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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

Apr 28, 2026

Ukraine’s Zelennials have youth on their side in war against Putin’s pensioners

By
Peter Dickinson

It is no exaggeration to state that the current war in Ukraine is a clash of generations pitting Russia’s staunchly Soviet leadership against the radically different post-Soviet mindset of the Ukrainian authorities, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2026

Iran war could leave Ukrainian civilians exposed to Russian missiles

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

With the Iran war depleting global stocks of Patriot air defense interceptor missiles, fears are mounting in Kyiv that Ukrainian civilians could be left exposed to Russian ballistic missiles during an anticipated summer bombing campaign, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Conflict


Critical Infrastructure Policy


UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2026

Shakhtar Donetsk gives Ukraine’s war-weary football fans reason to cheer

By
Mark Temnycky

Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk will face English team Crystal Palace next week in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League semifinal knowing that a win could provide a much-needed morale boost to millions of fans watching at home in war-torn Ukraine, writes Mark Temnycky.


Conflict


Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2026

Europe unites to unblock €90 billion Ukraine loan in major blow to Russia

By
Peter Dickinson

The European Union finally approved a long delayed €90 billion two-year loan to Kyiv on April 23, dealing a serious blow to Russia's hopes of outlasting the West in Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2026

Russia threatens Europe as Ukraine escalates strikes on Putin’s oil industry

By
Giorgi Revishvili

The Kremlin issued a thinly veiled threat to European leaders last week over their support for Ukraine's drone program as escalating Ukrainian strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure cause unprecedented damage, writes Giorgi Revishvili.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Apr 18, 2026

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 long before the full-scale war of 2022

By
Paul Niland

International efforts to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine must reflect the fact that the Kremlin's attack on Ukraine began in 2014 and not with the full-scale war of 2022, writes Paul Niland.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2026

Drone diplomacy: Ukraine strengthens security role in Europe and the Gulf

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

Ukraine has emerged since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 as a world leader in drone warfare. Kyiv is now using drone diplomacy to build security partnerships throughout Europe and the Middle East, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2026

Could Bulgaria replace Hungary as Putin’s proxy inside the EU?

By
Jan Surotchak

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán's recent election defeat was widely seen as a major setback for Russia, but victory for the pro-Kremlin candidate in this week's Bulgarian parliamentary elections could provide Putin with a new proxy inside the EU, writes Jan Surotchak.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2026

Orbán’s Hungarian election defeat: Good for Ukraine, bad for Russia

By
Peter Dickinson

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's historic election defeat has removed a major obstacle to Ukraine's EU integration while robbing Putin of his most important European ally, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Elections


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2026

Brussels and Kyiv should have realistic expectations about Magyar’s Hungary

By
James Batchik, Eva Mulholland

While Péter Magyar’s election victory provides ample reason for optimism, there is also good cause to temper any expectations of Hungary now playing a leading European role in support of Ukraine, write James Batchik and Eva Mulholland.


Conflict


Elections

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

Jan 22, 2018

Russia Cannot Acknowledge MH17 Role without Exposing Secret Ukraine War

By Peter Dickinson

The shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine on July 17, 2014, transformed a localized post-Soviet conflict into a major global crisis. With victims from eleven different countries including 189 Dutch citizens, the international backlash was prompt and marked a clear escalation in the confrontation between Russia and the West over the war […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2018

Justice Deferred but Not Yet Denied

By Mykhailo Zhernakov

2017 was a pivotal year in Ukraine, but not the way we expected. We were supposed to get a brand new Supreme Court to replace four old cassation courts that were synonymous with corruption and abuse. Instead, it was new only on paper.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2018

Ukraine: Where Watchdogs Need Safeguards

By Luke Drabyn and Samantha Feinstein

It is ironic but fitting that in Ukraine, the agency tasked with protecting whistleblowers has instead fostered so much corruption that its own employees, after speaking out, have become victims of retaliation. In mid-November, Hanna Solomatina, the former head of the financial control department within the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP), alleged that she […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2018

When Will We See a Breakthrough in Ukraine?

By Pavlo Sheremeta

When asked what the exchange rate will be in 2018, I answer a question with a question: when will elections in Ukraine take place? A definite answer  is hard to come by in our country. Only one thing is certain: the fight in Ukraine will continue. Anders Åslund, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2018

Ukraine’s Making Real Progress in the Energy Sector

By Olga Bielkova

Energy independence is a question of national security for Ukraine, and one that we worked on assiduously in 2017. Most observers know that Naftogaz emerged victorious in an $80 billion arbitration case in Stockholm, but that’s only part of the story. Here are the big five milestones that really mattered for the energy sector last […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2018

Why Russia’s Soft Power Is Here to Stay (At Least for Now)

By Matthew Finkel

Hydrocarbon exports remain the centerpiece of Russia’s national revival strategy, despite the negative impact of developmental and investment setbacks, OPEC price dumping in traditional Russian export markets, Western sanctions, and a growing push toward energy independence in Eastern Europe. Russia continues to suffer from many of the classic symptoms of Dutch disease: a number of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2018

Why Poroshenko’s Anti-Corruption Court Is a Sham Proposal

By Anastasia Krasnosilska

Ukrainians want corrupt public officials to go to jail. It didn’t happen in 2014, 2015, 2016, or 2017. In July, a Kyiv court released Roman Tymkiv, the head of a state-owned military plant, on bail. Tymkiv was accused of embezzling $1 million by supplying the Ukrainian army with used tank engines for the price of […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 17, 2018

How Poroshenko Can Easily Be Reelected

By Diane Francis

Democracies guarantee freedom of speech for their elected politicians by granting them immunity from libel or slander for statements made inside their legislative chambers. This privilege was established centuries ago in Britain to protect the people’s representatives from the monarchy, House of Lords, and other powerful vested interests. Ukraine, on the other hand, has perverted […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2018

What Did Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution Really Accomplish?

By Melinda Haring

Yale University history professor Marci Shore’s new book, The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution (Yale University Press, 2018), captures the historic period surrounding the Maidan revolution that took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, from November 2013 to February 2014, when ordinary Ukrainians took to the streets and demanded justice and dignity. Shore’s book couldn’t […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2018

Why Is Hungary Blocking Ukraine’s Western Integration?

By Péter Krekó and Patrik Szicherle

For the first time since the Maidan revolution, Ukraine’s road to the transatlantic community is being actively blocked not only by Russia but by an EU and NATO member state as well: Hungary. While Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been a vocal critic of sanctions and is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strongest allies […]

Hungary Russia