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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

Oct 14, 2025

Tomahawk missiles are Russia’s latest red line. Will Trump call Putin’s bluff?

By
Peter Dickinson

Time and again since 2022, Moscow has declared a new red line while warning of the West of nuclear escalation, only to then do nothing when their red lines are crossed. Trump can now call Putin’s bluff over Russia’s latest red line by providing Ukraine with Tomahawks, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


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


UkraineAlert

Oct 9, 2025

Putin the geopolitical gangster is trying to intimidate Europe

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin the geopolitical gangster is trying to intimidate Europe into abandoning Ukraine with an escalating campaign of gray zone aggression designed to highlight the continent’s vulnerability to Russian attack, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

Oct 8, 2025

Ukraine’s defense tech sector must guard against innovation drain

By
Andriy Dovbenko

Without robust intellectual property (IP) protections, Ukraine may lose control of the defense tech innovations that are currently helping to defend the country on the battlefield, writes Andriy Dovbenko.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Oct 6, 2025

Putin rejected Trump’s generous deal. Time to try peace through strength.

By
Sergiy Solodkyy

President Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine by offering Putin Kremlin-friendly peace terms have failed to convince the Russian dictator. It is now time to speak to Putin in the language of strength, the only language he truly understands, writes Sergiy Solodkyy.

Conflict
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


UkraineAlert

Oct 4, 2025

Putin’s Moldova election failure highlights Russia’s declining influence

By
Kateryna Odarchenko

Russia’s failed bid to sway recent elections in Moldova underscores the challenges Putin faces as he seeks to reassert Russian dominance over countries once ruled from the Kremlin at a time when Moscow’s ability to project power is increasingly in question, writes Kateryna Odarchenko.

Conflict
Corruption


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


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2025

Plight of Belarusian political prisoners must not be forgotten

By
Craig Jackson

Belarusian human rights defender Andrei Chapiuk spent almost five years in prison and says the world must not forget about the more than one thousand Belarusian political prisoners who remain behind bars.

Belarus
Civil Society


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


UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2025

Belarus dictator must not be rewarded for releasing his own prisoners

By
Hanna Liubakova

Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is attempting to repair relations with the West by trading political prisoners for concessions. If this hostage diplomacy proves successful, it will strengthen Lukashenka’s grip on power, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus
Conflict

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

Apr 10, 2017

Why Did Putin Get Stuck in Eastern Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine is now entering its fourth year, but there was a time when few expected it to last even four weeks. The virtually bloodless seizure of Crimea, which fell to Russian troops in early 2014 without a fight, led most observers to conclude that Ukraine was effectively defenseless and at Moscow’s […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 10, 2017

Is Russia Winning in Serbia? Maybe, But Not for the Reasons You Think

By Dimitar Bechev

One year ago, in April 2016 when Serbia held snap polls, the BBC ran the headline “Pro-EU Prime Minister Vučić Claims Victory.” One year later, after Aleksandar Vučić’s resounding win in the presidential election on April 2, the international media has styled him “Putin’s Serb ally.” Who’s right and where is Serbian foreign policy heading? […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Apr 10, 2017

From Trench Coats to Tuxedos: How the Kremlin Deploys its Dirty Tricks Today

By Diane Francis

The same dirty tricks deployed by the KGB for decades are used in today’s Cold War 2.0, and have permeated geopolitics from Syria to Ukraine and the world’s capitals. But spies in trench coats been supplanted by Russians in tuxedos with huge bank accounts who use financial, social, and political weaponry to build tentacles that […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2017

The Coming Crackdown on Ukraine’s Anticorruption Crusaders

By Daria Kaleniuk

President Petro Poroshenko’s new restrictions on anticorruption groups are appalling and threaten to reverse much of the progress Ukraine has made since the Euromaidan. Some analysts who defend the new law have got the details all wrong. Others have sounded the alarm, but the fine points of the regulations remain murky. On March 27, Poroshenko […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 3, 2017

Three Ways the West Can Get Tougher on Russia for Crimea Land Grab

By Taras Kuzio

Russia’s occupation of Crimea has reached its third anniversary, and there is no evidence in sight that President Vladimir Putin will withdraw his occupation forces. Both the United States and Canada have reiterated their support for continued sanctions against Russia as long as Crimea continues to be occupied. Still, ending Russia’s illegal occupation could take […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2017

Is Russia Getting Ready to Invade Ukraine Again?

By Stephen Blank

Recent Russian actions suggest a new stage of the Russian threat to Ukraine—and potentially to the Caucasus, Belarus, or the Baltic States as well—that could presage a new large-scale military operation. First, in 2016, Russia created twenty-five division formations and fifteen brigades, while raising manpower by only 10,000 men. This suggests the possibility that Russia […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2017

Why Putin’s Flirtation with the French Far Right May Backfire

By Péter Krekó and Alina Polyakova

On March 24, Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Front (FN) party and a contender for the French presidency, flew to Moscow for a surprise visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Le Pen’s photo op of a one-on-one meeting with Russia’s president certainly made her look presidential, but it’s an image that may […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2017

One Small Step for Georgia, One Giant Leap for the EU

By Alexandra Hall Hall

At a time when doors across the West are closing to migrants, one small country has managed to buck the trend: the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia. On March 28, the country secured visa-free travel to the Schengen area of the EU, which includes all member states except Ireland, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania, and […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2017

Ukraine Is in the Middle of a Counterrevolution Again. Is Anyone Paying Attention?

By Maxim Eristavi

While the world is distracted by multiple crises, Ukraine’s ruling elites are trying to undo the modest progress the country has achieved since the Maidan Revolution. Despite the mainstream narrative, when it comes to reforms in post-revolutionary Ukraine, the record has been anything but black and white. But if you need a consensus on the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2017

Watching the Watchdogs: Why Ukraine’s NGOs Should Disclose Assets, Too

By Adrian Karatnycky

A huge kerfuffle has erupted in Ukraine over amendments to a law on income and asset transparency that will require employees of some nongovernmental organizations and investigative journalists who focus on corruption to post detailed income declarations publicly in electronic form. A strong majority in Ukraine’s parliament (266 of 423 legislators) passed the controversial legislation […]

Ukraine