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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

Oct 5, 2023

Vladimir Putin is still convinced he can outlast the West in Ukraine

By
Dennis Soltys

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has united the democratic world to a degree not seen in decades, but the Western response to the war continues to be hampered by excessive fear of provoking Putin, writes Dennis Soltys.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Oct 4, 2023

Putin’s fleet retreats: Ukraine is winning the Battle of the Black Sea

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin was already struggling to account for his army’s evident inability to conquer a nation that he insists does not exist. He must now also explain how his once vaunted Black Sea Fleet is being defeated by a country without a navy, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2023

Mixed messaging from Moldova on energy sector reforms

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Recent steps by the Moldovan authorities cast doubt on Chisinau’s commitment to energy market liberalization, escaping Russian energy dominance, and anti-corruption imperatives, writes Suriya Jayanti.

Conflict
Corruption


UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2023

Ukraine’s soccer stars help to keep Russia’s invasion in global spotlight

By
Renat Zihanshyn, Oleksandra Gaidai

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed soccer legend Andriy Shevchenko as an advisor on September 26 in recognition of the role played by Ukrainian footballers in keeping Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression in the global spotlight.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2023

Can US Abrams tanks help Ukraine achieve a battlefield breakthrough?

By
Olivia Yanchik

The first US M1 Abrams tanks arrived in Ukraine in late September, writes Olivia Yanchik. Will these American tanks help Ukraine to achieve a breakthrough against Vladimir Putin’s deeply entrenched Russian invasion force?

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Sep 27, 2023

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is making real progress on the Crimean front

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s escalating attacks in Crimea are steadily undermining Russia’s invasion and are a reminder that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is not limited to the relatively static front lines of the war, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2023

Ukraine’s drone army is bringing Putin’s invasion home to Russia

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Ukraine’s increasingly formidable drone army is enabling Kyiv to bring Vladimir Putin’s invasion home to Russia and strike strategic targets throughout the Russian Federation, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Sep 22, 2023

Russia resumes bombing campaign of Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Following a six-month pause, Russia renewed its bombing campaign of Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure on September 21, signalling that Ukrainians face another winter of blackouts as Putin tries to freeze the country into submission.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Sep 21, 2023

Anti-corruption progress in Ukraine and Moldova is vital for EU integration

By
Olivia Yanchik

Ukraine and Moldova stand at a crossroads as both countries seek to strengthen their institutions to stamp out corruption and accelerate their integration with Europe, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Sep 20, 2023

Zelenskyy tells United Nations: Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine

By
Taras Kuzio

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN this week that Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine. Efforts to legally prove genocidal intent will likely focus on the genocidal rhetoric of Putin and other Russian leaders, writes Taras Kuzio.

Conflict
Disinformation

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UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2016

Memo to Secretary Kerry: Russia Is Weaker Than You Think

By Ariel Cohen

When US Secretary of State John Kerry goes to Moscow this week, he should keep in mind that Russia’s recent military engagements in Ukraine and Syria represent an attempt to manipulate perceptions. The Kremlin wants to position itself as a peer of America, open to cooperation against ISIS, but capable of military threats against US […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2016

Russian Court Finds Ukraine’s Defiant Pilot Savchenko Guilty

By Irena Chalupa

Nothing in the Nadiya Savchenko case has been easy or fast. The famed Ukrainian pilot whom Russia has charged with complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists can’t even get a quick verdict at the end of a trial that has lasted nine months. On March 22, the court found Savchenko guilty of all […]

Europe & Eurasia Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2016

Don’t Mess With Kyiv’s Activists

By Josh Cohen

Ukrainians may soon be granted visa-free travel within the European Union, thanks to Kyiv’s watchful activists. But that status was in jeopardy after parliament weakened a key anti-corruption law on February 16. Visa-free travel was linked to a series of reforms, including a law that discloses the income of Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2016

Can Minsk Deliver a Sustainable Peace?

By Melinda Haring

Is the Minsk process salvageable? Twelve experts gathered at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on March 17 to debate whether the Minsk ceasefire can deliver a sustainable peace in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has claimed over 10,000 lives and displaced more than 1.6 million people. The Minsk accords, signed in 2014 and 2015, […]

Europe & Eurasia Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2016

Fighting Back: New Bill Aims to Counter Russian Disinformation

By Amanda Abrams

Russia’s attempts to win over hearts and minds in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and beyond are succeeding—in large part because of the United States’ disengagement in the information arena, say experts. In response, Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced a bill on March 16 that would significantly beef up the United States’ counter-propaganda […]

Europe & Eurasia Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2016

Why the Kremlin Fears Savchenko

By Aaron Korewa

When Timothy Snyder, professor of central European history at Yale and vocal supporter of the Euromaidan movement, was asked why he has chosen to become such a strong defender of Ukraine, his response was “I don’t like when there is too much lying.” That is an excellent reason. Judging by Nadiya Savchenko’s gesture to the […]

Europe & Eurasia Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 17, 2016

Yes, Putin Really Believes His Own Propaganda

By Ben Nimmo

Russia’s worldview is conditioned by a conspiracy theory: the United States is out to get her. The trouble with this delusion is that Russia’s actions and policy decisions appear to be built on it. To understand and predict Russia’s behavior, Western policymakers need to grasp the fact that this delusion is real for Russia’s leadership.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 16, 2016

Putin’s Crimea Is No Vacation

By Melinda Haring and Alina Polyakova

Two years ago on March 16, Crimeans voted in a sham referendum for Russia to annex Crimea. Has life improved for the approximately two million people who live there?  Not at all. On every measure, from the economy to its treatment of minorities, the beautiful peninsula has become a shell of what it once was. […]

Russia Ukraine

Testimony

Mar 15, 2016

Six Ways the US Can Defeat Putin and Bolster Ukraine

By Ian Brzezinski

The transatlantic community has a significant stake in assuring Ukraine’s trajectory as a modern, democratic, and prosperous European state. A strategy to assist Ukraine in accomplishing that objective must impose greater economic and geopolitical costs on Russia for its aggression, enhance Ukraine’s capacity for self-defense, assist Kyiv’s efforts to reform its political and economic institutions, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 15, 2016

The World According to Sergei Lavrov (and Putin)

By Alexei Sobchenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently blamed Vladimir Lenin for planting ideas that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was a telling statement in view of the upcoming centennial anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, which had an enormous impact on world history. We still don’t know how the Kremlin will commemorate this […]

Russia