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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

How the West Can Finally Get Moscow’s Attention

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

How the West Can Finally Get Moscow’s Attention

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

How the West Can Finally Get Moscow’s Attention

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

Nov 12, 2024

Russia emerges as the real winner of Georgia’s disputed election

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Nicholas Chkhaidze</span>

Critics say Georgia's October parliamentary elections were marred by widespread vote-rigging, but the success of the ruling Georgian Dream party is nevertheless a major victory for Russia that consolidates Moscow's position in the Caucasus region.


Civil Society

Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2024

Donald Trump’s election victory fuels hopes and fears in Ukraine

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Peter Dickinson</span>

Donald Trump's election win has sparked alarm in Ukraine, where many fear he will end US support for the country. However, some war-weary Ukrainians hope he can help end the Russian invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Elections


UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2024

The West must respond to Russia’s rapidly escalating hybrid warfare

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Doug Livermore</span>

Russia's hybrid war against the West is escalating rapidly and requires a far firmer collective response, writes Doug Livermore.


Conflict

Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Nov 5, 2024

Putin’s 2022 ‘peace proposal’ was a blueprint for the destruction of Ukraine

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Peter Dickinson</span>

New details of talks between Russia and Ukraine during spring 2022 confirm that Putin’s alleged peace proposal was in fact a call for unconditional surrender and a blueprint for the destruction of the Ukrainian state, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 5, 2024

Ukraine needs Western support to boost its nuclear energy potential

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Stephen Blank </span>

An energy equipment deal with Bulgaria offers Ukraine a chance to boost its nuclear power generation as the country braces for winter blackouts amid Russia's energy infrastructure bombing campaign, writes Stephen Blank.


Conflict

European Union


UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2024

Ukrainians brace for blackouts ahead of Russian winter air offensive

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Aura Sabadus</span>

A recent lull in Russian missile attacks has led many Ukrainians to conclude that the Kremlin is stockpiling ahead of a major winter air offensive targeting Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure, writes Aura Sabadus.


Conflict

Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2024

Putin’s North Korean escalation is a direct result of Western weakness

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Peter Dickinson</span>

The arrival of North Korean soldiers on the battlefields of Europe is the result of more than a decade of weak Western responses to escalating Russian aggression in Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2024

Russia’s economy is overheating but Putin cannot change course

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Alexander Mertens</span>

Russia's wartime economy is in danger of overheating due to a combination of record military spending, sanctions pressures, and runaway inflation, but Vladimir Putin dare not change course, writes Alexander Mertens.


Conflict

Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Oct 29, 2024

Putin’s war on Ukrainian heritage: Russia bombs first Soviet skyscraper

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert">Peter Dickinson</span>

This week's targeted Russian bombing of Kharkiv's iconic Derzhprom building was the latest in a series of attacks on Ukrainian heritage sites that many regard as evidence of a deliberate Kremlin campaign to erase Ukraine’s national identity, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Oct 29, 2024

Putin is creating the conditions for Russian victory in Ukraine

By
<span class="gta-embed–tax–expert gta-post-embed–tax–expert" >Mykola Bielieskov </span>

Whoever wins the US presidential election, they will inherit a war in Ukraine that requires their urgent attention to prevent a Russian victory that would signal the decline of the West and transform the geopolitical landscape, writes Mykola Bielieskov.


Conflict

Defense Policy

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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

How the West Can Finally Get Moscow’s Attention

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

How the West Can Finally Get Moscow’s Attention

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

How the West Can Finally Get Moscow’s Attention

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

Dec 1, 2017

How the West Can Finally Get Moscow’s Attention

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Diane Francis</span>

In March 1980, former President Jimmy Carter announced sanctions against the Soviet Union and a boycott of the Moscow Olympics in protest against its invasion of Afghanistan. “We call for the moving of the Olympics or the delay of the Olympics for at least a year, until Soviet troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan, or the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 27, 2017

Ukraine’s Challenges Are Very Real, but Now Is Not the Time for the West to Let Up

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Timothy Ash, Janet Gunn, John Lough, Orysia Lutsevych, James Nixey, James Sherr and Kataryna Wolczuk</span>

Four years since its Euromaidan revolution, Ukraine is fighting for its survival as an independent and viable state. The country is struggling to hold together and resist Russia’s interference and pressure—in the military, diplomatic, economic, and media spheres. But simultaneously, an internal contest is occurring that will determine the political, institutional, and civic future of […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 27, 2017

Does the EU Even Care about Eastern Europe Anymore?

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Anders Åslund</span>

If you missed the European Union’s Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels on November 24, you are not alone. It was a forgettable event, but it tells us quite a bit about the EU’s state of affairs in Eastern Europe. The proud start of the EU Eastern Partnership was the Prague summit in May 2009, instigated […]

Moldova The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Nov 24, 2017

Will President Trump Finally Arm Ukraine?

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Stephen Blank</span>

There’s a real possibility that the United States will finally send lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. The country has been fighting a defensive war in its east for nearly four years, after Russia seized Crimea and Russian-backed separatists invaded eastern Ukraine in 2014. Many experts have argued that better weapons would change the tactical imbalance […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2017

It’s Never Too Late to Set the Record Straight

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Diane Francis</span>

On November 24, 1933, the Soviet Union threw a lavish dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for 1,500 in honor of President Franklin Roosevelt’s recognition of the Soviet Union. They feasted on fancy wines, caviar, and Boeuf Stroganoff, then later in the evening gave a standing ovation to the special guest of honor, Walter Duranty, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2017

Moscow’s Eye Turns South

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Alina Polyakova</span>

In November 2016, the Atlantic Council published the first volume of The Kremlin’s Trojan Horses, detailing the extent of Russian-linked political networks in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. That report has since become a guide to those seeking to understand how the Kremlin cultivates political allies in Western European countries in order to undermine […]

Greece Italy

UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2017

Will Ukraine Ever Join Europe? The Answer Doesn’t Just Depend on Politics

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Anna Kyslytska</span>

As they say in real estate, location is everything. Thus Ukraine, the biggest country in Europe and one that is advantageously located, has a major role to play as an international transportation hub. Ukraine has one of the longest railroad systems in Eurasia, and its transportation capacities are superseded only by China, India, and Russia. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2017

The Best Way to Improve Kyiv’s Military Odds Isn’t What You Think It Is

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Josh Cohen</span>

As Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russian aggression in the east, there is one thing Kyiv can do to improve its odds for military success: reform its corruption-riddled defense sector. Transparency International’s most recent Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index gives Ukraine a D grade, indicating a high risk of corruption. It’s not difficult to see […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2017

Here’s One Way Ukraine Can Hold Russia Accountable Now

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Lauren Van Metre</span>

Ukraine’s internally displaced persons (IDPs) have struggled. After having fled their houses due to military conflict and living with the uncertainty of whether they will ever regain that property, some have been poorly regarded in their new host communities. How the displaced were received often depended on where they came from. In general Ukrainians have […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 12, 2017

Why Putin Cannot Risk Peace in Ukraine

By <span class="gta-embed--tax--expert gta-post-embed--tax--expert" >Peter Dickinson</span>

Imagine the scene: a patch of overgrown wasteland on the outskirts of an east Ukrainian rust belt town. Emergency services personnel are methodically excavating a large plot of earth while a huddle of journalists and aid workers look on. The date is October 2019. Another mass grave has just been uncovered. This grim but all-too-conceivable […]

Russia Ukraine
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