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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 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


UkraineAlert

Jun 2, 2026

As Russia’s Ukraine invasion unravels, Putin escalates attacks on civilians

By
Peter Dickinson

Russia launched a major bombardment of Ukrainian cities on June 2 as Vladimir Putin continues to escalate attacks on Ukraine's civilian population amid growing signs that his invasion is unraveling, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jun 2, 2026

Ukraine is now Europe’s shield but still needs more help to stop Russia

By
Olena Tregub

Europeans increasingly recognize Ukraine as the continent's shield against Russian aggression, but this must not fuel complacency over the country's ability to bear the current burden indefinitely, writes Olena Tregub.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

May 28, 2026

Ukraine’s battlefield success should not lead us to underestimate Russia

By
Peter Dickinson

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has failed to achieve any of its key goals, but this reflects Ukrainian strength rather than Russian weakness. Putin's army remains a formidable threat to Europe that must not be underestimated, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

May 26, 2026

Kyiv hosts Belarus opposition leader as Moscow drags Minsk closer to war

By
Hanna Liubakova

As concern mounts that Moscow is pushing Minsk to join the invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv is strengthening ties with the democratic Belarusian opposition, writes Hanna Liubakova.


Belarus


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 22, 2026

Vyshyvanka Day celebrates Ukrainian identity amid Russia’s genocidal war

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's annual Vyshyvanka Day holiday has emerged as a simple yet profound grassroots celebration of Ukrainian national identity at a time when Russia is attempting to destroy Ukraine as a state and as a nation, writes Peter Dickinson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

May 21, 2026

As Russian losses mount in Ukraine, Putin seeks more foreign fighters

By
Marc Goedemans, Katherine Spencer

With no end in sight to the invasion of Ukraine, Putin is looking to recruit more foreign fighters to counter heavy Russian losses while avoiding a politically risky mobilization, write Marc Goedemans and Katherine Spencer.


Africa


Central Asia


UkraineAlert

May 19, 2026

From Moscow to Crimea, Ukraine is winning the drone war against Russia

By
David Kirichenko

As Russia’s full-scale invasion enters a fifth summer, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the tide in the drone war has turned in Ukraine’s favor, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

May 19, 2026

Ukraine’s experience can teach Europe how to defend against Russia

By
Valeriya Ionan, Nicolas Dunais

Ukraine's wartime transformation should inform European defense modernization in both technology and doctrine. Europe must now choose: Seize the opportunity to adapt or procrastinate and risk future defeat, write Valeriya Ionan and Nicolas Dunais.


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 12, 2016

What Ukraine Can Learn from Romania’s Fight against Graft

By Michael Druckman

In 2015, Romania got serious about its corruption problem. DNA, its aggressive anticorruption body, indicted 1,250 public officials, including the sitting prime minister. Five other ministers, twenty-one members of parliament, and Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu were indicted. The agency ordered the seizure of nearly half a billion euros. Romania is now perceived as less corrupt. […]

Central Europe Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 11, 2016

The Other Victims of the War in Ukraine

By Laura A. Dean

Ukraine has long been a country associated with human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women, but recent reports of human trafficking as a consequence of the war in eastern Ukraine have brought a new urgency to this ongoing crisis. News articles tell chilling stories about slave labor camps, children’s brothels, drug couriers, drug couriers, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 10, 2016

How Ukraine Can Make Its Diplomacy Smarter

By Victoria Khaladzhy

Public diplomacy has been singled out as a far-reaching mechanism for promoting Ukraine’s interests in the world. Diplomats have taken first steps in utilizing instruments from the country’s existing foreign policy tools. These include increasing person-to-person engagement, promoting economic interactions, intensifying exchange programs, and upgrading cultural centers abroad. Like other governments, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 10, 2016

Washington’s Patience with Kyiv Runs Thin

By Sergii Leshchenko

Last week my colleagues Mustafa Nayyem, Svitlana Zalishchuk, and I had dozens of meetings in the United States. Our impression was disappointing. Since the resignation of Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Washington’s favorite Ukrainian politician), reports of further corruption, and the lack of progress in resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the United States has grown weary of […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2016

Berlin or Bust: Germany Key to Maintaining Sanctions on Russia

By Oksana Bedratenko

When Russia illegally annexed Crimea and armed separatists in eastern Ukraine, the United States and the European Union jointly condemned it. Together they introduced sanctions on Russia in July 2014 that limited access to finance for key companies in Russia’s energy, defense, and financial sectors; froze assets and banned travel for officials directly involved in […]

Germany Russia

UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2016

Q&A: Is Ukraine Still Changing?

By Melinda Haring

Three Atlantic Council experts answer questions about Ukraine’s ongoing reforms. 1. It’s been nearly three years since the Euromaidan protests began. How would you grade the pace and extent of Ukraine’s reforms? Anders Åslund, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council: In 2014, Ukraine carried out two vital preconditions for economic reform, early presidential and parliamentary […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 4, 2016

Stop Mistaking Russia for Europe

By Andrew Kornbluth

Like a coin inserted into a broken candy machine, the most recent attempt by the United States to broker a ceasefire with the Russians in Syria has vanished with nothing to show for it. Instead, in a calculated gesture of contempt, Russian and Syrian government forces annihilated a humanitarian convoy before beginning an unprecedented round-the-clock […]

Russia Syria

UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2016

Kremlin Panics after Dutch Report, and It Should

By Alexei Sobchenko

The report of the Dutch-led investigation team on the shoot down of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine offered a momentary glimpse into the true nature of the proverbial riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Instead of denying any Russian involvement in the death of 298 people in July 2014, a number […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2016

The Lessons of Babyn Yar: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

By Kateryna Smagliy

“No gravestone stands on Babyn Yar,” wrote the Soviet poet Yevgeniy Yevtushenko in 1961. He was condemning the Soviet regime’s failure to acknowledge the Babyn Yar tragedy twenty-five years after World War II had ended. When a monument was finally erected in 1974 to commemorate the deaths of 100,000 people generically characterized as “Soviet citizens,” […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 28, 2016

Putin’s Balkan Insecurities

By Stephen Blank

Two and a half years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, too many public figures in the United States and Europe still seem unable to decipher Russia’s motives. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently told a Bosnian newspaper that NATO’s readiness to extend membership to Montenegro and welcome Bosnia and Macedonia was not only a […]

Russia Ukraine