UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics, economy, civil society, and culture. UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders, politicians, experts, and activists from Ukraine and the global community. UkraineAlert has become a major publication in Ukraine’s news landscape and has established itself not only through its quality of content but also significant partnerships with English, Ukrainian, and Russian-language media through the country.

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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

Ukraine Needs Arms, Not Cheap Arguments

UkraineAlert
Sep 3, 2026

Putin cannot defeat NATO but he could divide and discredit the alliance

By
Peter Dickinson

If Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to attack NATO, his goal will be to divide and discredit the alliance rather than actually defeating it, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy

Ukraine Needs Arms, Not Cheap Arguments

UkraineAlert
Aug 27, 2026

Ukrainians are not superheroes with endless powers of resilience

By
Lauren Van Metre, Elena Davlikanova

By celebrating Ukrainian resilience as an almost superhuman quality, the international community risks obscuring the much less glamorous reality that Ukrainians are actually ordinary people who have endured extraordinary violence for far too long, write Lauren Van Metre and Elena Davlikanova.

Civil Society
Conflict

Ukraine Needs Arms, Not Cheap Arguments

UkraineAlert
Aug 25, 2026

A cultural renaissance is reshaping national identity in wartime Ukraine

By
Davis Richardson

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is fueling a defiant cultural outpouring that is redefining and strengthening Ukrainian national identity in ways that challenge centuries of Kremlin imperialism, writes Davis Richardson.

Civil Society
Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Mar 26, 2021

Five reasons why Ukraine rejected Vladimir Putin’s “Russian World”

By
Taras Kuzio

Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to force Ukrainian acceptance of the country's place within the "Russian World" have proved disastrous and led to the collapse of Russian influence in Ukraine.


Conflict

Nationalism


UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2021

The risks of rushing to internet voting in Ukraine

By
Serhii Savelii and Meredith Applegate

Ukraine’s vision for digital transformation is ambitious and includes holding online voting for all elections and referendums, but this vision fails to take into account numerous practical obstacles and risks.


Cybersecurity

Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2021

Returning the US-Ukraine relationship to normalcy

By
John E. Herbst

The election of Joe Biden has raised the welcome prospect of a return to normalcy in US-Ukraine ties but the past two months have demonstrated that this return to the norm will not be without challenges.


Corruption

Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2021

Maidan’s metamorphosis mirrors Ukraine’s national coming of age

By
Peter Dickinson

Over the past three decades of Ukrainian independence, Kyiv's Independence Square has undergone a post-Soviet metamorphosis that mirrors Ukraine's own national coming of age.


Democratic Transitions

Resilience & Society


UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2021

Young Ukrainian mayor offers hope of a new politics

By
Brian Mefford

In November 2020, residents of the western Ukrainian city Rivne voted for a dramatic change in the local political status quo by electing 34-year-old Oleksandr Tretyak as their new mayor.


Democratic Transitions

Elections


UkraineAlert

Mar 21, 2021

Germany’s Greens vow to block Putin’s pipeline

By
Diane Francis

Germany's Greens have confirmed plans to block Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline if, as expected, they form part of the new German coalition government following Bundestag elections in September 2021.


Geopolitics & Energy Security

Germany


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2021

Vladimir Putin does not want peace with Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy entered office in 2019 promising to negotiate a settlement with Vladimir Putin. He now appears to have recognized that Putin does not actually want peace with Ukraine.


Conflict

Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2021

Putin turns up pressure on Russian opposition ahead of September Duma elections

By
Peter Dickinson

Moscow police raided a conference of independent municipal lawmakers on March 13 in a move that marks an escalation in the Kremlin crackdown on political opposition ahead of September elections.


Civil Society

Elections


UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2021

New documentary chronicles the plight of Crimean Tatars under Russian occupation

By
Elina-Alem Kent

The recently released documentary film “Crimean Solidarity” chronicles the inspirational efforts of the Crimean Tatar community as it struggles against the oppressive reality of Russian occupation.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2021

Is the US still committed to stopping Putin’s pipeline?

By
Diane Francis

Concerns are growing over the Biden administration's commitment to blocking a controversial gas pipeline that threatens to significantly strengthen Putin's influence over Europe.


European Union

Geopolitics & Energy Security

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spotlight

Resilience in the face of adversity

Ukraine’s transformation

Ukraine has moved tentatively toward an open society and market economy since independence. The country has held several democratic elections and made halting progress in addressing corruption and state control in its economy. Since the 2014 Maidan Revolution, Ukraine has undertaken significant governance and economic reform and moved decisively toward a Europe-Atlantic foreign policy. Since 2022, Ukraine has resiliently continued to advance some reforms despite fighting for its very existence against the full-scale Russian invasion.

