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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

Jun 18, 2026

Putin’s obsession with ‘denazifying’ Ukraine makes peace impossible

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin’s obsession with “denazifying” Ukraine makes a mockery of efforts to portray the Russian invasion as a mere land grab and helps explain why there has been no meaningful progress toward peace despite more than a year of US-led efforts, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 18, 2026

Ukrainian drones are cutting Russian logistics and reshaping the battlefield

By
David Kirichenko

In recent months, Ukraine has dramatically expanded the use of mid-range drones to disrupt Russian logistics behind the front lines and shape the battlefield for future offensive operations, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jun 18, 2026

Ukraine begins EU membership talks amid skepticism over associate option

By
Andreas Umland

Ukraine officially opened membership talks with the ‌European Union this week in a move hailed by Ukrainian officials as “a Rubicon” moment for the war-torn country. While this is welcome news for Kyiv, it remains unclear how long it could still take to actually join the EU, writes Andreas Umland.


Conflict


Drones


UkraineAlert

Jun 16, 2026

Russia escalates war on Ukrainian heritage and national identity

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

Russia this week bombed one of the most sacred religious sites in Ukraine, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, marking the latest escalation in a Kremlin campaign to target the symbols of Ukrainian heritage and national identity, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2026

Putin can no longer shield ordinary Russians from the war he unleashed

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

Ukraine’s recent drone strikes on St. Petersburg provided arguably the most visible indication to date that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion is not going according to plan, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2026

Ukrainian civilians face new threat from Russia’s upgraded jet drones

By
David Kirichenko

Russia has reportedly begun deploying a new generation of jet-powered strike drones against Ukrainian targets in recent weeks as the Kremlin seeks to counter the growing effectiveness of Ukraine’s interceptor drones, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2026

Countries across Russia’s former empire are reclaiming place names to assert identity

By
Joseph Epstein

Ukraine's campaign to strip Soviet and Russian imperial place names from the country’s towns and cities is not a reaction to the current war so much as the leading edge of a region-wide rejection of Moscow's cartography, writes Joseph Epstein.


Central Asia


Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2026

The Ukraine Support Act sends a strong signal even if it won’t send weapons

By
Leslie Shedd

As momentum in the Russia-Ukraine War shifts in Kyiv’s favor, the US Congress took a tentative step last week toward rewarding Ukraine’s progress with much-needed weapons for their troops and support for the country, writes Leslie Shedd.


Conflict


Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2026

Ukraine just showed the whole world that Putin is losing control of the war

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's audacious drone strike on St. Petersburg as the Russian city hosted a flagship international economic forum known as "Putin's Davos" sent a clear signal to global audiences that the Kremlin dictator is losing control of the war, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2026

Europe cannot afford to leave Ukraine trapped in the geopolitical grey zone

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

Europe cannot afford to leave Ukraine stuck in the geopolitical grey zone as this uncertainty fuels Russia's invasion and feeds Putin's dreams of a new Russian Empire, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Conflict


Drones

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

Nov 2, 2016

Why the Revelation of Officials’ Cash, Cars, and a Church Will Change Ukraine for Good

By Anders Åslund

In a bout of extraordinary transparency, 50,000 Ukrainian officials have declared their assets and incomes and it is easily accessible to the interested public. A staggering amount of wealth has been revealed and this very act is likely to have changed Ukraine for good. As declarations arrived on the publicly accessible register, it recorded the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 1, 2016

Erdogan: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Russian Encirclement

By Stephen Blank

Less than six months ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly complained that the Black Sea had become a Russian lake and sought regional and NATO cooperation against this threat. Russia and Turkey’s long-standing relationship was on the rocks, especially after Turkey had shot down a Russian fighter plane over Syria in November 2015. In […]

Russia Turkey

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2016

United Russia: Party of Crooks and Thieves, and Then Some

By Ilya Yashin

To international observers, Russia’s ruling party might appear to be a typical political organization. But in fact, there is a deep connection between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s political party, United Russia, and organized crime. The party has become riddled with corruption and lawlessness, and the way to fortune and unbridled power in Russia today is […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Oct 27, 2016

Why Is Ukraine’s Political Class Trying to Roll Back Reforms?

By Josh Cohen

Since the Euromaidan revolution, Ukraine’s leaders have repeatedly committed themselves to fighting graft. Former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk promised that all corrupt officials would be prosecuted, current Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman vowed an “intolerance of corruption,” and President Petro Poroshenko campaigned as a reformer who would “wipe the country clean” of endemic graft. Despite these […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2016

More Proof Ukraine is Changing: Opaque Defense Sector Embraces Reform

By Oksana Bedratenko

In December 2015, the anticorruption watchdog Transparency International warned that Ukraine’s defense sector faces “a high risk of corruption.” TI named the country’s opaque procurement process as the highest-risk area for corruption. Assessing the defense spheres of NATO members and partner states, TI gave Ukraine a D on an A to F scale, primarily for […]

NATO Russia

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