity to adapt or procrastinate and risk future defeat, write Valeriya Ionan and Nicolas Dunais.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

May 14, 2026

Putin’s parade projected weakness but he is now more dangerous than ever

By Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

While the Kremlin dictator is clearly in a weakened position, a diminished Vladimir Putin could be more dangerous than ever, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

May 14, 2026

Zelenskyy raises alarm over Russia’s escalating ‘human safari’ in Ukraine

By Oleksandr Tolokonnikov

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has raised the alarm over Russia’s escalating “human safari” tactics targeting the civilian population in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region, writes Oleksandr Tolokonnikov.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

May 14, 2026

Bulgaria is unlikely to become Putin’s new proxy within the European Union

By Kristian Kafozov

Newly elected Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev is unlikely to replace recently ousted Hungarian leader Viktor Orban as Vladimir Putin's proxy within the EU and NATO, writes Kristian Kafozov.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

May 12, 2026

Ukrainian long-range drones are turning Russia’s size into a weakness

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine is waging a strategic bombing campaign of deep strikes across the Russian Federation that aims to exploit Russia's colossal size and transform it from a key strength into a fatal weakness, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

May 12, 2026

EU targets Kyrgyzstan as Brussels seeks to prevent Russian sanctions evasion

By Marc Goedemans

The latest EU sanctions on Russia also featured measures against Kyrgyzstan. This was the first use of so-called anti-circumvention tools, which are designed to prevent third countries from helping the Kremlin bypass restrictions over the invasion of Ukraine, writes Marc Goedemans.

Central Asia Conflict

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2026

Putin is dragging Belarus deeper into Russia’s Ukraine invasion

By Hanna Liubakova

Belarus may not currently be poised to join the invasion of Ukraine, but Vladimir Putin is clearly intent on dragging the country deeper into Russia’s war effort, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus Conflict

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UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2025

Putin’s Kyiv blitz sends message to G7 leaders: Russia does not want peace

By Peter Dickinson

As G7 leaders gathered on Monday for a summit in Canada, Russia unleashed one of the largest bombardments of the Ukrainian capital since the start of Moscow’s invasion more than three years ago, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2025

Russia and Ukraine are locked in an economic war of attrition

By Anders Åslund

As the Russian army continues to wage a brutal war of attrition in Ukraine, the two nations are also locked in an economic contest that could play a key role in determining the outcome of Europe’s largest invasion since World War II, writes Anders Åslund.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2025

Ukraine is shaping the future of drone warfare at sea as well as on land

By Peter Dickinson

Kyiv’s string of remarkable naval victories in the Battle of the Black Sea confirm that Ukrainian innovation is shaping the future of drone warfare at sea as well as on land, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2025

Putin’s peace plan is a blueprint for the end of Ukrainian statehood

By Tetiana Kotelnykova

Russia’s peace plan sends a clear signal that Moscow wants to erase Ukraine as a state and as a nation. If Western leaders wish to avoid this catastrophic outcome, they must convince Putin that the alternative to a negotiated peace is a Russian defeat, writes Tetiana Kotelnykova.

Conflict Freedom and Prosperity

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2025

Modern Ukraine’s national journey can be traced on Kyiv’s central square

By Peter Dickinson

Since 1991, Kyiv's Maidan square has emerged from Ukraine’s post-Soviet identity crisis via two popular uprisings to become the sacred ground zero of a nation forged in the crucible of revolution and war, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 10, 2025

Ukrainian innovations are redefining the role of drones in modern war

By Vitaliy Nabukhotny

Ukraine’s audacious drone strikes on Putin’s bomber fleet at airbases across Russia have been hailed as a watershed moment in military history, leading to claims that Ukraine is “redefining modern warfare,” writes Vitaliy Nabukhotny.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jun 5, 2025

Russian hybrid warfare: Ukraine’s success offers lessons for Europe

By Maksym Beznosiuk

As the Kremlin continues to escalate its hybrid war against Europe, Ukraine's unique experience since 2014 of combating Russian hybrid warfare offers important lessons, writes Maksym Beznosiuk.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Jun 5, 2025

Trump’s Russia policy must be rooted in realism

By Agnia Grigas

The Trump administration favors a realist approach to international relations, but a pragmatic assessment of Russia’s capabilities and objectives is needed to achieve the stated goal of bringing the war in Ukraine to an end, writes Agnia Grigas.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2025

Putin’s punitive peace terms are a call for Ukraine’s complete capitulation

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's punitive peace terms for Ukraine would leave the country at the mercy of the Kremlin and confirm his unwavering determination to erase Ukrainian statehood, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2025

After Ukraine’s innovative airbase attacks, nowhere in Russia is safe

By David Kirichenko

Ukraine carried out one of the most audacious operations in modern military history on June 1, using swarms of smuggled drones to strike four Russian airbases simultaneously and destroy a significant portion of Putin’s bomber fleet, writes David Kirichenko.

Artificial Intelligence Conflict