Learn more about Ukraine

Ukraine Needs Arms, Not Cheap Arguments

UkraineAlert
Dec 5, 2024

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

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.

Read More

Ukraine Needs Arms, Not Cheap Arguments

UkraineAlert
Oct 1, 2024

Ukraine needs international investors to maintain defense tech momentum

By
Mykhailo Fedorov

Ukraine’s rapidly expanding defense tech sector can play a game-changing role in the war against Russia but Ukrainian companies need international investment, writes Ukraine’s Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.

Artificial Intelligence
Conflict

Ukraine Needs Arms, Not Cheap Arguments

UkraineAlert
Jun 13, 2024

Ukraine officially embraces English as historic westward pivot continues

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

By officially embracing English, Ukrainians aim to support their country’s historic pivot away from Moscow and return to the European community of nations, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Civil Society
Conflict

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

Aug 30, 2017

Ukraine Needs Arms, Not Cheap Arguments

By John E. Herbst

The United States is seriously considering giving Ukraine lethal defensive weapons, and this is the right move. Over the last month, Michael Brendan Dougherty and I have debated this issue here and here. In his latest response, Dougherty tries to rack up a quick win. He claims that experts issued a report arguing for arming Ukraine […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2017

Things Are Looking Up in Ukraine

By Katie LaRoque

For the first time since Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity, the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) polls show a slight improvement in the country. It’s finally possible to be cautiously optimistic about Ukraine. Here are the four key takeaways from IRI’s latest national public opinion survey.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2017

How Ukraine Can Win the Revolution Again

By Kateryna Smagliy

Ukraine now boasts a new layer of democratic paint, but the old oligarchic colors are peeking through. Three years after Petro Poroshenko assumed the presidency, numerous experts warn that a counter-revolution is on the horizon and that Ukraine may slide back to authoritarianism. Ukraine is at serious risk of failing again. Civic activists failed to […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 29, 2017

How Trump Can Get Putin’s Attention

By Stephen Blank

Two days after Russia told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson it was willing to talk about Ukraine, Moscow unilaterally and illegally closed the Kerch Strait, ostensibly for technical reasons. So much for a willingness to talk. Russia is not only threatening Ukraine again, it also is displaying contempt for President Donald Trump personally. Moscow’s […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2017

The Challenge Ahead in Eastern Ukraine

By Askold Krushelnycky

Bloody fighting between government troops and pro-Kremlin separatists and Russian regulars has continued for three years in Ukraine’s east. Meanwhile, an equally fierce battle is being waged for the hearts and minds of civilians on the Ukrainian side, many of whose loyalties hover between Kyiv and Moscow.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2017

How to Fix Ukraine’s Economy

By Mark Gitenstein and Jacques Tohme

It’s been more than three years since Ukrainians were driven in large measure by the rampant corruption in Ukraine to retake their country. Yet state-owned enterprises (SOEs)—the organs of systemic corruption and deterrence for western investment—remain in the hands of the same elites who drain these state treasures of their financial and material resources. Even […]

Central Europe Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2017

Eastern Europe’s Illiberal Trends Bode Badly for Ukraine

By Oksana Bedratenko

A recent increase in illiberal trends in a number of Eastern European countries threatens to erode support for Ukraine in the region. Just as important, it may lead to disillusionment inside Ukraine, where reformers have drawn on the region’s democracy building experience as guidance for Ukraine’s own reforms. Immediately after the breakup of the Soviet […]

Central Europe Hungary

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2017

Correction Unnecessary

By John E. Herbst

Bloomberg View columnist Leonid Bershidsky is unhappy and he has been tweeting.  Specifically, he demands a correction to my August 8 post that criticized some of the points in his opinion piece arguing against sending defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine. He claims that he “did not argue” what I said; he has “no idea how” […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 9, 2017

Stanford program turns theory into practice in Ukraine and beyond

By Melinda Haring

Both Liakh and Sotnyk return to Kyiv with new ideas and a powerful network of experts and activists they can consult in the long struggle to transform Ukraine.

Civil Society Education

UkraineAlert

Aug 8, 2017

Why the Case Against Arming Ukraine Doesn’t Hold Water

By John E. Herbst

Armchair strategists have come out of the woodwork to explain why it would be a mistake for the United States to arm Ukraine. They argue that Russia is stronger than Ukraine and can outmatch any escalation, Moscow has a greater interest in Ukraine than Washington, and Ukraine’s government is corrupt and undeserving of such support. […]

Russia Ukraine
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