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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jan 25, 2024

Putin’s Achilles Heel: Ukraine targets Russia’s vital but vulnerable energy industry

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine has begun 2024 by opening a new front in the war against Putin's Russia with a series of long-range drone strikes on Russia’s vital but vulnerable energy industry, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2024

Putin accused of fast-tracking Russian citizenship for abducted Ukrainian kids

By
Vladyslav Havrylov

Ukrainian officials have condemned a new decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in early 2024 simplifying the process of conferring Russian citizenship on Ukrainian children abducted from wartime Ukraine.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 23, 2024

No European security without Ukrainian victory

By
Pavlo Zhovnirenko

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches the two-year mark, Western leaders increasingly acknowledge that there can be no European security without Ukrainian victory, writes Pavlo Zhovnirenko.


Conflict

Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jan 22, 2024

Ukraine’s Black Sea success exposes folly of West’s “don’t escalate” mantra

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's remarkable success during 2023 in the Battle of the Black Sea can serve as a blueprint for victory over Putin's Russia, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2024

Ukraine seeks future role as EU’s eastern customs hub

By
Vladyslav Suvorov

The ongoing reform of Ukraine’s customs service and the implementation of EU standards are fundamental for the country’s further European integration, writes Vladyslav Suvorov.


Conflict

Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2024

Europe steps up support for Ukraine in fight against Putin’s Russia

By
Diane Francis

There is now a growing realization across the continent that Putin is a European problem, and it is primarily up to Europe to stop him, writes Diane Francis.


Conflict

Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2024

Confident Putin boasts of Russian “conquests” in Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin is now openly referring to "Russian conquests" in Ukraine as he grows visibly in confidence amid mounting signs of Western weakness, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2024

Russia faces fresh accusations of targeting journalists in Ukraine

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

A series of Russian attacks on hotels used by international journalists has sparked fresh accusations that Moscow is deliberately targeting the media in Ukraine, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 11, 2024

Arsenal of Autocracy: North Korea and Iran are arming Russia in Ukraine

By
Olivia Yanchik

Together with Iran and North Korea, Russia has succeeded in establishing an Arsenal of Autocrats that now threatens to plunge the world into a new era of war and insecurity, writes Olivia Yanchik.


Arms Control

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 11, 2024

EU aspirations and Russian realities: Georgia at the geopolitical crossroads

By
Zviad Adzinbaia

2024 is shaping up to be a crucial year for Georgia’s EU aspirations. This could have implications for the wider region, while also challenging Russia’s own imperial ambitions in Georgia and beyond, writes Zviad Adzinbaia.


Civil Society

Conflict

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nov 20, 2017

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

By Anna Kyslytska

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 Josh Cohen

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 Lauren Van Metre

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 Peter Dickinson

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

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2017

Why There’s More to Alex Ovechkin’s Team Putin Movement than Meets the Eye

By Adrian Karatnycky

Hockey superstar Alex Ovechkin’s November 2 announcement that he is creating a social movement to support Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be an ill-considered PR move by the Washington Capitals captain. In the capital of a country awash in anti-Putin sentiment, Ovechkin is defiantly flaunting his loyalty to a leader who has supported military […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2017

Unfreezing Eurasia’s Frozen Conflicts May Not Be as Hard as You Think

By Laura Linderman

It was nearly impossible to find an empty seat on the twice-weekly WizzAir flight from Berlin to Kutaisi this summer. The budget airline carries mostly German hikers to Georgia’s second largest city. From there, the hikers transfer in Zugdidi to reach their final destination, the remote and breathtaking Svaneti region, high in the Greater Caucasus. […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2017

Why Russia’s War against Ukraine May Never End

By Kornely Kakachia and Joseph Larsen

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently requested a UN peacekeeping mission for eastern Ukraine. While at home this looks like a peace overture, Putin is not motivated by the desire for amity. The proposal is similar to Russian actions in Georgia prior to 2008, when it supported a UN observer mission in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone […]

Russia The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2017

Why Are Prestigious Institutions Sponsoring a Russian Propaganda Concert in Washington?

By Diane Francis

In April 2015, Ukrainian-born pianist Valentina Lisitsa was to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. But the concert was abruptly canceled because she expressed, to her huge online following, hurtful anti-Ukrainian messages and support for pro-Russia separatists who had invaded and occupied eastern Ukraine. “As one of Canada’s most important […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2017

What the Odesa Port Saga Means for Reform in Ukraine

By Peter J. Marzalik

In an interview last October, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman revealed that not a single x-ray scanner was operational at customs checkpoints in Ukraine, suggesting that corrupt customs officers had deliberately damaged the equipment to facilitate criminal activity. The accusation speaks to the severity of entrenched corruption in the customs services of Ukraine, even amid […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2017

Q&A: How Can Ukraine Get a Better Grade on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index?

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine just received a marginally better grade on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, moving from 80th place in 2017 to 76th place in 2018. Kyiv reduced the cost of construction permits, strengthened minority investor protections, and reduced labor taxes. To put things in perspective, it’s easier to do business in Azerbaijan, Belarus, […]

Ukraine
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