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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nov 6, 2018

Russia Shows its Military Might in the Black Sea and Beyond

By
Ruslan Minich

Since illegally annexing Crimea in 2014, Russia has drastically increased its military presence in the Black Sea region. The Kremlin’s dominance may be temporary given NATO’s greater capacities, but so far, NATO’s response has been limited. “Russia has practically covered all of the Black Sea region,” says Hryhorii Perepelytsia, the head of the Kyiv-based Foreign […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2018

Why Is the Sea of Azov So Important?

By
Stephen Blank

Having illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, Moscow lost no time in seizing Ukrainian energy assets in and around the region. The Kremlin is now conducting another experiment in economic and military operations, but this one has profound implications beyond Ukraine. Before the seizure of Crimea, both Ukraine and Russia agreed to regard the Sea of […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2018

Making Sense of Russia’s New Draconian Sanctions on Ukraine

By
Anders Åslund

On November 1, the Russian government imposed severe economic sanctions on 322 Ukrainian individuals and 68 Ukrainian companies. These are the most extensive sanctions imposed by any country in the tit-for-tat confrontation between Russia and Western countries over Ukraine. Curiously, these sanctions are explicitly only economic, declaring that any assets on the territory of the […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 1, 2018

Russia Understands Ukraine’s Geopolitical Importance but Does the West?

By
Peter Dickinson

As Ukraine prepares to mark five years since the start of the country’s Euromaidan protests, the repercussions continue to reverberate across the globe. What began as an ordinary protest movement soon morphed into a revolution that sparked a Russian invasion and ushered in a new Cold War. Without the Euromaidan, Russia and the West would […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 1, 2018

Ukrainian Populists Still Think They Can Be Pro-EU but Anti-IMF. They’re Wrong.

By
Taras Kuzio

Ukrainian voters have long believed that in her drive for power, long-time politician Yulia Tymoshenko will do and say anything. This is not unusual for populists who routinely make promises that cannot be met and are flexible with the truth. That characteristic has been on display since Tymoshenko announced her intention to run for the […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2018

Georgia, Where Everything Old Is Maybe New Again?

By
Luis Navarro

On October 28, Georgians went to the polls to elect their fifth president, possibly for the last time. Neither candidate, both former foreign ministers, won outright. An unprecedented run-off is slated for December 2.    The United National Movement (UNM) presidential candidate Grigol Vashadze achieved an unexpectedly strong showing (37.7 percent) against the ruling Georgian […]


Russia

The Caucasus


UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2018

10 Names Russia Hopes You’ll Never Know

By
Vitalii Rybak

Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Moscow and its proxies have put dozens of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar political prisoners behind bars. However, there are many other people in Russian prisons who have been incarcerated for their unwillingness to bow down to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime. The fabrication of these cases has been refined […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2018

Five ways to entice Ukrainians to come home

By
Andy Hunder

Approximately five million Ukrainians, roughly 25 percent of the country’s economically active population, work abroad.


Macroeconomics

Migration


UkraineAlert

Oct 29, 2018

How Ukraine’s Presidential Race Is Shaping Up

By
Mykola Vorobiov

Ukraine’s presidential race is in full swing, even though the official campaign period has not yet begun. At this point, incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko may make the second round; no candidate is expected to take 50 percent in the first round. If elections were held now, Tymoshenko would take […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2018

Three More Reasons to Be Bullish on Ukraine

By
Melinda Haring

Ukraine’s civil society is realizing an unfortunate fact: reforming the country is going to be more of a marathon than a sprint. Consequently, pro-reform advocates have had to adjust their expectations. Describing her hopes for the speed of change in Ukraine, Anticorruption Action Center executive director Daria Kaleniuk said that she and her colleagues now […]


Ukraine

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2017

The Trump-Putin Honeymoon Is Over, But the Marriage Was a Sham

By James Miller

Last year, while Americans were embroiled in one of the ugliest election cycles in recent memory, the Russian media was basking in the phenomenon of Donald Trump. The Kremlin was betting that a Trump presidency would be far more advantageous to its interests. Months before the election, Trump had established an agenda that was arguably […]

Russia Ukraine
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