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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

Dec 16, 2025

‘Putin is lying’: Zelenskyy visits front to expose false claims of Russian gains

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a personal visit last week to a front line city that Putin has repeatedly bragged of seizing in order to expose the Russian leader’s habit of lying about battlefield gains, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Dec 16, 2025

The only winner from Ukrainian wartime elections would be Putin

By Yuriy Boyechko

Ukrainians are fighting to defend their democracy against Kremlin authoritarianism, but they are also in no rush to hold wartime elections amid relentless Russian bombardment and with millions of Ukrainians displaced, writes Yuriy Boyechko.

Conflict
Elections

UkraineAlert

Dec 11, 2025

Russia’s insistence on a defenseless Ukraine betrays Putin’s true intentions

By Peter Dickinson

Russia’s key demands during US-led peace talks all appear designed to leave Ukraine disarmed and defenseless. This is a clear indication of Vladimir Putin’s intention to continue his invasion and complete the conquest of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Dec 10, 2025

Russian drones and blackouts test the resilience of Ukraine’s second city

By Maria Avdeeva

With Putin’s army now advancing to the east and the Russian bombardment of civilian targets intensifying, Kharkiv residents are now facing what may become the most difficult winter of the entire war, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Defense Technologies
Drones

UkraineAlert

Dec 9, 2025

Europe’s choice: Fund Ukraine now or pay a far higher price if Russia wins

By Elena Davlikanova, Lesia Orobets

Europe’s reluctance to pay for Ukraine’s defense is shortsighted, write Elena Davlikanova and Lesia Orobets. If Russia’s invasion succeeds, Europe will soon have to boost defense spending to levels that would completely dwarf the current cost of backing Ukraine.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions

UkraineAlert

Dec 8, 2025

Ukraine’s wartime experience provides blueprint for infrastructure protection

By Oleksandr Bakalinskyi, Maggie McDonough

Since 2014, Ukraine’s critical infrastructure has faced sustained and increasingly sophisticated attacks but continues to function, adapt, and evolve, offering the world one of the most comprehensive case studies for resilience under unrelenting cyber-kinetic pressure, write Oleksandr Bakalinskyi and Maggie McDonough.

Conflict
Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Dec 4, 2025

Ukraine’s warning to the West: A bad peace will lead to a bigger war

By Myroslava Gongadze

It is delusional to think that sacrificing Ukraine will satisfy Russia. Instead, a bad peace will only lead to a bigger war, while the price of today’s hesitation will ultimately be far higher than the cost of action, writes Myroslava Gongadze.

Conflict
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Dec 4, 2025

Russia has learned from Ukraine and is now winning the drone war

By David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s more agile army and vibrant tech sector initially gave the country an edge in the drone war against Russia, but Moscow has now regained the initiative thanks to an emphasis on mass and training, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Dec 3, 2025

Returning Ukraine’s abducted children should be central to any peace plan

By Kristina Hook

The United States should lead efforts to secure the release and return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. This could help build confidence in the peace process and boost efforts to end the war, writes Kristina Hook.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Dec 2, 2025

Ukraine peace plan must not include amnesty for Russian war crimes

By Ivan Horodyskyy

US President Donald Trump’s 28-point peace plan for Ukraine includes an amnesty for war crimes that critics say will only strengthen Putin’s sense of impunity and set the stage for more Russian aggression, writes Ivan Horodyskyy.

Conflict
European Union

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

Dec 12, 2024

Why Finland thinks Finlandization is a bad idea for Ukraine

By Minna Ålander

Some believe the Finlandization of Ukraine is the most realistic option to end Russia's invasion, but any attempt to impose neutrality would leave Ukraine in a precarious position, writes Minna Ålander.

Conflict
Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Dec 12, 2024

Foreign troops help Putin avoid pitfalls of another Russian mobilization

By Katherine Spencer

Russia’s growing use of foreign troops in Ukraine is a dangerous trend that promises to prolong the war and has the potential to fuel international instability, writes Katherine Spencer.

Central Asia
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 10, 2024

Ukraine is expanding its long-range arsenal for deep strikes inside Russia

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine is producing its own arsenal of long-range weapons as Kyiv seeks to bypass Western fears of escalation and bring Vladimir Putin's invasion home to Russia in 2025, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Dec 10, 2024

Russian victory in Ukraine would spark a new era of global insecurity

By Victor Liakh

If Vladimir Putin's Russia is allowed to claim even a limited victory in Ukraine, it will embolden other authoritarian regimes and plunge the world into a new era of insecurity, writes Victor Liakh.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 5, 2024

Ukraine’s entrepreneurial class can drive the country’s economic recovery

By Anton Waschuk

The Ukrainian SME sector has demonstrated remarkable wartime resilience and is poised to be at the forefront of efforts to create a modern, innovative, postwar economy, writes Anton Waschuk.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Dec 4, 2024

Tucker Carlson warns of WWIII, but Russia’s nuclear threats ring hollow

By Peter Dickinson

US media personality Tucker Carlson was back in Moscow this week warning of nuclear war as Russia struggles to address growing Western indifference to its frequent nuclear threats, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Dec 4, 2024

Georgian protests escalate amid fears over mounting Russian influence

By Ana Lejava

The outcome of the current protests in Georgia will likely define the country's future and shape the geopolitical climate in the southern Caucasus and beyond for years to come, writes Ana Lejava.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Dec 3, 2024

Vladimir Putin does not want a peace deal. He wants to destroy Ukraine.

By Yuliya Kazdobina

Donald Trump has vowed to end the war in Ukraine, but there is no sign that Vladimir Putin has any interest in a peace deal that would prevent him from achieving his goal of extinguishing Ukrainian statehood, writes Yuliya Kazdobina.

Conflict
Disinformation

Transatlantic Horizons

Dec 3, 2024

The EU needs a Russia strategy

By Ian Cameron, James Batchik

The new European Commission should prioritize the development of an EU Russia strategy aimed at creating a more forward-thinking, ambitious, and cohesive European approach toward Moscow, write Ian Cameron and James Batchik.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Nov 26, 2024

Putin’s Ukraine obsession began 20 years ago with the Orange Revolution

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin’s poisonous obsession with Ukraine first began to take root 20 years ago when millions of Ukrainians directly defied him during the Orange Revolution, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions