UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics, economy, civil society, and culture. UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders, politicians, experts, and activists from Ukraine and the global community. UkraineAlert has become a major publication in Ukraine’s news landscape and has established itself not only through its quality of content but also significant partnerships with English, Ukrainian, and Russian-language media through the country.

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

Ukraine: Forwards or Backwards? A Response to Thomas Theiner and James Brooke

UkraineAlert
Jan 20, 2026

Ukraine’s best security guarantee is the ability to strike back inside Russia

By
Serhii Kuzan

With Kyiv’s Western allies unlikely to risk war with Russia, Ukraine’s most realistic security guarantee remains a strong military coupled with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia, writes Serhii Kuzan.

Conflict
Defense Policy

Ukraine: Forwards or Backwards? A Response to Thomas Theiner and James Brooke

UkraineAlert
Jan 15, 2026

Veterans can shape the future of Ukrainian democracy

By
Vasyl Sehin

The participation of military veterans in Ukraine’s political life has the potential to dramatically strengthen Ukrainian democracy and safeguard the country’s historic transition from centuries of Russian autocracy, writes Vasyl Sehin.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

Ukraine: Forwards or Backwards? A Response to Thomas Theiner and James Brooke

UkraineAlert
Jan 8, 2026

Ukraine’s robot army will be crucial in 2026 but drones can’t replace infantry

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s growing robot army of land drones will play a vital role in the country’s defense during 2026, but they are not wonder weapons and cannot serve as a miracle cure for Kyiv’s manpower shortages, writes David Kirichenko.

Artificial Intelligence
Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Aug 17, 2022

Russia’s Ukraine War is forcing the Belarus opposition to rethink strategy

By
Alesia Rudnik

Representatives of the Belarusian opposition gathered in Vilnius on August 8-9 for a conference that highlighted a mood of growing militancy as they respond to the new realities created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.


Belarus

Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Aug 16, 2022

Putin’s Ukraine genocide is rooted in Russian impunity for Soviet crimes

By
Alexander Khara

Failure to hold anyone accountable for the crimes of the Soviet era has fostered a climate of impunity in modern Russia that has paved the way for the genocidal invasion of Ukraine, writes Alexander Khara.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2022

Will the United States designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism?

By
Mark Temnycky

As Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine approaches the six-month mark amid growing evidence of war crimes, pressure is mounting on the Biden Administration to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.


Conflict

European Union


UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2022

Russia’s invasion has highlighted Ukraine’s nation-building progress

By
Anders Åslund

Ukraine's remarkably resilient response to Russia’s February 2022 invasion has highlighted the impressive nation-building progress made by the country since the chaotic early years of the post-Soviet era.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 12, 2022

Guide to wartime Kyiv: City on the frontlines of European history

By
Andreas Umland

Visiting wartime Ukraine is certainly an extreme option but a trip to today’s Kyiv offers an opportunity to witness world history in the making while providing Ukrainians with meaningful moral and material support.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2022

Generation UA: Young Ukrainians are driving the resistance to Russia’s war

By
Mehri Druckman

Generation UA: From politics and the military to civil society and journalism, the post-independence generation of young Ukrainians is driving the country's remarkable fight back against Russia's invasion.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2022

Putin is running out of excuses as Ukraine expands the war to Crimea

By
Peter Dickinson

Russian officials have denied that Ukraine was behind an audacious August 9 attack on an airbase in occupied Crimea but Moscow's excuses are beginning to wear thin as Vladimir Putin's invasion continues to unravel.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Aug 9, 2022

Flawed Amnesty report risks enabling more Russian war crimes in Ukraine

By
Lillian Posner

Amnesty International's recent report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilian lives has sparked a wave of international criticism and is being actively used by the Kremlin to justify Russian bombing of civilian targets.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 8, 2022

Putin has forced Ukrainians to view Russian culture as a weapon of war

By
Kate Tsurkan

Efforts to reduce Russia's cultural footprint in Ukraine have sparked criticism but in reality it is Putin who has weaponized Russian culture and forced Ukrainians to view the likes of Pushkin and Dostoevsky as tools of empire.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 5, 2022

Russia’s invasion is putting the future of Ukraine’s forests at risk

By
Yehor Hrynyk

As the Russian invasion approaches the six-month mark, Ukraine's forests are facing the twin threats of frontline wildfires and wartime emergency economic measures that could lead to a disastrous increase in logging.


Conflict

Eastern Europe

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spotlight

Resilience in the face of adversity

Ukraine’s transformation

Ukraine has moved tentatively toward an open society and market economy since independence. The country has held several democratic elections and made halting progress in addressing corruption and state control in its economy. Since the 2014 Maidan Revolution, Ukraine has undertaken significant governance and economic reform and moved decisively toward a Europe-Atlantic foreign policy. Since 2022, Ukraine has resiliently continued to advance some reforms despite fighting for its very existence against the full-scale Russian invasion.

