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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

Positive Change Is Not Happening in Ukraine’s Courts

UkraineAlert
Sep 30, 2025

Putin’s dream of demilitarizing Ukraine has turned into his worst nightmare

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin had hoped to demilitarize and decapitate the Ukrainian state, but his self-defeating invasion has inadvertently created the militarily powerful and fiercely independent Ukraine he feared most of all, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

Positive Change Is Not Happening in Ukraine’s Courts

UkraineAlert
Oct 2, 2025

Drone superpower Ukraine is teaching NATO how to defend against Russia

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s unrivaled experience of drone warfare makes it a key partner for NATO and an indispensable ally in the defense of Europe as the continent faces up to the mounting threat posed by an expansionist Russia, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

Positive Change Is Not Happening in Ukraine’s Courts

UkraineAlert
Oct 14, 2025

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are a European problem

By
Aura Sabadus

Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure are no longer just a Ukrainian problem. Moscow’s bombing campaign will become a wider European issue unless more support is offered to Kyiv, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict
Drones

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Feb 9, 2021

Ukraine signs vaccine deal but delays highlight urgent need for healthcare reform

By
Pavlo Kovtoniuk

Ukraine has finally secured the country’s first sizable COVID-19 vaccine contract, but the fact that this depended on the role of Britain’s Crown Agents has underlined Ukraine’s procurement dysfunction.

Coronavirus
Corruption


UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2021

Can Putin’s pet pipeline still be saved from sanctions?

By
Diane Francis

Russia continues to defy US attempts to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but with the new administration of President Biden committed to stopping the project, can it still be saved?

Geopolitics & Energy Security
Russia


UkraineAlert

Feb 5, 2021

Analysis: Ukraine bans Kremlin-linked TV channels

By
Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy shut down three Kremlin-linked TV channels on February 2 in a move portrayed as a major blow to Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine. The step has sparked debate over the balance between national security and free speech.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Feb 4, 2021

Ukraine scores court victory in long quest for justice over Russia’s Crimean crimes

By
Shelby Magid, Andrew D’Anieri

Ukraine’s long quest to bring Russia to justice received a boost on January 14 when the ECHR ruled that Ukrainian complaints of Russian crimes in occupied Crimea were “partly admissible.”

Conflict
Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Feb 3, 2021

Ukraine strikes back against Russian infowar with ban on Kremlin-linked TV channels

By
Taras Kuzio

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s February 2 decision to force three Kremlin-linked Ukrainian TV channels off the air is his boldest move yet in the struggle against Russia’s ongoing hybrid war.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Feb 2, 2021

Zelenskyy’s Axios interview raises questions in Ukraine

By
Solomiia Bobrovska

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent interview with US outlet Axios left many questioning the quality of his preparation and unsure about his views on the key events in modern Ukrainian history.

Media
Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2021

Ukraine embraces openness with new report on Russian hybrid warfare challenges

By
Brian Mefford

A new report by Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service explores the threats posed by Russia’s ongoing hybrid war against the country and demonstrates a new openness that reflects broader changes in Ukraine.

Conflict
Intelligence


UkraineAlert

Jan 30, 2021

The rejection of reformer Yuriy Vitrenko highlights Ukraine’s broken politics

By
Adrian Karatnycky

The Ukrainian parliament’s failure to confirm the appointment of veteran reformer Yuriy Vitrenko as Energy Minister raises serious questions over the maturity of the country’s political culture.

Corruption
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jan 28, 2021

Navalny’s anti-Putin message resonates in Russia’s regions

By
Maria Snegovaya

Alexei Navalny’s anti-Putin message clearly resonates with residents of Russian regions far away from the country’s traditional centers of political activity in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jan 28, 2021

Navalny vs Putin: what next?

By
Peter Dickinson

January 23 saw some of the biggest anti-regime protests across Russia in recent years. What can we expect from the escalating confrontation between Vladimir Putin and opposition leader Alexei Navalny?

