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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

May 21, 2026

As Russian losses mount in Ukraine, Putin seeks more foreign fighters

By
Marc Goedemans, Katherine Spencer

With no end in sight to the invasion of Ukraine, Putin is looking to recruit more foreign fighters to counter heavy Russian losses while avoiding a politically risky mobilization, write Marc Goedemans and Katherine Spencer.


Africa


Central Asia


UkraineAlert

May 19, 2026

From Moscow to Crimea, Ukraine is winning the drone war against Russia

By
David Kirichenko

As Russia’s full-scale invasion enters a fifth summer, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the tide in the drone war has turned in Ukraine’s favor, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

May 19, 2026

Ukraine’s experience can teach Europe how to defend against Russia

By
Valeriya Ionan, Nicolas Dunais

Ukraine's wartime transformation should inform European defense modernization in both technology and doctrine. Europe must now choose: Seize the opportunity to adapt or procrastinate and risk future defeat, write Valeriya Ionan and Nicolas Dunais.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

May 14, 2026

Putin’s parade projected weakness but he is now more dangerous than ever

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

While the Kremlin dictator is clearly in a weakened position, a diminished Vladimir Putin could be more dangerous than ever, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Conflict


Drones


UkraineAlert

May 14, 2026

Zelenskyy raises alarm over Russia’s escalating ‘human safari’ in Ukraine

By
Oleksandr Tolokonnikov

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has raised the alarm over Russia’s escalating “human safari” tactics targeting the civilian population in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region, writes Oleksandr Tolokonnikov.


Conflict


Drones


UkraineAlert

May 14, 2026

Bulgaria is unlikely to become Putin’s new proxy within the European Union

By
Kristian Kafozov

Newly elected Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev is unlikely to replace recently ousted Hungarian leader Viktor Orban as Vladimir Putin's proxy within the EU and NATO, writes Kristian Kafozov.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

May 12, 2026

Ukrainian long-range drones are turning Russia’s size into a weakness

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine is waging a strategic bombing campaign of deep strikes across the Russian Federation that aims to exploit Russia's colossal size and transform it from a key strength into a fatal weakness, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

May 12, 2026

EU targets Kyrgyzstan as Brussels seeks to prevent Russian sanctions evasion

By
Marc Goedemans

The latest EU sanctions on Russia also featured measures against Kyrgyzstan. This was the first use of so-called anti-circumvention tools, which are designed to prevent third countries from helping the Kremlin bypass restrictions over the invasion of Ukraine, writes Marc Goedemans.


Central Asia


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 7, 2026

Putin is dragging Belarus deeper into Russia’s Ukraine invasion

By
Hanna Liubakova

Belarus may not currently be poised to join the invasion of Ukraine, but Vladimir Putin is clearly intent on dragging the country deeper into Russia’s war effort, writes Hanna Liubakova.


Belarus


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 6, 2026

Ukrainian battlefield gains expose Russia’s communications problems

By
Miro Sedlák

Ukraine has demonstrated in recent months that it is capable of exploiting weaknesses in Russia’s front line defenses. Kyiv’s allies should now seek to prioritize the tools that will identify and exacerbate these weak points, writes Miro Sedlák.


Conflict


Cybersecurity

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

Nov 6, 2017

Why We Don’t Live Like Britain

By Sergey Fursa

Having admitted to a decade-old sexual harassment incident in which he touched a journalist’s knee at a party conference, British Defense Minister Michael Fallon resigned, stating, “I accept that in the past I have fallen below the high standards that we require of the Armed Forces that I have the honor to represent…I am therefore […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2017

Pragmatism Prevails over Populism in Ukraine

By Brian Mefford

Successful politics is about getting things done. By that standard, October was a successful month. Not only did the government pass sweeping healthcare reform, pension reform, and judiciary reform, it also staved off populist protests. In short, pragmatism prevailed over populism. Each of the reforms passed was significant, but healthcare reform was the most far-reaching. […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2017

Groisman Tells Investors that Shakedowns and Harassment Will End

By Diane Francis

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman welcomes the creation of an independent anticorruption court in Ukraine and says it will be operating in 2018. “The debate was whether this court should be independent or a chamber. This was a waste of time,” he said in an extensive interview in Toronto. “From day one, I was in support […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2017

In Lviv, World-Class Learning Center Opens Where Soviets Wanted Drab Building

By Melinda Haring

On September 10, Ukrainian Catholic University opened a 64,874 square foot world-class library and educational center in Lviv, Ukraine. Ukrainian Catholic University, the first Catholic university in the former Soviet Union, strives to provide an open, progressive, and democratic learning environment for its students and the community. Canadian businessman and philanthropist James Temerty was the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2017

What Manafort’s Indictment Means for the US and Ukraine

By Anders Åslund

The most surprising thing about the thirty-one-page indictment of Paul J. Manafort, Jr. and his business partner Richard W. Gates III by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is that it hardly contains anything that was not known to people who have observed Ukraine. Manafort was the all-dominant political advisor to former President Viktor Yanukovych from the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2017

How to End the War in Eastern Ukraine

By Alexander Vershbow

The recent US debate about Russia has focused mainly on Moscow’s disinformation, propaganda, and interference in our elections. But Russia’s aggression against Ukraine remains the original sin and the biggest threat. It’s not just Ukraine’s survival as an independent, democratic state that is on the line, but the future of an international order based on […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2017

The High Stakes of Ukraine’s Reform Struggle

By Stephen Blank

It is easy to despair about Ukraine ever reforming and becoming a normal European state. Nevertheless, such despair would be a mistaken response to the flood of stories depicting obstructions to reform—even if they are true. While anyone who has dealt with Ukraine in the last twenty-five years has experienced the frustrations of trying to […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2017

Ukraine Is Really Changing: A Business Can Register in Twenty Minutes or Less

By Victor Liakh and Olexiy Zelivyanskyi

It now takes only twenty minutes to register a business in Ukraine. Since March 2017, entrepreneurs have been able to open and close businesses through a new online portal that the Ministry of Justice and the State Agency for E-Governance are behind. The new service proved popular: in its first six months, it was used […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2017

Why Ukraine’s Next Revolution Won’t Be on the Streets

By Diane Francis

Deposed President Viktor Yanukovych and the Kremlin continue to create mayhem inside Ukraine but have lost the hearts and minds of most Ukrainians, said security expert Andriy Levus. “Confiscation of assets in the Donbas finances the military war for Yanukovych and Russia, and it’s a cover for smuggling, but only for another year or so,” […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 23, 2017

Will Austria’s New Government End Sanctions on Russia?

By Péter Krekó, Berhard Weidinger, Fabian Schmid, and Lóránt Győri

The far-right Austrian Freedom Party will likely become part of the next Austrian federal government following the October 15 parliamentary elections. For the first time since the introduction of sanctions on Russia in 2014, a member of a vehemently pro-Russian and anti-sanctions party would become a governmental force. Will this mean the end of the […]

Russia