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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

Jul 6, 2023

Wagner fallout: Time to begin preparing for a post-Putin Russia

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

As we assess the fallout from the Wagner revolt, it no longer makes sense to be afraid of a new Russian collapse. On the contrary, the time has come to begin preparing for the possibility of a post-Putin Russia, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2023

Wagner putsch is symptomatic of Russia’s ongoing imperial decline

By
Richard Cashman, Lesia Ogryzko

The attempted putsch by Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his Wagner troops in late June is perhaps best understood as a symptom of Russia’s ongoing imperial decline, writes Richard Cashman and Lesia Ogryzko.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2023

Putin’s Wagner weakness is a signal to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive

By
Taras Kuzio

With the short-lived Wagner mutiny exposing Vladimir Putin’s weakness for all to see, the time has come for Ukraine's Western partners to provide the country with everything it needs to secure victory, writes Taras Kuzio.


Conflict


Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Jun 28, 2023

Wagner drama drags Belarus deeper into Russia’s wartime turbulence

By
Hanna Liubakova

News that Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin and many of his battle-hardened troops will be exiled to Belarus has sparked concerns that the country is being dragged further into Russia's wartime turmoil, writes Hanna Liubakova.


Belarus


Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2023

Ukrainians have good reason to cheer Russia’s Wagner rebellion

By
Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Ukrainians have good reason to cheer the short-lived Wagner mutiny, which has removed Russia's most effective military units from the battlefield while exposing the weakness of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, writes Andriy Zagorodnyuk.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2023

How Ukraine can pin down Russia in Crimea without a land campaign

By
John B. Barranco

Many analysts believe Ukraine must liberate Crimea in order to win the war, but it could be possible to render the peninsula strategically irrelevant for Russia without launching a major land campaign, writes John B. Barranco.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2023

Five steps toward Ukrainian victory and a lasting peace with Russia

By
Arseniy Yatsenyuk

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk offers his five-step vision for the decisive defeat of Russia's Ukraine invasion and a genuinely sustainable peace in Eastern Europe.


Conflict


Eastern Europe


UkraineAlert

Jun 25, 2023

Short-lived Wagner mutiny will undermine Russia’s Ukraine invasion

By
Peter Dickinson

The short-lived Wagner mutiny was over in less than two days but it will have a long-lasting consequences for Russia, for a weakened Vladimir Putin, and for the already faltering invasion of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Policy


Fast Thinking

Jun 24, 2023

Prigozhin walks away. Where does his halted mutiny leave Putin?

By
Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council experts share their insights on what happened with the Wagner Group founder's halted mutiny and what it says about the stability of Putin’s regime and the war in Ukraine.


Conflict


Europe & Eurasia


UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2023

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is a marathon not a blitzkrieg

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's summer counteroffensive has barely begun and already some are dismissing it as a failure due to lack of immediate progress. In reality, the unfolding campaign is a marathon and not a blitzkrieg, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Policy

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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2017

Why Sunday’s Massive Protests Will Change Russia

By Natalia Arno

The poem and song, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” became a rallying cry for social injustice in America in the 1970s. It weaved its way through many cultural eras around the world and found its way to the streets of Russia on Sunday, March 26. Nearly 100,000 people went to the streets in more […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 27, 2017

What the Manafort-Yanukovych Axis of Corruption Means for Trump and Ukraine

By Sergii Leshchenko

For several months American journalists have been competing to expose agents of Russian influence inside the new White House. This is a result of the conflict that began during the US presidential election campaign when a majority of the mainstream media rallied against Trump while he, without any evidence, criticized them for being biased. One […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2017

How Vulnerable Is Putin? The Answer Rests on Oil

By Diane Francis

The Kremlin’s dirty tricks are dominating the headlines and have plunged the United States into political disarray. Behind these attacks, however, is a Russia that is increasingly weak and vulnerable. What this means for the stability of Vladimir Putin’s regime, however, is anyone’s guess. Russia’s future depends on the price of oil and gas. This […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2017

Ten Reasons Why Ukraine’s Economy May Surprise You

By Ruslan Minich and Volodymyr Yermolenko

Grain, steel, and sunflower oil are probably Ukraine’s most famous exports, but they’re not the only ones. Ukraine’s growing reputation for excellence in IT and fashion are well known, but other areas of the economy are also dynamic, including aviation, architecture, and design. The technological capacity of the economy is huge and promising with the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2017

Wanted: Leader of the Free World

By Stephen Blank

Two months into Donald Trump’s presidency, it is clear that Trump cannot control himself or his own administration. Sadly, this observation applies across the board in foreign policy. Trump first warmly greeted Taiwan, threatened a trade war with China, and then abruptly announced that he recognized the one China principle and Secretary of State Rex […]

European Union Germany

UkraineAlert

Mar 20, 2017

Ukraine’s Parliamentary Internship Program May Be in Jeopardy

By Amanda Abrams

Over the past twenty-two years, the Ukrainian Parliamentary Internship program has introduced more than 1,500 university-age men and women to the legislative process by employing them in committees and departments of the Verkhovna Rada. The program gives young professionals practical experience with the parliament’s institutions and procedures by allowing them to participate in legislative work. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2017

Trump and Merkel Cannot Afford to Fail

By Ariel Cohen

The massive snowstorm that postponed German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the White House is symbolic of the chill in US-German relations. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Merkel’s open borders policy, which has brought over 1,250,000 refugees to Germany since 2015. Merkel has responded with a strong defense of freedom of movement and […]

Germany Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2017

Reject Populists’ Slogans and Work Hard to Make Things Better, Gontareva Urges

By Melinda Haring

The governor of the National Bank of Ukraine may be diminutive, but she speaks powerfully. “For the previous two decades we were not brave enough,” Valeria Gontareva, 52, said in a March 8 interview. “The real transition from post-USSR to [a] modern competitive economy did not happen when Ukraine gained its independence.” Instead, Ukraine continued […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 14, 2017

Will Ukraine Get Its Biggest Test in the Fight Against Corruption Right?

By Anastasia Krasnosilska

On March 2, Roman Nasirov, the head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, was arrested on abuse of office charges. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has accused Nasirov of fraud and embezzlement amounting to $74 million. The Nasirov case is Ukraine’s biggest test in the fight against corruption so far, and it’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2017

Six Immediate Steps to Stop Putin’s Aggression

By Jakub Janda

Security experts who follow the West’s responses to Russia’s meddling in its internal affairs—through cyber hacks, massive disinformation, corruption of Western leaders, and espionage—have good reason to be disappointed. With a few exceptions in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, and recently in the Czech Republic, very few real counter-measures have been put into practice. Despite […]

European Union International Organizations