Corruption
Democratic Transitions

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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

Positive Change Is Not Happening in Ukraine’s Courts

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

Positive Change Is Not Happening in Ukraine’s Courts

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

Positive Change Is Not Happening in Ukraine’s Courts

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

Jul 5, 2017

Positive Change Is Not Happening in Ukraine’s Courts

By Josh Cohen

In his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, “Positive Change Is Happening in Ukraine,” Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman’s glosses over the real driver of a business-friendly climate: the courts. He fails to mention the courts, judicial reform, or the process to rebuild the Supreme Court, a process which is being sabotaged. Ukraine’s judiciary is riven with […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 3, 2017

US Trade Actions Threaten Ukraine and Strengthen Russia

By Daniel Valk

As President Donald Trump prepares for his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week at the G-20 in Hamburg, Germany, the US Department of Commerce is making two important trade decisions that threaten the economic and geopolitical stability of Ukraine. In 2014, as Ukraine was reeling from the annexation of Crimea, and as […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 3, 2017

War in Ukraine Was Years in the Making

By Vera Zimmerman

Ukraine is the only country in the world that has ongoing experience with a hybrid war—a simultaneous and adaptive military strategy that blends conventional and non-conventional means. As a result, it offers valuable lessons that could help the West better understand emerging threats. In the last three years, Ukraine has found itself drawn into the […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 30, 2017

Ukraine’s Trashy Politics

By Diane Francis

Lviv is Ukraine’s most beautiful city, an exquisite UNESCO World Heritage site that has survived attacks and changed hands for seven centuries. The city is a successful IT hub and its hotels, restaurants, and architecture attract 2.5 million visitors a year. Since 2006, its reform-minded mayor and city council have upgraded infrastructure and enticed industry […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2017

War in Ukraine 2.0

By Melinda Haring

Russia is targeting the most capable and dedicated parts of the Ukrainian military. On June 27, Colonel Maksim Shapoval, commander of an elite Ukrainian military intelligence unit, was killed when his car exploded during his morning commute in downtown Kyiv. A few hours later, a massive cyberattack took out computer systems across the city. The […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 28, 2017

Ukraine’s Least Sexy Reform Is Transforming Villages with New Roads, Police, and Even a Telescope

By Ruslan Minich

It used to be dark, and children had to jump from stone to stone to get to school. Now, the roads are smooth and brightly lit. Water flows from the mountains by gravity, and thus is free of charge and available to everyone. This is what the residents of southwestern Ukraine’s Poliana village say decentralization […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2017

What Happens if Russia Turns Up the Heat Again in Ukraine?

By Andreas Umland

Will the low-intensity war in the Donbas continue its current course in the coming years, or will Moscow turn up the heat there, as it occasionally does? It’s hard to say. “It all comes down to geopolitics and what Putin wants to do,” said Ihor Kozak, an independent Canadian defense and security expert who visited […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2017

How History Will Remember Vladimir Putin

By Stephen Blank

To paraphrase Pravda in 1929, Putin is the Stalin of today. Nobody since Stalin’s death has achieved such longevity or uncontested power over Russia as Putin has. Nevertheless, tomorrow he may be remembered as the Brezhnev of today, for he has presided over a galloping stagnation of the economy and public morality. At the same […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2017

In Ukraine, Health Security Is National Security

By Olena Kucheruk and Alex T. Johnson

Three years after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues to pummel the country with cyberattacks, ruthless propaganda, and Grad missiles. But Ukraine’s dysfunctional institutions, especially its health care system, undermine Ukraine’s national security as well. Policies to reduce the enormous stress on Ukraine’s military and government alone ignore the delivery of core services. Without those […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 23, 2017

Memo to President Trump: It’s Not “The Ukraine” Anymore

By Peter Dickinson

The first meeting between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and US President Donald Trump on June 20 was widely hailed as a small but significant victory for Ukraine, signaling continued American support at a time when many fear Ukraine’s struggle with Russia is in danger of becoming a forgotten war. The only fly in the ointment […]

Russia
Ukraine
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