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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

How Ukraine Can Signal It’s Serious about Reform

UkraineAlert
Jan 20, 2026

Ukraine’s best security guarantee is the ability to strike back inside Russia

By
Serhii Kuzan

With Kyiv’s Western allies unlikely to risk war with Russia, Ukraine’s most realistic security guarantee remains a strong military coupled with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia, writes Serhii Kuzan.

Conflict
Defense Policy

How Ukraine Can Signal It’s Serious about Reform

UkraineAlert
Jan 15, 2026

Veterans can shape the future of Ukrainian democracy

By
Vasyl Sehin

The participation of military veterans in Ukraine’s political life has the potential to dramatically strengthen Ukrainian democracy and safeguard the country’s historic transition from centuries of Russian autocracy, writes Vasyl Sehin.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

How Ukraine Can Signal It’s Serious about Reform

UkraineAlert
Jan 8, 2026

Ukraine’s robot army will be crucial in 2026 but drones can’t replace infantry

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s growing robot army of land drones will play a vital role in the country’s defense during 2026, but they are not wonder weapons and cannot serve as a miracle cure for Kyiv’s manpower shortages, writes David Kirichenko.

Artificial Intelligence
Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Jun 1, 2023

The fight against courtroom corruption continues in wartime Ukraine

By
Olena Halushka

Despite the existential challenges created by Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine continues to make progress toward the reform of the country’s deeply discredited judicial system, writes Olena Halushka.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 30, 2023

Ukraine’s Diia platform sets the global gold standard for e-government

By
Anatoly Motkin

Ukraine’s Diia app is widely seen as the world’s first next-generation e-government platform, and is credited with implementing what many see as a more human-centric government service model, writes Anatoly Motkin.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 30, 2023

Russia’s new reality: Less Peter the Great, more Putin the Pariah

By
Peter Dickinson

The invasion of Ukraine has left Russia greatly diminished on the world stage and earned Putin a place in infamy alongside history’s greatest criminals. Instead of emulating Peter the Great, he has become Putin the Pariah, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

May 27, 2023

Exploring the secrets of Ukraine’s successful wartime diplomacy

By
Yuna Potomkina

Over the past 15 months, Ukraine has built an international coalition of partners prepared to arm the country against Russia’s invasion. This unprecedented diplomatic success offers important lessons, writes Yuna Potomkina.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

May 27, 2023

Ukraine must reduce role of state in the economy to boost EU integration

By
David Clark

Ukraine has conducted a number of nationalizations as part of the war effort but the state should now be looking to reduce its role in the Ukrainian economy in order to advance the process of EU integration, writes David Clark.

Conflict
Corruption


UkraineAlert

May 25, 2023

Russian narratives ignore real reasons for Western support of Ukraine

By
Richard Cashman

Russian attempts to explain away Western support for Ukraine with conspiracy theories and outdated arguments are falling flat as the democratic world continues to oppose Moscow’s invasion, writes Richard Cashman.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

May 23, 2023

Belgorod raid sparks border alarm for Russia ahead of Ukrainian offensive

By
Peter Dickinson

This week’s unprecedented cross-border raid into Russia’s Belgorod Oblast could be part of Ukrainian shaping operations designed to stretch the Russian military ahead of a coming counteroffensive, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

May 23, 2023

Ukraine’s coming counteroffensive has a good chance of succeeding

By
Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

Ukraine’s coming counteroffensive has a great chance of succeeding due to a number of factors including superior leadership, equipment upgrades, and strong morale, writes Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

May 23, 2023

China, Iran, Belarus, and Armenia all fear a Russian defeat in Ukraine

By
Taras Kuzio

China, Iran, Belarus, and Armenia all have different motivations for backing the Kremlin, but they are united by a common fear of what a Russian defeat in Ukraine might mean for their own countries, writes Taras Kuzio.

Belarus
China


UkraineAlert

May 18, 2023

Ukraine’s European integration is the key to a sustainable peace

By
Stephen Nix, Zachary Popovich

Ukraine’s full integration into the institutions of the Western world is the only way to end the threat of ongoing Russian aggression and secure a sustainable peace in Europe, write Stephen Nix and Zachary Popovich.

