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’s Most Overlooked Reform Could Bring in Billions

UkraineAlert
Sep 3, 2026

Putin cannot defeat NATO but he could divide and discredit the alliance

By
Peter Dickinson

If Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to attack NATO, his goal will be to divide and discredit the alliance rather than actually defeating it, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy

Ukraine’s Most Overlooked Reform Could Bring in Billions

UkraineAlert
Aug 27, 2026

Ukrainians are not superheroes with endless powers of resilience

By
Lauren Van Metre, Elena Davlikanova

By celebrating Ukrainian resilience as an almost superhuman quality, the international community risks obscuring the much less glamorous reality that Ukrainians are actually ordinary people who have endured extraordinary violence for far too long, write Lauren Van Metre and Elena Davlikanova.

Civil Society
Conflict

Ukraine’s Most Overlooked Reform Could Bring in Billions

UkraineAlert
Aug 25, 2026

A cultural renaissance is reshaping national identity in wartime Ukraine

By
Davis Richardson

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is fueling a defiant cultural outpouring that is redefining and strengthening Ukrainian national identity in ways that challenge centuries of Kremlin imperialism, writes Davis Richardson.

Civil Society
Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2015

Testing Putin’s Intentions

By
John E. Herbst

The October 2 Paris Summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and Russian President Vladimir Putin produced no breakthrough for peace in Ukraine. But it provided additional proof that, for the moment, Putin wants to lower tensions in the region. The parties spoke about three issues: the withdrawal […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2015

How to Fight Corruption in Ukraine

By
Anders Åslund

We all agree: The greatest threat facing Ukraine, after its war with Russia, is corruption. But few agree how to do so, though it should not be that difficult. In 1998, Ukraine’s main gas importer, Ihor Bakai, stated that “all rich people in Ukraine made their money on Russian gas.” The technique was simple. A […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2015

Radars for Ukraine: Obama’s Strong Signal to Putin

By
Adrian Karatnycky

A day after US President Barack Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the United States announced that it will ship long-range counter-battery radars to Ukraine. Obama authorized $20 million to provide the country with radars, bringing US security assistance to Ukraine up to $265 million. Obama’s message is clear: the United States will not […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2015

Ukraine Must Embrace Radical Reform Now

By
Melinda Haring

If the Ukrainian government does not follow through with an ambitious reform agenda, public support will wane while dissatisfaction will increase, threatening political stability and the country’s future. “There is no time for slow evolutionary changes. Radical and revolutionary reforms are the only way to success,” warns a new report issued September 28.


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2015

Halfway There on National Unity in Ukraine

By
Colin Cleary

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has lost the battle for the hearts and minds of the predominantly Russian-speaking regions of eastern and southern Ukraine that remain under Kyiv’s control. Support for those he calls “compatriots” has been at the core of Putin’s stated rationale for intervention in Ukraine. Polls show, however, that a clear majority of […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2015

Will Assad Rescue Putin from the Ukrainian Quagmire?

By
Aaron Korewa

For fifteen years, Gleb Pavlovsky worked as an adviser to Russian Presidents Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, and the one-term Dmitry Medvedev. He was one of the chief architects behind the “power vertical” concept— the need for a strong leader in order to create stability. Freedom and democracy were supposed to “come later.” Unfortunately for Pavlovsky, […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2015

Ukraine’s Leaders Must Engage Disillusioned Citizens Now

By
Joanna Rohozinska

In many respects, Ukraine is unrecognizable from the place it was a mere two years ago. Civic engagement has clearly increased, as seen by the remarkable mobilization of volunteers, flourishing of local civic groups, and generous donations for a variety of causes. A sense of vitality and energy pervades the country—unlike a few years ago, […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 28, 2015

A Gift to Putin

By
John E. Herbst

An odd thing happened on President Barack Obama’s way to New York for meetings at the UN with world leaders. He forgot to schedule a session with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Of course, New York City is flooded with world leaders at this time of year, and Obama does not have time to meet with […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2015

Is Syria Putin’s Off-Ramp from the Ukraine Crisis?

