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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

Ukraine Needs to Abandon its Soviet Thinking Once and for All

UkraineAlert
Sep 30, 2025

Putin’s dream of demilitarizing Ukraine has turned into his worst nightmare

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin had hoped to demilitarize and decapitate the Ukrainian state, but his self-defeating invasion has inadvertently created the militarily powerful and fiercely independent Ukraine he feared most of all, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

Ukraine Needs to Abandon its Soviet Thinking Once and for All

UkraineAlert
Oct 2, 2025

Drone superpower Ukraine is teaching NATO how to defend against Russia

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s unrivaled experience of drone warfare makes it a key partner for NATO and an indispensable ally in the defense of Europe as the continent faces up to the mounting threat posed by an expansionist Russia, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

Ukraine Needs to Abandon its Soviet Thinking Once and for All

UkraineAlert
Oct 14, 2025

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are a European problem

By
Aura Sabadus

Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure are no longer just a Ukrainian problem. Moscow’s bombing campaign will become a wider European issue unless more support is offered to Kyiv, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict
Drones

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Nov 26, 2024

Abandoning Georgia to the Kremlin would be a big geopolitical blunder

By
Zviad Adzinbaia

Georgia is far from a lost cause, but it will require bold Western leadership to prevent the country’s capture by the Kremlin, writes Zviad Adzinbaia.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Nov 21, 2024

Ukraine wary of Western disunity ahead of possible Russia peace talks

By
Katherine Spencer

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s recent call to Vladimir Putin has sparked alarm in Kyiv and criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine seeks maximum Western unity ahead of possible Russia peace talks, writes Katherine Spencer.

Conflict
European Union


UkraineAlert

Nov 18, 2024

Imposing neutrality on Ukraine will not stop Putin or bring peace to Europe

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Imposing neutrality on Ukraine will not bring about a durable peace in Europe. On the contrary, it would leave Ukraine at Putin’s mercy and set the stage for a new Russian invasion, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Nov 18, 2024

1000 days of war: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine passes grim milestone

By
Kira Rudik

1000 days of war in Ukraine: Russia’s 2022 invasion was expected to be short and victorious. Almost three years on, Vladimir Putin is still deeply embroiled in the largest European conflict since World War II, writes Kira Rudik.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Nov 18, 2024

Biden’s green light highlights the diminishing power of Putin’s red lines

By
Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden’s decision to allow long-range Ukrainian strikes inside Russia will not win the war, but it does underline the diminishing power of Putin’s red lines, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2024

Forcing Ukraine to cede land will only increase Putin’s imperial appetite

By
Peter Dickinson

If Ukraine is forced to cede land to Russia in exchange for peace, Vladimir Putin’s entire invasion will be legitimized and his imperial appetite will only grow, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2024

Ukrainian civil society leaders call for extension of Nord Stream 2 sanctions

By
Ukrainian civil society leaders

Representatives of Ukraine’s civil society have penned an appeal to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee calling for the extension of United States sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Economic Sanctions
Energy & Environment


UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2024

Freezing the front lines in Ukraine would condemn millions to Russian occupation

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

Donald Trump’s election win is fueling speculation of a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, but any attempt to freeze the front lines would condemn millions of Ukrainians to the horrors of Russian occupation, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2024

Russia’s economically vital energy sector is Vladimir Putin’s Achilles’ Heel

By
Oleksiy Zagorodnyuk

By introducing additional sanctions on Russia’s energy industry and intensifying implementation cooperation, the West can undermine Putin’s ability to wage war and strengthen the global order against further acts of international aggression, writes Oleksiy Zagorodnyuk.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions


UkraineAlert

Nov 12, 2024

Russia emerges as the real winner of Georgia’s disputed election

By
Nicholas Chkhaidze

Critics say Georgia’s October parliamentary elections were marred by widespread vote-rigging, but the success of the ruling Georgian Dream party is nevertheless a major victory for Russia that consolidates Moscow’s position in the Caucasus region.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions

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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 Needs to Abandon its Soviet Thinking Once and for All

