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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

Apr 16, 2026

Drone diplomacy: Ukraine strengthens security role in Europe and the Gulf

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

Ukraine has emerged since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 as a world leader in drone warfare. Kyiv is now using drone diplomacy to build security partnerships throughout Europe and the Middle East, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2026

Could Bulgaria replace Hungary as Putin’s proxy inside the EU?

By
Jan Surotchak

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán's recent election defeat was widely seen as a major setback for Russia, but victory for the pro-Kremlin candidate in this week's Bulgarian parliamentary elections could provide Putin with a new proxy inside the EU, writes Jan Surotchak.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2026

Orbán’s Hungarian election defeat: Good for Ukraine, bad for Russia

By
Peter Dickinson

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's historic election defeat has removed a major obstacle to Ukraine's EU integration while robbing Putin of his most important European ally, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Elections


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2026

Brussels and Kyiv should have realistic expectations about Magyar’s Hungary

By
James Batchik, Eva Mulholland

While Péter Magyar’s election victory provides ample reason for optimism, there is also good cause to temper any expectations of Hungary now playing a leading European role in support of Ukraine, write James Batchik and Eva Mulholland.


Conflict


Elections


UkraineAlert

Apr 9, 2026

Ukraine is winning the drone war with strike campaign behind Russian lines

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Ukraine has regained the initiative from Russia in the world's first full-scale drone war by launching a campaign of mid-range drone strikes aimed at undermining the logistics supporting Putin's invasion, writes Mykola Bielieskov.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Apr 9, 2026

Recognizing the role of propaganda in Russia’s infrastructure of aggression

By
Anna Vyshniakova, Jais Adam-Troian, Kristina Hook 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine demonstrates that propaganda plays a more important part than ever in modern war. Recognizing propaganda as part of Russia’s infrastructure of military aggression is an essential step toward countering it effectively, write Anna Vyshniakova, Jais Adam-Troian, and Kristina Hook. 


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Apr 9, 2026

Ukraine continues remarkable rise from aid recipient to security provider

By
Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy has recently signed a series of landmark security partnerships with countries across the Middle East, underlining wartime Ukraine's remarkable rise from aid recipient to international security provider, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2026

Hungarian election could have implications for EU, US, Russia, and Ukraine

By
Marc Goedemans

The Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 12 are being billed as the most important in the country’s modern history. With Hungary a key focus in the escalating confrontation between Russia and the West, this weekend’s vote could also have geopolitical implications that will be felt in Kyiv, Moscow, Brussels, and Washington. Current Hungarian Prime Minister […]


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Apr 2, 2026

Ukraine’s heating system resilience offers lessons for European neighbors

By
Miro Sedlák

Russia's bombardment of Ukraine's civilian heating system has forced Kyiv to develop a model of infrastructure resilience based on decentralization and speed that offers important lessons for Ukraine's EU neighbors, writes Miro Sedlák.


Conflict


Critical Infrastructure Policy


UkraineAlert

Apr 1, 2026

Europe has the resources to contain Russia but lacks the political will

By
Oleksiy Zagorodnyuk

Europe unquestionably possesses the industrial and economic base to outmatch Russia but has yet to demonstrate the unity and political will necessary to contain the Kremlin and stop Putin in Ukraine, writes Oleksiy Zagorodnyuk.


Conflict


Defense Industry

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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2016

Don’t Expect Quick Resolution to Europe’s Only Active War

By Vera Zimmerman

The most disputed point about the Minsk agreements has been whether to hold local elections in the Donbas before Ukraine regains control of its border with Russia, or after. Ukraine has insisted that security and the return of the border should precede elections, while pro-Russian separatists and Moscow have been pushing for the opposite, as […]

France Germany

UkraineAlert

Oct 25, 2016

The Doctor Is In: Ukraine’s New Health Minister Already Shaking Up Sclerotic System

By Michael Getto

Health care in Ukraine has not worked in the past—not for hospitals, clinics, doctors or nurses, and most important, not for the Ukrainian people, regardless of where they live or work, unless they are fortunate enough to pay under the table to receive the most basic care. Entrenched, bureaucratic, and corrupt interests, wielding a combination […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2016

What Can the West Do to Get Putin’s Attention?

By Christopher A. Hartwell and Andreas Umland

The Case for Smarter Sanctions on Russia What should be done about an increasingly aggressive Russia? The past few weeks have brought more evidence of Moscow’s moves away from international norms and law. From continued denials of complicity in the MH17 tragedy and the bombing of a humanitarian convoy in Syria, to Russian President Vladimir […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2016

Old Ukraine Launches Campaign against Ukraine’s Most Influential Woman and Top Banker

By Anders Åslund

An attempt is underway in the Ukrainian parliament to deprive the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) of its independence and oust its governor, Valeriya Hontareva. This would be a major reversal of Ukraine’s economic reforms and must be stopped. In the last two years, Ukraine has carried out its most fundamental economic reforms since its […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2016

There They Go Again: International Media Enables Russian Aggression in Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

When does a Russian warlord become a “pro-Russian separatist?” Newsrooms around the world may want to ask themselves this question following Russian militant leader Arsen Pavlov’s assassination in Donetsk in mid-October. In the wake of the killing, one news report after another ran with headlines referring to Pavlov as a pro-Russian separatist leader, creating the impression […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 20, 2016

No Peace without the People: A Case for Grassroots Reconciliation in Ukraine

By Lauren Van Metre

This week’s meeting in Paris of the Normandy Four is a critical one. If there is no measurable progress there to advance a framework for peace in Ukraine, public sentiment that Minsk is exhausted as a peace process will only grow. (Editor’s note: On October 19, 2016, France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine agreed to a […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2016

Why Ukraine’s New Ultranationalist Party Will Not Last

By Alina Polyakova

On October 14, the Azov Battalion—Ukraine’s controversial ultranationalist paramilitary group that has been fighting in the Donbas as part of the National Guard—entered the political fray. Registered as a political party under the name National Corps, the new party proposes an ambitious military and nationalist agenda, including a re-nationalization of Ukraine’s private sector and nuclear […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2016

Ukraine’s Invisible Refugees

By Diane Francis

Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan are not the world’s only major “refugee” hosting nations. Ukraine too hosts enormous numbers of people who have had to leave their homes because of war. Millions fled their homes in 2014 after Russian operatives and tanks invaded Ukraine’s eastern regions and annexed Crimea. But they are not labeled “refugees.” Instead, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 18, 2016

Europe Funds Russian Aggression in Ukraine, Syria, and Beyond

By Mykhailo Gonchar and Hanna Hopko

Three-Fourths of Russian Oil Sold to Europe On October 20, the Council of the European Union will consider its strategy toward the Russian Federation. Following the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Europe faces a genuine challenge: to recognize Russian aggression against Ukraine for what it is, and to provide truly […]

European Union Germany

UkraineAlert

Oct 18, 2016

Ukraine Scores Diplomatic Breakthrough

By Vera Zimmerman

“Security First, Elections Next,” the West Concedes After long resisting Western pressure to implement the political points in the Minsk agreements, Ukraine scored a diplomatic victory last week when the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) passed two important resolutions. The first resolution officially defines the conflict in Ukraine as Russian aggression, countering […]

Ukraine