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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

Aug 27, 2024

Putin hopes Belarus border bluff can disrupt Ukraine’s invasion of Russia

By
Peter Dickinson

With his overstretched army struggling to repel Ukraine’s invasion of Russia, Vladimir Putin has pressed Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka to mass troops on the Ukrainian border, but Belarus is unlikely to join the war, writes Peter Dickinson.

Belarus
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2024

Ukraine ratifies Rome Statute but must address concerns over ICC jurisdiction

By
Celeste Kmiotek

The Ukrainian Parliament recently ratified the Rome Statute to become a member state of the International Criminal court but concerns remain over future ICC jurisdiction in Ukraine, writes Celeste Kmiotek.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Aug 22, 2024

Ukraine’s EU accession hinges on stronger defense and consolidated reforms

By
Zachary Popovich

To achieve EU accession, Ukraine must strengthen its defense capabilities, execute administrative reforms within its judiciary, and implement a multi-sector approach to corruption, writes Zachary Popovich.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 21, 2024

Invasion? What invasion? Putin is downplaying Ukraine’s Kursk offensive

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin’s efforts to downplay Ukraine’s invasion of Russia have severely dented his strongman image and make a mockery of the West’s escalation fears, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Aug 20, 2024

Kursk offensive could help free Ukrainians in Russian captivity

By
Olivia Yanchik

Ukraine’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk Oblast has resulted in the surrender of unprecedented numbers of Russian soldiers, raising hopes of a large-scale prisoner exchange, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2024

The Kremlin is cutting Russia’s last information ties to the outside world

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

Recent measures to prevent Russians from accessing YouTube represent the latest escalation in the Kremlin’s campaign to dominate the domestic information space and eliminate all independent media in today’s Russia, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Aug 15, 2024

Ukraine’s invasion of Russia exposes the folly of the West’s escalation fears

By
Oleksiy Goncharenko

Ukraine’s invasion of Russia has shown that Putin’s talk of red lines and his nuclear threats are just a bluff to intimidate the West, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2024

New US-Ukraine partnership proposal from influential senators is a recipe for bipartisan success

By
Andrew D’Anieri

Senators Richard Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham came to Kyiv this week with an ambitious bipartisan vision for the future of US-Ukrainian relations, writes Andrew D’Anieri.

Conflict
Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2024

Belarus’s political prisoners must not be forgotten

By
Hanna Liubakova

New sanctions unveiled in August have highlighted the plight of Belarus’s approximately 1,400 political prisoners, but much more must be done to increase pressure on the Lukashenka regime, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2024

Ukraine’s Kursk offensive proves surprise is still possible in modern war

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Ukraine’s Kursk offensive has succeeded in demonstrating that surprise is still possible despite the increased transparency of the modern battlefield, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict
Defense Policy

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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

Mar 9, 2016

Ukraine’s New Political Law Privileges Party Bosses

By Brian Mefford

On February 16, the same day it almost approved no confidence in the government, Ukraine’s parliament successfully passed law #3700 on its eighteenth attempt. While the law was overshadowed by the controversy over the vote on the government, the legislation is the equivalent of a new “January 16th law” for Ukrainian politicians. What is a […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2016

What Nadiya Savchenko’s Example Can Teach the West

By Jeffrey Gedmin

March 5 marked the sixty-third anniversary of Joseph Stalin’s death. A friend texted me a photo of a poster from a Moscow bus shelter, a death mask of the Soviet dictator, captioned with the words: “That one died, this one will, too,” presumably a reference to Russia’s current ruler Vladimir Putin. There’s a certain sad […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 8, 2016

Will Ukraine’s Intrepid Female Pilot be Swapped for Russian Officers Held by Ukraine?

By Irena Chalupa

“Freedom does not have a price! I don’t believe anyone in Russia! I’m not afraid and I will not beg!”  These may be some of the last words that Nadiya Savchenko, Ukraine’s most famous political prisoner held by Russia, will speak. On March 3, the day her trial was scheduled to end and she was […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 8, 2016

The Church That Stalin Couldn’t Kill: Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Thrives Seventy Years after Forced Reunification

By Nadia M. Diuk

Seventy years ago, on March 8-10, 1946, under orders from Josef Stalin, an illegal “synod” of Kremlin-controlled clergy gathered in the city of Lviv, recently absorbed into the Soviet Union as part of the settlement of World War II. The purpose of the gathering was to liquidate the independent existence of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 7, 2016

Why Does Putin Surprise Us Again and Again?

By Stephen Blank

From Great Britain to the Black Sea, Russia is waging a constant, unceasing information war against virtually every European government. This war takes many forms, but information war in essence entails what Peter Pomerantsev called the weaponization of information in the form of lies, misinformation, propaganda, exploitation of agents of influence, and reflexive actions inducing […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 7, 2016

Russia Declares War on Crimean Tatars

By Halya Coynash

Two years after invading and annexing Crimea, Russia appears ready to outlaw the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, the representative body of the largest indigenous people of the peninsula. The behavior which Russia deems “extremist” is essentially the Mejlis’ implacable, but always peaceful, opposition to Russia’s occupation. It is unclear whether Western countries will respond with more […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 7, 2016

Mother of Hunger-Striking Pilot Calls for Justice

By Melinda Haring

Editor’s Note: Ukrainian fighter pilot Nadiya Savchenko started a “dry” hunger strike on March 3 after Russian prosecutors requested a 23-year sentence for Savchenko. In 2014, Savchenko was captured by the pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas, transferred to Russia, where she was accused of involvement in the death of two Russian journalists. Savchenko’s mother Mariya […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 4, 2016

“You Have Not Defeated Me and You Never Will!” Ukrainian Fighter Pilot Nadiya Savchenko Tells Russian Court

By Alexei Sobchenko

Even for Russia, where everyday life can best be described as Kafkaesque, the case of Nadiya Savchenko is outrageous. In 2014, during the war in Ukraine’s Donbas, Savchenko, a Ukrainian military officer captured by the pro-Russian separatists in combat, was transferred to Russia, where she was accused of involvement in the death of two Russian […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 2, 2016

Early Elections in Ukraine Are Scarier Than You Think

By Adrian Karatnycky

Should Ukraine hold new elections? Despite the failure of Ukraine’s parliament to remove the government of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk from office on February 16, the defection of two parties from the governing coalition gives President Petro Poroshenko the ability to declare the absence of a majority coalition and force new elections. Western donors, including […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Mar 2, 2016

Two Cheers for Cold War!

By Alexander J. Motyl

Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev’s recent suggestion that Russia and the West are embroiled in cold war provoked hasty denials by Western policymakers and commentators. In fact, Medvedev was right: cold war between Russia and the West does exist. But the West’s denials were unnecessary, because cold war is the best possible option for its […]

Ukraine