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 Needs to Abandon its Soviet Thinking Once and for All

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 Needs to Abandon its Soviet Thinking Once and for All

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

Jul 18, 2016

Ukraine Needs to Abandon its Soviet Thinking Once and for All

By Basil A. Kalymon

Ukraine’s reform efforts continue to sputter on without any transformative results more than two years after former President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Moscow. The economy’s basic problems have not yet been addressed. It is still bogged down in its Soviet past, with populist forces making illusory promises that appeal to many voters’ Soviet-era mentality. The […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2016

How Ukraine Can Win the Information War in a Fact Free World

By Peter Dickinson

What media outlets do you trust? From the Brexit referendum and the US presidential race to Russia’s information war on Ukraine, it is becoming increasingly clear that we now live in a fact-free world where emotions reign supreme and truth is in the eye of the beholder. This trend first became apparent around the time […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2016

New Generation of Digital Detectives Fight to Keep Russia Honest

By Eliot Higgins

Almost two years ago on July 17, 2014, a Buk missile downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 passengers and their crew. The Russian government pushed evidence implying that a Ukrainian plane had shot down MH17, while the Dutch Safety Board concluded that a Buk missile caused the plane to break up […]

Russia Syria

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2016

Has Ukraine Really Changed?

By Michael McCarthy

On Sunday, July 17, voters in seven electoral districts in Ukraine will head to the polls to select their representatives for the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. This special election is set to fill vacancies, some due to ministerial appointments and elections to other offices, and in one case due to the death of an incumbent. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 12, 2016

Ukraine’s Art Arsenal: Where Culture and Politics Crossed Swords

By Kateryna Smagliy

During his July 7 visit to Kyiv, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States will pour an additional $23 million in aid into Ukraine. Radiating sincerity, President Petro Poroshenko said this decision was a “vivid reflection of a deep trust that the United States has for Ukraine” as well as Ukraine’s […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 12, 2016

At Warsaw, NATO Agrees to Thwart Putin’s Revisionist Dreams

By John E. Herbst

NATO leaders finally demonstrated at the Warsaw Summit on July 8 and 9 that they understand the dangers of a revisionist Kremlin, and they approved significant measures to resist it. Unlike the Wales Summit in 2014, which noted that ISIS was an “existential threat to NATO” but made no similar claims about the marauding nuclear […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 11, 2016

Euromaidan Leaders Launch New Party in Ukraine. Can It Succeed?

By Adrian Karatnycky

As Europe lurches in the direction of populism, xenophobic anti-immigrant attitudes, and anti-EU posturing, Ukraine appears to be tilting the other way. Located largely outside European discourse for the last twenty-five years, Ukraine is now odd man out, with pro-EU sentiments running high, xenophobic attitudes largely absent, and not one but two initiatives under way […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 11, 2016

No Longer a Secret: Ukraine is Europe’s New Frontier Market

By James Brooke

American, Canadian, and European Investors Quietly Descend on Kyiv Chestnut trees shade the streets, restaurants colonize sidewalks with “summer verandas,” and hemlines rise with the temperatures. Yes, it is summer again in Kyiv. But this summer, this garden city is seeing a new, discreetly invasive species: American and European investors who believe Ukraine is turning […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 7, 2016

How Ukraine Can Better Treat the Invisible Wounds of War

By Danielle Johnson

Treating the “invisible wounds of war,” or psychological trauma, has become an important issue for international organizations in conflict zones. Ukraine is no exception. But the country is still learning how to best address this pressing mental health problem among combat veterans, internally displaced persons, and other vulnerable populations. Ukraine’s mental health professionals had little […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 7, 2016

Texan Makes Fortune in Ukraine’s Tech Sector

By Diane Francis

“If you play by the rules, you can do business in Ukraine.” Jason Mitura is an all-American guy who grew up in Dallas, Texas, but made his first fortune in Ukraine. His success is all the more noteworthy given that he speaks little Ukrainian. On a tip, he flew to Kyiv for the first time […]

Ukraine
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