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

How Ukraine Can Signal It’s Serious about Reform

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

How Ukraine Can Signal It’s Serious about Reform

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

How Ukraine Can Signal It’s Serious about Reform

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

Sep 23, 2016

How Ukraine Can Signal It’s Serious about Reform

By Oksana Bedratenko

Thirteen months since the last tranche, the IMF has finally allocated the third tranche of its program to Ukraine, bringing the total disbursement to $7.6 billion. Although it is less than the originally planned $1.7 billion and came with substantial delays, the receipt of the $1 billion tranche was celebrated by the Ukrainian government as […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 21, 2016

Crimean Residents Vote in Russian Elections, Reluctantly

By Eleanor Knott

For the first time since Russia annexed Crimea, Russian elections were held on the territory of the disputed peninsula. That elections were held in Crimea has been a source of contention between Russia and the international community. OSCE election observers refused to monitor the polls in Crimea, and the US and EU condemned the September […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 21, 2016

Meet Maxim Nefyodov: How Ukrainian Geeks Tackled Corruption in Public Procurement

By Anastasiya Ringis

One day in September 2013, when Maxim Nefyodov, a managing partner at the investment firm Icon Private Equity, was leaving his office on Rylskiy Lane, he witnessed a funny scene. Accompanied by eight bodyguards, President Viktor Yanukovych’s odious ally, Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, was walking from an office building to his luxury SUV. To Nefyodov this spectacle […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 21, 2016

Does Putin Have 35 Million Secret Weapons?

By Lukas Trakimavičius

“Russia is back.” These were the recent words of General Curtis Scaparrotti, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe—and he was correct. Thanks to a rapidly growing arms budget and a worrisome frequency of snap military drills near NATO’s borders, Russia is indeed back to the game of power politics after a twenty-five year hiatus. The implications […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 19, 2016

Putin’s Illusions about Crimea

By Olesya Yakhno

In the recent plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum [on September 3 in Vladivostok], Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the issue of Crimea’s ownership is historically closed. Despite the adamant tone, such statements do not show Russia’s confidence but instead reveal the Kremlin’s vulnerability on this issue. The concept Krym nash (Crimea is […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 19, 2016

Memo to the West: Reject Russia’s Illegal Duma Elections

By Hanna Hopko

On September 18, Russians went to the polls to elect 450 members of parliament. The big news is that Vladimir Putin’s United Russia performed surprisingly well, taking approximately 54 percent of the vote. But the underreported news is this: Russians elected four MPs from occupied Ukrainian Crimea, which is illegal and grossly violates international law. […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 19, 2016

Ten Things the New US Ambassador to Ukraine Should Do

By Melinda Haring and Kateryna Smagliy

On August 18, Marie L. Yovanovitch became the US Ambassador to Ukraine. Yovanovitch is not new to the country; she served as the deputy chief of mission in Kyiv—the second in command—under Ambassadors Carlos Pascual and John Herbst months before the Orange Revolution erupted. She spent the bulk of her career working in the Eurasia […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 14, 2016

Why the West Ignores Russia’s Wars

By Andrew Kornbluth

This month will mark one year since the beginning of Russia’s intervention in Syria and two and a half years since its invasion of Ukraine’s Donbas region. In Syria, Russia has indiscriminately bombed inhabited areas using virtually every type of conventional munition in its arsenal—thermobaric, cluster, and incendiary—killing around 3,000 civilians so far. These deaths […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 13, 2016

An Important Reform Milestone: An Independent Energy Regulator in Ukraine

By Olena Halushka

It is hard to find anything that unites the Ukrainian parliament as efficiently as the body’s regular and purposeful failure to adopt the bill on the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities. Neither the demands of the expert community, nor the bill’s connection with Ukraine’s international commitments, nor even the threat […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 13, 2016

Here’s What Ukrainian-Americans Are Doing For Ukraine

By Alina Polyakova

Ukraine’s Maidan revolution united Ukraine as a nation like never before, and it reinvigorated Ukrainian-American communities across the United States. While Ukrainian-Americans are well organized nationally through such organizations as the Ukrainian Congress Committee of Ukraine and in metropolitan areas with large Ukrainian communities, such as Chicago and New York, Ukrainian-Americans in smaller towns have […]

Ukraine
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