By
John E. Herbst

Ever since Moscow’s “little green men” appeared in Crimea, the West has been anxious to provide Russian President Vladimir Putin an “off-ramp” from his aggression in Ukraine. US, French, German, and European Union diplomats have made numerous efforts to find a face-saving way for Putin to back off. For the longest time, however, it seemed […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2015

Europe’s Next Wave of Migrants May Come From Ukraine

By
Diane Francis

In chess, a player is in “zugzwang” when no move will rescue his situation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has put Ukraine in “zugzwang” and, as things now stand, the country is unable to move forward militarily, economically or diplomatically. Without relief, Europe may end up with another deluge of asylum seekers, this time from Ukraine. […]


Russia

Ukraine

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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’s Most Overlooked Reform Could Bring in Billions

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’s Most Overlooked Reform Could Bring in Billions

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’s Most Overlooked Reform Could Bring in Billions

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

Dec 2, 2016

Ukraine’s Most Overlooked Reform Could Bring in Billions

By Maxim Martynyuk and Alexei Sobchenko

Of the key battles fought in post-Maidan Ukraine, the one over land reform attracts little attention. That’s a shame, too. Parliament’s unwillingness to allow the sale of private farmland “is the biggest source of immediately available economic growth that the government has failed to utilize,” Swedish economist Anders Åslund has noted. The latest clash over […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 1, 2016

A New Approach to Reintegrating Eastern Ukraine and Crimea

By Oksana Bedratenko

Russian aggression is not likely to go away soon. As a result, Ukraine needs to revise the current framework guiding its economic disengagement from the occupied regions of the Donbas and Crimea. Economic disengagement limits the risks of financing terrorism with money coming from mainland Ukraine, and makes sure that the occupied areas of Donbas […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 1, 2016

Yatsenyuk at the European Parliament: It’s Time for Europe to Do Its Part

By Amanda Abrams

With respect to Ukraine and Russia’s aggression in the eastern part of the country, Europe needs to step up its game. That was the consensus at “The War in Ukraine’s East: The Military Conflict, Diplomacy, and the Humanitarian Crisis,” a discussion co-hosted by the Atlantic Council and Members of the European Parliament Anna Maria Corazza […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2016

Why Russia Can’t Get Over the West—Or Steven Seagal

By Andrew Kornbluth

It seemed like the international affairs version of clickbait: the president of the world’s leading nuclear state awarding citizenship to a foreign actor most famous for playing an ex-commando who must rescue an exotic dancer while foiling a plot to start World War III on the high seas. For most onlookers, Vladimir Putin’s gift of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2016

Here’s Why Ukraine Failed to Get More IMF Funding

By Anders Åslund

A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Ukraine November 3-17. The Ukrainian government had hoped that it would decide to give Ukraine another tranche of its four-year $17.5 billion loan package of March 2015, of which Ukraine has received $7.7 billion, but the answer was a resounding no. The IMF is normally very […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2016

Is It Prudent or Paranoid to Worry about Russia’s Influence in the Baltics?

By Jakub Janda

Russia has been busy spreading its influence in Europe and Eurasia. Alexander J. Motyl worries that the Baltic states are “the most vulnerable to a complete [Russian] takeover,” and security expert Paul D. Miller predicts that World War III could break out in Latvia. Last month Lithuania issued a manual on what to do if […]

Northern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 28, 2016

Has Putin Finally Stepped on His Own Rake in Syria?

By Stephen Blank

In October 2016 the Russian government made a significant announcement about its Syria policy that Western sources overlooked. Moscow announced that it supported the restoration of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s power throughout the country, something it had not stressed previously. This statement and its consequences merit serious scrutiny by the West because its implications are […]

Russia Turkey

UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2016

Will Trump’s Foreign Policy Make Any Sense?

By Diane Francis

The election of Donald Trump marks a turning point in the world of international relations. Speculation abounds as to what he’s going to do, but his policies remain unknown, possibly unformed. Still, this doesn’t discourage us from speculating as well as poring over the resumes of his appointments to date. But the only certainty is […]

Mexico Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2016

Eastern Europe Must Prepare for the Worst about Trump

By Alexander J. Motyl

President Barack Obama’s advice to the world that it shouldn’t “assume the worst” about Donald Trump may apply to countries whose existential interests cannot be threatened by the president-elect’s policies, but those that face a possible Russian invasion must assume and prepare for the worst. They cannot, as Obama recommended, “wait until the administration is […]

Belarus Northern Europe

UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2016

In Time of Trump, Advice to Friends of Ukraine (And Democracy)

By Jeffrey Gedmin

Friends of Ukraine, brace yourself. There’s no way to sugar-coat this for the democracy crowd either. Donald Trump has suggested that Ukraine is not our business (it “affects Europe a lot more than it affects us”). Our president-elect admires Russia’s authoritarian leader (he’s “brilliant,” a “strong leader”), and wants Vladimir Putin as an ally (“Russia […]

Russia Ukraine
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