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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.

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Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Oct 27, 2026

UN report: Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid are a ‘crime against humanity’

By Kateryna Odarchenko

Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine’s civilian power grid qualifies as a crime against humanity, according to a new report by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, writes Kateryna Odarchenko.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Oct 27, 2026

European infrastructure is vulnerable as Putin escalates Russia’s hybrid war

By Maksym Beznosiuk

Putin is currently looking to exploit Europe’s vulnerabilities as he seeks ways to isolate Ukraine and cut off Kyiv’s European aid lifeline. Civilian infrastructure may be one of the continent’s weakest links, writes Maksym Beznosiuk.

Conflict Critical Infrastructure Policy

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2026

Ukrainians are not fighting for Zelenskyy. They are fighting for national survival.

By Peter Dickinson

Trump and Putin both seem to think that removing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would set the stage for a Kremlin-friendly peace deal, but most Ukrainians see the war as a fight for national survival that does not depend on any one man, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Education

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2026

Moldova’s fight against Kremlin interference faces Gagauzia election test

By Laurențiu Pleșca, Will Kingston-Cox

Moldova’s democratic resilience faces a revealing litmus test on November 15, when autonomous Gagauzia elects a new governor and People’s Assembly amid concerns over Kremlin interference, write Laurențiu Pleșca and Will Kingston-Cox.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2026

Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians may have a domestic dimension

By Syrus Solo Jin, Anton Ponomarenko

Russia's escalating bombing campaign against civilian targets across Ukraine aims to make much of the country unlivable while also serving a propaganda purpose for the Kremlin on the home front, write Syrus Solo Jin and Anton Ponomarenko.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Oct 16, 2026

Ukrainian drone strikes highlight the vulnerability of Russia’s data centers

By Leonid Baratz

The idea of Ukrainian drones silencing Kremlin bots clearly caught the world’s imagination, but the real story behind Ukraine’s recent drone strikes on Russia’s mega data centers is one of strategic vulnerability, writes Leonid Baratz.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Oct 15, 2026

Russia’s Starlink substitute poses a security threat far beyond Ukraine

By Joshua Stein

The Kremlin is currently in the process of deploying a satellite communications network known as Rassvet, creating concerns for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and for the wider international security environment, writes Joshua Stein.

China Conflict

UkraineAlert

Oct 15, 2026

Ukraine reports more battlefield gains as Putin’s invasion loses momentum

By David Kirichenko

Kyiv has reported further battlefield gains this week as the country’s Operation Vivaldi counteroffensive in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region continues to advance, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Oct 13, 2026

Putin snubs Trump’s ceasefire as Russia aims to make Ukraine unlivable

By Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

Hours after US President Donald Trump’s surprise Sunday announcement of an energy ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, Russia responded by bombing a series of Ukrainian power plants, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Oct 8, 2026

Ukraine can help Europe counter Russia’s escalating shadow war

By Ryan Prior, Maria Kovach

From Leipzig Airport to the Black Sea, Russia’s campaign of gray zone aggression against Europe has been escalating at an alarming rate in recent months. Ukraine's experience can help European leaders find the right response, write Ryan Prior and Maria Kovach.

Cybersecurity Disinformation

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Content

UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2018

Sorry, Putin. Crimea still isn’t yours

By Alexander Vershbow

We must make clear to Moscow that any return to “business as usual” in the West’s relations with Moscow cannot begin without the return of the Donbas, and that no improvement in relations can be complete without the return of Crimea.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2018

One Overlooked and Easy Way the Trump Administration Can Help Ukraine

By Anders Åslund

Diplomatic relations between the United States and Ukraine are eminent. As former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer writes in his new book, The Eagle and the Trident, they have almost always been good. Ukraine’s outstanding sacrifice was to give up the third largest nuclear force in the world. An unfortunate consequence was that Russia […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2018

From Crimea to Salisbury: Time to Acknowledge Putin’s Global Hybrid War

By Peter Dickinson

Since Russian troops began seizing government buildings in Crimea four years ago, the international community has become accustomed to encountering new acts of Russian aggression on an almost daily basis. Whether it is masked men in eastern Ukraine, a chemical weapons attack in the English countryside, or an attempted coup in the Balkans, the process […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2018

Q&A: Tillerson Out, Pompeo In. What Does It Mean for Russia and Ukraine?

By Melinda Haring

On March 13, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was sacked. US President Donald Trump plans to replace him with former CIA director Mike Pompeo. UkraineAlert asked its experts the following: What does Pompeo think about Russian President Vladimir Putin and his aggressive foreign policy? What does the leadership change mean for US policy toward Ukraine […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2018

The Truth Behind Ukraine’s Language Policy

By Tetyana Ogarkova

On February 28, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court ruled the bill “On the principles of the state language policy” unconstitutional and rendered it invalid. The law in question, adopted back in 2012 and known as the “Kivalov-Kolesnichenko language law,” granted Russian the status of a “regional language.” It was precisely the abolition of this law by the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2018

Ukraine’s Six Teams of Reformers to Watch

By Aivaras Abromavičius

Ukraine has changed in recent years. But, as is often the case, it’s two steps forward, one step back. At numerous meetings with international partners and journalists, I’m often asked where the latest positive dynamic in government reforms is and which groups of reformers are likely to produce positive results. Having worked in the government […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2018

Poroshenko’s Last Chance

By Diane Francis

An Anti-Corruption Court is the capstone that will complete an infrastructure to eliminate Ukraine’s systemic corruption and to attract massive investments.President Petro Poroshenko’s current proposal misses the mark, and fails to meet the criteria stipulated by the International Monetary Fund and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. Under Poroshenko’s bill, international experts will play only […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 8, 2018

The Right to Protest, Extremism, and the State Order

By Victor Andrusiv

On Sunday, March 3, Ukraine’s police dispersed more than one hundred protesters and disbanded their tent camps outside of the Ukrainian parliament amid significant criticism. Several dozen tents had stood for more than four months, blocking a major thoroughfare in Kyiv, Ukraine. Behind the protests were former opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili and former soldiers who […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 6, 2018

Torture in Eastern Ukraine—and What Comes After It

By Iuliia Mendel

Oleksiy Kanarskyy, a twenty-five-year old Ukrainian, never thought he would celebrate January 1 in freedom. His hopes had faded during three years of detention in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, after endless promises of a prisoners’ exchange between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists. But on December 27, 2017, the largest prisoner swap since […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2018

Why Ukrainians Are So Upset about New Electricity Tariffs

By Anders Åslund

Energy tariffs are a serious concern in Ukraine. Before the 2014 Euromaidan, gas prices were too low and cost the government 8 percent of GDP in subsidies. Worse, most of that went to a few privileged gas traders. Low electricity tariffs left the owners of generation and distribution companies no incentive to invest. From 2014-17, […]

Ukraine