Stay Updated

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

Nov 30, 2022

As Putin retreats in Ukraine, he is also losing Kazakhstan

By
Kamila Auyezova

Putin's rapidly unraveling invasion of Ukraine is eroding Russian influence throughout the former Soviet Empire. This process of imperial retreat is nowhere more visible than in Kazakhstan, writes Kamila Auyezova.


Central Asia


China


UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2022

Fueling Ukraine’s fight back against Russia’s blackout blitz

By
Oleksiy Chernyshov

Russia's bombing campaign of civilian infrastructure means Ukraine faces the toughest winter season in the country's 31-year independent history, writes newly appointed Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov.


Conflict


Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2022

Former moderate Dmitry Medvedev becomes Putin’s pro-war cheerleader

By
Alexander Motyl, Dennis Soltys

Once seen in the West as a source of hope for better ties with Russia, former president Dmitry Medvedev has emerged since February 2022 as a pro-war cheerleader who regularly demonizes Ukraine on social media.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 25, 2022

The West must urgently overcome its fear of provoking Putin

By
Daniel Bilak

Western leaders insist they will stand with Ukraine until Russia's invasion is defeated but fear of provoking Putin continues to constrain the democratic world's response to a war that has already cost tens of thousands of lives.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Nov 23, 2022

Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis: Putin is no Khrushchev

By
Harlan Ullman

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis may offer some useful insights as Western leaders seek the right response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent nuclear saber-rattling over Ukraine, writes Harlan Ullman.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2022

Putin’s peace ploy is a ruse to rearm

By
Dennis Soltys

Russia is currently calling for a return to the negotiating table but Ukrainian leaders are convinced Vladimir Putin is merely seeking to buy time in order to regroup and rearm before the next phase of his invasion.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2022

Ukraine must be allowed to strike back against targets inside Russia

By
Ira Straus

In order to defeat Putin and end the war, Ukraine must be allowed to strike back inside Russia. At present, this is not possible due to restrictions imposed by Ukraine's overly cautious international allies, writes Ira Straus.


Arms Control


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2022

Putin’s invasion has strengthened the case for Ukrainian NATO membership

By
Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin's ongoing invasion has highlighted the dangers of allowing Ukraine to exist in a geopolitical gray zone and strengthened arguments for the country's post-war NATO integration, writes Taras Kuzio.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 17, 2022

Kherson euphoria highlights the folly of a premature peace with Putin

By
Peter Dickinson

Footage of the euphoric scenes in liberated Kherson should be compulsory viewing for anyone who still believes in the possibility of a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia, argues Peter Dickinson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Nov 16, 2022

Ukrainian victory can deal a decisive blow to Russian imperialism

By
Danylo Lubkivsky

Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is an attempt to drag the world back to an era of imperial aggression. The best way to make sure he fails is to provide Ukraine with the arms and financial support it needs to win the war.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions

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.

Follow us on social media
and support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Jul 26, 2017

How to Hold Facebook and Google Responsible for Fake News

By Klára Votavová and Jakub Janda

Online platforms have become the world’s most influential editors-in-chief. According to a 2016 Reuters Digital News Report, 51 percent of people access online news through social media, allowing these platforms to curate their news intake through personalized algorithms. These platforms have simultaneously gained significant economic leverage: experts estimate that in 2016, the two most influential […]

UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2017

Why the US Keeps Losing the Fight against Disinformation

By Maxim Eristavi

Journalists and activists in Eastern Europe have been fighting modern propaganda for years. It is time to deploy the lessons of those battles to newsrooms in Washington and beyond. I’ve been exposing organized lies professionally for years now. It started when propaganda took over the Russian-state newsroom in Moscow I was managing in 2013. When […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2017

Let’s Make America Great Again by Making Washington Transparent

By Ariel Cohen

The testimonies of Donald Trump, Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort before Congressional investigational committees will be closed to public. Yet they are the highlights of a political crisis that may be deeper than Watergate. In a made-for-TV series, the intrigue connects Washington power politics and espionage with a family saga, and for some comic […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2017

Rebuttal: Ukraine’s Supreme Court Competition Is a Model Process

By Sergii Koziakov

The resetting of Ukraine’s highest court is one of the cornerstones of judicial reform in the country and will influence the whole judicial system. In his recent article, Josh Cohen claims that Ukraine’s High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) is impeding the process to build a new Supreme Court, but this is simply false. The […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 20, 2017

Why Congress Should Pass the Russia Sanctions Bill

By Polina Kovaleva

Over the weekend, Congress reached an agreement on a new Russia sanctions package, though it has been overshadowed by the investigation into connections between President Donald Trump’s administration and Russia. Although the Senate easily passed a strong sanctions bill in June to punish Russia for its aggression in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, the White House […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 19, 2017

The Only Winning Strategy for Ukraine

By Diane Francis

Imagine if, on June 14, Ukraine launched its first independent anti-corruption court and began hearing dozens of cases against people in high places. Imagine if, by mid-July, several oligarchs and public officials were convicted of corruption, and their assets confiscated. Unfortunately, neither are true. A June 14 deadline for the court imposed by the IMF […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2017

Kadyrov Flaunts Chechnya’s de Facto Independence

By Dylan Myles-Primakoff

The July 18 episode of HBO’s “Real Sports” features a surprising interview subject—Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, in his first interview with a Western journalist since 2014. While the interview’s main theme is Kadyrov’s use of mixed martial arts as a political instrument, an excerpt released before the episode aired focused on […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2017

MH17 Plane Crash: Completing a Circle after Three Years

By Michael Bociurkiw

The first relative of one of the passengers of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 that I ever met was Jordan Withers. Thanks to the BBC, we were brought together for the making of a documentary into one of the worst civil aviation disasters in modern history. That disaster was the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 17, 2017

Twelve Myths about Change in Ukraine

By Alexander J. Motyl

Most Ukrainians will tell you that “nothing has changed” since the Euromaidan Revolution. Meanwhile, most Ukrainian analysts bemoan that Ukraine’s elites are resisting change and that, unless Ukraine changes more quickly, the country will backtrack and be lost. And everyone seems to agree that no change is possible unless corruption is fully eliminated. These views […]

France Germany

UkraineAlert

Jul 14, 2017

Poland’s Revolutionary Lessons for Ukraine

By Krzysztof Stanowski

In the last thirty years, Ukraine has undergone three revolutions: the Revolution on Granite (1990), the Orange Revolution (2004-2005), and the Revolution of Dignity (2013-2014)—each about different values. The first one was about the right to independence, the second about fair elections, and the third about the right to choose the country’s geopolitical direction. For […]

Poland Ukraine