Learn more about Ukraine

Ukraine: Forwards or Backwards? A Response to Thomas Theiner and James Brooke

UkraineAlert
Dec 5, 2024

Ukraine’s entrepreneurial class can drive the country’s economic recovery

The Ukrainian SME sector has demonstrated remarkable wartime resilience and is poised to be at the forefront of efforts to create a modern, innovative, postwar economy, writes Anton Waschuk.

Read More

Ukraine: Forwards or Backwards? A Response to Thomas Theiner and James Brooke

UkraineAlert
Oct 1, 2024

Ukraine needs international investors to maintain defense tech momentum

By
Mykhailo Fedorov

Ukraine’s rapidly expanding defense tech sector can play a game-changing role in the war against Russia but Ukrainian companies need international investment, writes Ukraine’s Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.

Artificial Intelligence
Conflict

Ukraine: Forwards or Backwards? A Response to Thomas Theiner and James Brooke

UkraineAlert
Jun 13, 2024

Ukraine officially embraces English as historic westward pivot continues

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

By officially embracing English, Ukrainians aim to support their country’s historic pivot away from Moscow and return to the European community of nations, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Civil Society
Conflict

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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2016

Ukraine: Forwards or Backwards? A Response to Thomas Theiner and James Brooke

By Martin Nunn

When driving a car, it is essential to look forward to assess changing road conditions, new obstacles, and new opportunities. Prudent drivers—and investors—regularly check the rear view mirrors, but their main focus is on the future.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2016

Does Ukraine Need an Anti-Corruption Court?

By Thomas Firestone

The recent scandal surrounding alleged payments made to Paul Manafort by the former Ukrainian government has again cast a spotlight on corruption in Ukraine. Whatever one thinks of the Manafort story, no one can dispute that Ukrainians are entitled to an honest government that does not steal from them. But how can Ukraine achieve this […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2016

Russia is Surrounding Ukraine, but Where’s the West?

By Aaron Korewa

In recent weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been doing what he is best at: war mongering. It began with the Kremlin’s accusation that Ukrainian leaders had “chosen terror over peace,” despite the fact Russia has not been able to produce any credible evidence of the alleged “sabotage plot” in Crimea. Additionally, neither the OSCE’s […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 19, 2016

The West Has a Ukraine Challenge, and It’s Not Going Away

By Ariel Cohen

Since the Middle Ages, Kyivan Rus—the loose network of warring principalities whose borders vaguely coincide with today’s Ukraine—has been exposed to waves of invaders from neighboring states. This list of aggressors includes the Normans, Mongols, Poles, Ottomans, Habsburg Austrians, Germans, and Nazis—and not least, Muscovite Russians, the Romanov Russian Empire, and Bolsheviks. Each invasion destroyed […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2016

Why Putin Turns the Heat Up on Ukraine Now

By James J. Coyle

Russian President Vladimir Putin may be preparing a new offensive in Ukraine. Russia has prepared an excuse for a military incursion to connect Crimea with rebel-held areas of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Fighting along the corridor has already heated up; the Ukrainian military reports that on the night of August 8 more than 200 […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2016

Why Peace Is Impossible with Putin

By Alexander J. Motyl

Peace in Europe is impossible as long as Vladimir Putin remains Russia’s leader. As both the biggest obstacle to peace and the key source of potential war, Putin has become the main threat to Russia’s neighbors and the West. But what, exactly, motivates him? Analysts are divided over the reasons for Putin’s foreign policy moves. […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2016

How Russian Propaganda Portrays European Leaders

By František Vrabel, Jakub Janda, and Veronika Víchová

Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation in other countries as part of a hybrid war against the West sometimes make us forget that the media networks inside Russia also greatly matter. Even though Russia’s domestic media targets the Russian-speaking population, its narratives and portrayals of the international scene can tell us a lot about Russia’s foreign […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2016

Is Putin Preparing a New Attack on Ukraine?

By Anders Åslund

Observers have greatly feared that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin would start a small regional war this August. Russia has moved up its State Duma elections to September 18. Although only Putin’s parties are allowed to win, he has a predilection for “small and victorious wars” to mobilize his people. In 1999, the second war in […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2016

Kramatorsk, Two Years On

By Hannah Thoburn

Kramatorsk is one of the most American cities that I have encountered in Ukraine. It is not laid out in the walkable format that most Ukrainian towns and villages have. Rather, it has a wide, broad layout, with extensive blocks. It is a city in which a car is almost a necessity. And that is […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 10, 2016

What Business in Ukraine is Really Like

By Thomas Theiner

A Response to James Brooke James Brooke truly believes that investors should sink their money into Ukraine. He couldn’t be more wrong. Every roulette table in Las Vegas is more promising than Ukraine. I know from personal experience; I lived in Kyiv for five years and knew a few dozen foreigners who invested in Ukraine. […]

Ukraine
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