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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

Feb 24, 2026

Fiber-optic drones have emerged as critical kit for both Russia and Ukraine

By
Vlad Sutea

Fiber-optic drones may not replace conventional unmanned systems, but they have established themselves in Ukraine as a durable component of the modern battlefield toolkit, writes Vlad Sutea.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Feb 24, 2026

Ukrainians don’t want to be resilient. Putin has given them no other choice.

By
Peter Dickinson

For the past four years, Ukrainians have been praised for their remarkable resilience, but in reality most recognize that Russia's genocidal invasion leaves them with no real choice but to fight on, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2026

After four years of Russia’s invasion, time to stop underestimating Ukraine

By
Mykola Bielieskov

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters a fifth year, it is time to stop underestimating the Ukrainian military and recognize that Kyiv is now a major military power with plenty of trump cards in its possession, writes Mykola Bielieskov.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2026

Ukraine hopes escalating Russian losses will push Putin toward peace

By
David Kirichenko

As the Russian invasion enters a fifth year, Ukraine is hoping escalating Russian losses can finally force Putin to seek a meaningful settlement, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2026

As Russian battlefield losses mount, Putin is turning to Africa for soldiers

By
Katherine Spencer

Russia’s growing reliance on African recruits to continue the war in Ukraine is a powerful symbol of an invasion that has gone horribly wrong for Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, writes Katherine Spencer.


Africa


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2026

Ukrainian defense tech companies must prepare for export opportunities

By
Michael Druckman

Ukraine’s defense sector has already demonstrated enormous battlefield credibility. The next phase is commercial and institutional credibility, writes Michael Druckman.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2026

A bad Ukraine peace could ignite new wars in Russia’s former empire

By
Joseph Epstein

If a settlement in Ukraine frees up Russian military resources without establishing credible deterrents against further Kremlin aggression, Moscow will have the means and the motive to reassert dominance elsewhere in its former empire, writes Joseph Epstein.


Central Asia


European Union


UkraineAlert

Feb 12, 2026

Vladimir Putin is trapped in a war he cannot win but dare not end

By
Peter Dickinson

As the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale Ukraine invasion approaches, Vladimir Putin finds himself trapped in a war he cannot win but dare not end for fear of entering Russian history as the man who lost Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Feb 12, 2026

Ukraine says lifting football ban would risk legitimizing Russia’s invasion

By
Mark Temnycky

Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi has slammed calls for Russia’s return to international football and warned that any attempt to reinstate the Russians would risk legitimizing the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, writes Mark Temnycky.


Conflict


Corruption


UkraineAlert

Feb 9, 2026

The Putin regime faces mounting pressure but is still far from collapse

By
Will Dixon, Maksym Beznosiuk

Russia is facing mounting challenges on the battlefield in Ukraine and on the home front, but predictions that the Putin regime is on the brink of collapse remain premature, write Will Dixon and Maksym Beznosiuk.


Conflict


Corruption

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

Nov 21, 2016

How Ukraine Can Use E-Declarations to Target the Most Corrupt

By Basil A. Kalymon and Oleh Havrylyshyn

This year, thousands of Ukrainian members of parliament, government officials, and civil servants were required by law to declare their incomes and assets in a publicly available database by October 30. Although the introduction of the e-declaration system was initially blocked numerous times, today the public can view the vast amount of wealth owned by […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 21, 2016

Kremlin Power Struggle Intensified: Liberals Under Attack

By Anders Åslund

The Kremlin power struggle intensifies. On November 15, Russia’s Investigative Committee arrested Minister of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev, the first time since 1991 that a sitting minister has been arrested. Ulyukaev is accused of corruption, but nothing seems to be as originally stated. Rather, this is a high-level political struggle between President Vladimir Putin’s confidant, […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 21, 2016

The Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Then and Now

By Amanda Abrams

Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk still believes deeply in the power of international norms to maintain peace. “Today’s world is based on great principles: sovereignty, territorial integrity, and untouchable borders. And as far as I understand the situation, the United States is the guardian of these principles,” said Kravchuk at an event on November 18, […]

Belarus Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 17, 2016

The Russian Plot against Europe

By Alina Polyakova

Russia’s influence reaches deep into Western Europe. France has a major far-right, Eurosceptic, and openly pro-Russian party that receives funding from the Kremlin. In London, Brexit provides an opportunity for Moscow to gain a toehold in British politics. Germany’s former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder serves as chairman of the Russian-German pipeline Nord Stream. But these examples […]

European Union France

UkraineAlert

Nov 15, 2016

Ukraine’s Reforms Are Pointless without Resolving Security Issues

By Andreas Umland

Making Western assistance to Kyiv more effective is crucial to Ukraine’s future. Yet the West’s current approach is plagued by a strategic defect. When Western aid and Kyiv’s reforms reach a tipping point, they will trigger increasingly aggressive counter-reactions from Moscow for domestic political reasons in Russia. Until Ukraine’s fundamental security challenges are met, Western […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2016

Watch Out, Silicon Valley. Here Comes Ukraine

By Yuliia Horovetska

Ukraine has the potential to become Europe’s top hub for information technology and other innovation-based industries. Some major private sector businesses have already chosen Ukraine as the site of their research and development centers; among them are Aricent, Boeing, Ericsson, Oracle, and Siemens. Private business initiatives in Ukraine have given birth to well-known startups like […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2016

We Are Building the New Ukraine, Three Years after Euromaidan

By Yuriy Didula

The need for reconciliation between eastern and western Ukraine is often emphasized in Ukrainian and international media, and has been the subject of dozens of roundtables in the past couple of years. Though originally from western Ukraine, I have lived and worked in the east for nearly two years, and I have come to realize […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2016

Here’s Why Nord Stream 2 Isn’t the Only Game in Town

By Olga Bielkova

Most Russia watchers, including those at the Atlantic Council, recognize that in this age of hybrid warfare, energy trade is a potent weapon. What has changed with Nord Stream 2 is that the weapon is now pointed directly at the EU rather than Ukraine, and it is masquerading as a commercial project. But who could […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2016

Does Saakashvili’s Resignation Mark the End of Reform in Ukraine?

By Diane Francis

Mikheil Saakashvili’s resignation this week does not mark the failure of reform efforts in Ukraine. It opens a new chapter. “Odesa can only develop once Kyiv will be freed from these bribe takers, who directly patronize organized crime and lawlessness,” he bluntly told journalists when he announced he was quitting on November 7. This opinion […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2016

Ukraine, Not Syria, Should Be Top Priority for President Trump

By Melinda Haring

Resolving the conflict in Ukraine should be a higher priority for the United States and Europe than addressing the civil war in Syria, said Archbishop Zoria Yevstratiy, representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate, during a visit to Washington, DC. “I’m very sorry about the Syrian people, but Ukraine can’t be compared. Syria never […]

Russia Syria