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

Latest analysis


UkraineAlert

May 14, 2024

Putin expands invasion as outgunned Ukraine waits for Western weapons

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Russia has opened a new front in the invasion of Ukraine with a cross-border offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region as Putin seeks to capitalize on a window of opportunity before fresh Western aid reaches Ukrainian front line troops, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

May 9, 2024

Russia’s Georgia strategy offers hints of Kremlin vision for Ukraine

By
Nicholas Chkhaidze

Russia’s attempts to force Georgia back into the Kremlin orbit via political control offer a hint of Moscow’s vision for a future settlement with a defeated Ukraine, writes Nicholas Chkhaidze.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

May 9, 2024

Putin’s one tank victory parade is a timely reminder Russia can be beaten

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin’s one tank victory parade reflects the catastrophic scale of Russian losses in Ukraine and is a reminder that behind the facade of overwhelming strength, the Russian army is far from invincible, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

May 7, 2024

Ukraine’s second city is struggling to survive amid relentless Russian bombing

By
Maria Avdeeva

Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, is struggling to survive amid a campaign of relentless Russian bombing that aims to make the city unlivable, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 7, 2024

Putin cannot be allowed to use chemical weapons in Ukraine with impunity

By
Emma Nix

After years of Ukrainians sounding the alarm over Russia’s alleged use of chemical weapons, the US Department of State has now substantiated these claims, writes Emma Nix.

Arms Control
Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 3, 2024

UK gives Ukraine green light to use British weapons inside Russia

By
Peter Dickinson

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has confirmed that Ukraine can use British weapons to attack Russia as Western leaders continue to overcome their fear of provoking Putin, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

May 2, 2024

Ukraine’s new mobilization law leaves demobilization issue unresolved

By
Elena Davlikanova, Kateryna Odarchenko

Ukraine urgently needs to replenish the ranks of the country’s depleted military, but the recently adopted mobilization law fails to address the key issue of demobilization, write Elena Davlikanova and Kateryna Odarchenko.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 1, 2024

NATO chief urges long-term Ukraine aid as Russian army advances

By
Peter Dickinson

With Russian troops advancing in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has accused alliance members of failing to provide Kyiv with promised aid and renewed calls for a reliable long-term response to Russian aggression, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Apr 29, 2024

Bombs and disinformation: Russia’s campaign to depopulate Kharkiv

By
Maria Avdeeva

Russia is deploying disinformation alongside bombs as it seeks to demoralize Kharkiv residents and depopulate Ukraine’s second city, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2024

US takes big step toward making Russia pay for Ukraine invasion

By
Kira Rudik

While attention has focused on the military aspects of the new US aid package for Ukraine, the bill also includes an important step toward holding Russia financially accountable for the invasion, writes Kira Rudik.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions

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.

Follow us on social media
and support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

May 31, 2016

Europe Still in Denial as Russia Ushers in the Age of Hybrid Hostilities

By Peter Dickinson

European leaders will gather in June to discuss whether to extend sanctions against Russia over the Kremlin’s hybrid war in Ukraine. The current sanctions regime will likely remain in place, but the mere fact the subject is up for debate is evidence of Europe’s alarming refusal to acknowledge the new security reality facing the continent. […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2016

Europe’s Humanitarian Fatigue Threatens to Engulf Ukraine

By Andrew Kornbluth

Earlier this month, Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, presidents of the European Commission and Parliament, respectively, published an appeal for continental solidarity in which they criticized “anyone who believes that the time of the nation-state has come” as “out of touch with reality.” The inaccuracy of Juncker and Schulz’s statement is reflected in the comparative […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2016

The Many Hopes of Nadiya Savchenko

By Irena Chalupa

“I’ve been in a prison cell for two years, I’m not used to people, so I am sorry if I sound harsh,” said Nadiya Savchenko as throngs of journalists and well-wishers crowded around her at Kyiv’s Boryspil airport on May 25. Captured in Ukraine, transferred secretly to Russia where she was tried and sentenced to […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 25, 2016

Savchenko’s Return May Unleash Political Earthquake in Ukraine

By Kateryna Kruk

It has finally happened. Nadiya Savchenko is back in Ukraine. The female pilot, who was captured in Ukraine and illegally brought to Russia on falsified charges, became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against Russian efforts to destabilize the country. A Russian court sentenced Savchenko to twenty-two years for killing two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2016

Why Ukraine’s Gutsy, Bright, and Articulate Reformers Are Optimistic

By Diane Francis

“A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. . . . We must have patience till luck turns,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1798. Jefferson wrote this observation to a friend thirteen years after […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2016

Get Real, Europe. Sanctions on Russia Must Stay in Place

By Aaron Korewa

The EU is poised for another discussion on sanctions against Russia when they expire in July. As usual, there are some countries that are wavering for one reason or another. On April 28, French conservative MP Thierry Mariani secured a majority for a non-binding resolution in the French parliament recommending that the EU’s trade limits […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2016

Ukraine’s Parliament Is Getting a Facelift, but Will It Make a Difference?

By Brian Mefford

The newly elected Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Andriy Parubiy, wasted no time in announcing a series of internal reforms for the Ukrainian parliament, which has long been the most hated institution of public life. In the latest International Republican Institute (IRI) poll, 88 percent of Ukrainians viewed the institution unfavorably. Contributing factors to this […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2016

Ukraine Could Join the European Union by 2030

By Anders Åslund

Following the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine has taken big political and economic steps forward. Today, we need to assess what has been accomplished and what Ukraine should achieve in the next fifteen years. The nation needs to set ambitious goals, aiming for an average economic growth rate of 6-7 percent a year. That kind of […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

May 19, 2016

Reconciliation Will Be Ukraine’s Next Serious Battle with Russia

By Volodymyr Turchynovskyy

Until very recently, Ukrainians predominantly spoke a language of identities, differentiating between people from western Ukraine and people from the eastern part of the country, Ukrainian speaking versus Russian speaking, Greek Catholics versus Orthodox. But what was powerfully witnessed during the Euromaidan was the emergence of a new modality of communication that we might call […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 18, 2016

Memo to Ukraine and the West: Beware of Unrealistic Peace Plans. The Kremlin Will Outplay You Every Time

By Maksym Khylko

The latest Normandy Four meeting on May 11 in Berlin did not result in any major breakthroughs to end the stalemate in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine agreed to create demilitarized zones in separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine, enhance information-sharing, and halt military exercises along the contact line, but these steps will not break the current […]

Russia Ukraine