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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

Aug 6, 2026

Ukraine cannot defeat Putin’s ballistic blitz by defensive measures alone

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Putin is ramping up Russian ballistic missile production and clearly intends to bomb Ukraine into submission. If he is not stopped, the Ukrainian civilian population will pay a terrible price and Kyiv may be pushed toward capitulation, writes Mykola Bielieskov.


Defense Technologies


European Union


UkraineAlert

Aug 6, 2026

We should not fear a post-Putin Russia

By
Brian Mefford

Some believe a post-Putin Russia could become even more aggressive toward the West. However, past experience and current practicalities suggest that the next Russian ruler may be forced to seek a less hostile path, writes Brian Mefford.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2026

Winter is coming: Ukraine warns of escalating Russian ballistic strikes

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, Will Dixon

Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal has warned that Moscow will expand attacks on the country’s civilian population and critical infrastructure in the coming months as Putin seeks to finally break Ukraine’s resistance, write Maksym Beznosiuk and Will Dixon.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2026

Ukrainian drones alone will not force Putin to the negotiating table

By
Christopher Isajiw

Ukraine's escalating long-range drone strike campaign targeting military and industrial sites deep inside Russia is disrupting the Kremlin war machine but will not be enough to push Putin toward meaningful peace talks, writes Christopher Isajiw.


Defense Technologies


Drones


UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2026

As Ukraine regains the initiative from Russia, Europe must seize the moment

By
Lesia Ogryzko

Ukraine’s recent progress offers a rare window of opportunity to increase the pressure on Putin and push the Russian leader toward credible peace talks to end Europe’s largest war since World War II, writes Lesia Ogryzko.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2026

Putin’s pitiful naval parade highlights his inability to stop Ukrainian drones

By
Peter Dickinson

Russian President Vladimir Putin has faced widespread ridicule following dramatically downgraded Navy Day celebrations that underlined his inability to secure Russian airspace against Ukrainian drones, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2026

Ukraine’s reconstruction: Advancing from solidarity to shared strategic interests

By
Olga Usenko

The future success of Ukraine's reconstruction will increasingly depend on Kyiv’s ability to promote participation in the country’s recovery not only as a moral imperative, but also as a shared economic and security interest, writes Olga Usenko.


Conflict


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2026

Wartime Ukraine’s people power protests are Putin’s worst nightmare

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The protests are a reminder of the vibrant democratic culture that provoked Putin's invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 23, 2026

Ukraine leads European efforts to counter Russia’s growing ballistic missile threat

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

As the Russian army struggles to advance in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is increasingly relying on ballistic missiles to target the Ukrainian civilian population and maintain the momentum of his faltering invasion, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jul 23, 2026

Putin’s invasion comes home as Ukraine expands attacks inside Russia

By
David Kirichenko

With Russia still showing no signs of ending its invasion, Ukraine is expanding a strategic bombing campaign that aims to undermine the logistics supporting the Kremlin war machine, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict


Drones

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.

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

Jan 10, 2018

Ukraine’s Got Plenty of Young, Principled, Genuinely European-Oriented Politicians

By Melinda Haring

Bloomberg columnist Leonid Bershidsky recently claimed that “it’s not easy to find younger, more principled, genuinely European-oriented politicians in Ukraine, but they exist.” In fact, Mr. Bershidsky, it’s really not that hard. In 2017, we profiled the promising and idealistic Olena Sotnyk and Sergiy Gusovsky, a Ukrainian MP and a member of the Kyiv city […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 10, 2018

Ukraine: What to Expect in 2018

By Ruslan Minich

One should not have wild expectations for Ukraine this year. Although the country is more than a year away from the March 2019 presidential election, structural reforms won’t be a focus, international donors are getting impatient, and a large amount of debt is coming due.   What should we expect and follow in Ukraine this […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2018

This Time It Will Be Very, Very Different

By Diane Francis

In 2014, a 16-year-old Ukrainian, nicknamed Maley, watched the Euromaidan Revolution and Russian invasion on television and contacted his local army recruitment office to sign up. His calls went unanswered, so he took a train from the Carpathians to the front, armed with his grandfather’s hunting rifle and a brass plate bought by his mother […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2018

With Russia on the Sidelines, China Moves Aggressively into Ukraine

By James Brooke

On Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, the most active foreign actor is not Russia. It’s China. On the Danube, Chinese investors are mulling buying a Ukrainian river shipping company that could insert Chinese products deep into Eastern Europe. At the two big ports flanking Odesa, China Harbor Engineering Company just finished dredging Yuzhny and now is […]

China Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2018

How to Bring Peace to the Donbas. (Yes, It’s Possible)

By Alexander Vershbow

Last month Vladimir Putin reopened the door to the creation of a peacekeeping force in Eastern Ukraine. Deploying such a force, if done properly, could bring peace to a conflict that has dragged on for nearly four years. Without it, the conflict could return to a boil, jeopardizing Ukraine’s stability and destroying any basis for […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2018

Slain Lawyer Becomes an Icon of Unfinished Reforms in Ukraine

By Maxim Eristavi

The holiday season ended abruptly on January 1 as Ukrainians learned about the murder of lawyer and human rights activist Iryna Nozdrovska. This is a gruesome start for 2018, even for a country at war. We stopped having regular New Year’s holidays years ago. Not many felt like celebrating while soldiers were dying in the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2018

In Kyiv and Chisinau, Citizens Thirsty for Reform But the Governments Aren’t

By Dumitru Alaiba

On December 1, the European Union withheld payment of €600 million to Ukraine for falling short on four reforms. The deal is conditional, and this final tranche is on hold until Ukraine follows through on its commitments. Meanwhile, one week before, at the Eastern Partnership Summit, the EU agreed to provide Moldova with €100 million […]

Moldova Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2018

Why No Major Western Defense Company Will Invest in Ukraine

By Michael Carpenter

One of the biggest challenges facing Ukraine today is how to transform its inefficient, overcentralized, and opaque defense industry into a leading supplier of weapons and equipment for its frontline troops and an engine for economic growth and foreign currency revenues. Both of these goals are within reach, but only if Ukraine’s leaders can summon […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 3, 2018

President Trump One Year On: Better for Russia or Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

As Donald J. Trump took the oath of office in January 2017, there was a tangible sense of panic in Kyiv. Most analysts were extremely gloomy about the prospects for US-Ukrainian ties, with many predicting that Ukraine would be the primary victim of the Trump administration’s ambitious foreign policy. At the time, these grim forecasts […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 2, 2018

Nine Things Ukraine Should Do in 2018

By Olena Prokopenko and Christina Parandii

In September 2017, Parliamentary Speaker Andriy Parubiy branded the new political season “the autumn of reforms.” His prediction was partly right and partly wrong. Parliament did deliver on some overdue issues; however, the recent attacks on anticorruption institutions overshadowed a number of positive achievements. As Ukraine enters 2018, a year which precedes the presidential and […]

Ukraine