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.

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

Ukraine’s Least Sexy Reform Is Transforming Villages with New Roads, Police, and Even a Telescope

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’s Least Sexy Reform Is Transforming Villages with New Roads, Police, and Even a Telescope

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’s Least Sexy Reform Is Transforming Villages with New Roads, Police, and Even a Telescope

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

Oct 1, 2026

Putin aims to break Ukraine by terrorizing the civilian population

By
Peter Dickinson

With the Russian army unable to defeat Ukraine on the battlefield, Putin is turning to terror tactics and is using ballistic missiles and jet drones in a bid to bomb Ukraine's civilian population into submission, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Drones


UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2026

Ukraine can play a key role enabling US energy exports to Europe

By
Stephen Blank

As Russia expands the bombardment of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, changes are taking place in the country's energy sector with implications for the United States and the future shape of European gas markets, writes Stephen Blank.


Conflict

European Union


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2026

Europe needs a new strategy for Russian gray zone aggression

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

Europe needs a new counter-hybrid playbook, but an approach that focuses on coordinating responses after Russian attacks have already taken place is not an effective deterrent, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Cybersecurity

Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2026

Ukraine’s innovative robot offensive just reversed a year of Russian gains

By
David Kirichenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hopes of capturing eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region have been dealt a major blow in recent months by an innovative Ukrainian offensive that has reversed over a year of Russian territorial gains, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict

Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2026

Vladimir Putin only has two options in Ukraine: Total victory or endless war

By
Peter Dickinson

US-led efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine War by offering the Kremlin limited territorial concessions reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the imperial ambitions driving Putin's invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Sep 24, 2026

Ukraine’s defense tech sector must offer investors more than innovation

By
Olga Usenko

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has built one of the world’s most dynamic defense tech ecosystems under conditions few industries ever face. However, innovation alone will not be enough to win over potential investors, writes Olga Usenko.


Conflict

Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Sep 23, 2026

Putin’s Ukraine invasion has made Russia China’s junior partner

By
Zahar Hryniv

Putin’s evident inability to secure Beijing’s backing for the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline is strengthening international perceptions that the invasion of Ukraine has reduced Russia to the status of China’s junior partner, writes Zahar Hryniv.


China

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Sep 22, 2026

Ukrainians are braced for a brutal winter. Are the Russians also ready?

By
Peter Dickinson

With Ukraine's air defenses running low, Russia is expected to escalate the bombardment of Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure ahead of the coming winter season in a bid to freeze the country into submission, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2026

Ukraine can do more to counter Russia’s illicit finance threat

By
Matthew McGlynn

For more than four years, Ukraine has impressed global audiences with the country’s ability to defend itself against Russia on land, at sea, and in the air. Illicit finance is another important front in the fight against Russian aggression, writes Matthew McGlynn.


Conflict

Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2026

Putin is escalating against NATO but a Baltic incursion remains unlikely

By
James Rice

The recent escalation in Russian gray zone aggression across Europe has sparked a lively debate over how far the Kremlin may be prepared to go, but a Russian attack on the Baltic states remains unlikely, writes James Rice.


Conflict

European Union

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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’s Least Sexy Reform Is Transforming Villages with New Roads, Police, and Even a Telescope

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’s Least Sexy Reform Is Transforming Villages with New Roads, Police, and Even a Telescope

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’s Least Sexy Reform Is Transforming Villages with New Roads, Police, and Even a Telescope

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

Jun 28, 2017

Ukraine’s Least Sexy Reform Is Transforming Villages with New Roads, Police, and Even a Telescope

By Ruslan Minich

It used to be dark, and children had to jump from stone to stone to get to school. Now, the roads are smooth and brightly lit. Water flows from the mountains by gravity, and thus is free of charge and available to everyone. This is what the residents of southwestern Ukraine’s Poliana village say decentralization […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2017

What Happens if Russia Turns Up the Heat Again in Ukraine?

By Andreas Umland

Will the low-intensity war in the Donbas continue its current course in the coming years, or will Moscow turn up the heat there, as it occasionally does? It’s hard to say. “It all comes down to geopolitics and what Putin wants to do,” said Ihor Kozak, an independent Canadian defense and security expert who visited […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2017

How History Will Remember Vladimir Putin

By Stephen Blank

To paraphrase Pravda in 1929, Putin is the Stalin of today. Nobody since Stalin’s death has achieved such longevity or uncontested power over Russia as Putin has. Nevertheless, tomorrow he may be remembered as the Brezhnev of today, for he has presided over a galloping stagnation of the economy and public morality. At the same […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2017

In Ukraine, Health Security Is National Security

By Olena Kucheruk and Alex T. Johnson

Three years after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues to pummel the country with cyberattacks, ruthless propaganda, and Grad missiles. But Ukraine’s dysfunctional institutions, especially its health care system, undermine Ukraine’s national security as well. Policies to reduce the enormous stress on Ukraine’s military and government alone ignore the delivery of core services. Without those […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 23, 2017

Memo to President Trump: It’s Not “The Ukraine” Anymore

By Peter Dickinson

The first meeting between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and US President Donald Trump on June 20 was widely hailed as a small but significant victory for Ukraine, signaling continued American support at a time when many fear Ukraine’s struggle with Russia is in danger of becoming a forgotten war. The only fly in the ointment […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2017

Experts Urge Congress and Trump to Arm Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

A bipartisan task force made up of former US defense officials, ambassadors, and security experts renewed calls for the United States to give lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. On June 21, the National Security Task Force of the Friends of Ukraine Network urged the United States to provide a range of weapons, intelligence, and training. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 21, 2017

Russia, Not Ukraine, Is Serial Violator of Ceasefire Agreement

By John E. Herbst

Like many articles and analyses of the Minsk process, “Ukrainian Military Progress Could Violate Minsk Peace Process” requires additional analysis on the geopolitical underpinnings and implications of the issue at hand. Without this context, it is difficult to make sense of any facts presented. The context is this: Moscow is conducting the war in Ukraine’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 20, 2017

Will Ukraine Finally Pass Land Reform?

By Oksana Bedratenko

Ukraine still needs a powerful push to finally shrug off the 2014-2015 crisis, which caused its economy to contract by 16.5 percent. The IMF prescribed anticorruption reform, privatization, pension reform, and allowing private sales of land to give Ukraine that boost. It is important to move fast with these reforms for two reasons: first, elections […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2017

What Do Russians Think of Ukrainians, and Vice Versa?

By Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin’s decade long media campaigns turned Russians against Ukrainians and the Ukrainian state prior to his 2014 annexation of Crimea. The divorce between Russia and Ukraine which began with the disintegration of the USSR gained momentum after the 2004 Orange Revolution. Putin’s authoritarian and great power nationalistic regime fanned ethnic Russian nationalism, turning Russians […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2017

What Will Ukraine’s Next Big Reform Be?

By Maria Repko

The IMF has told Ukraine that it must push through a number of reforms before it can receive any additional funds. Currently, the major effort is pension reform, something both the government and the IMF are focused on. Pensions account for 11 percent of GDP and 26 percent of public expenditures. Luckily, pension reform—unlike land […]

Ukraine
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