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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

Shame on You, Netherlands

UkraineAlert
Sep 30, 2025

Putin’s dream of demilitarizing Ukraine has turned into his worst nightmare

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin had hoped to demilitarize and decapitate the Ukrainian state, but his self-defeating invasion has inadvertently created the militarily powerful and fiercely independent Ukraine he feared most of all, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

Shame on You, Netherlands

UkraineAlert
Oct 2, 2025

Drone superpower Ukraine is teaching NATO how to defend against Russia

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s unrivaled experience of drone warfare makes it a key partner for NATO and an indispensable ally in the defense of Europe as the continent faces up to the mounting threat posed by an expansionist Russia, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

Shame on You, Netherlands

UkraineAlert
Oct 14, 2025

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are a European problem

By
Aura Sabadus

Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure are no longer just a Ukrainian problem. Moscow’s bombing campaign will become a wider European issue unless more support is offered to Kyiv, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict
Drones

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2026

Russia’s war on Ukrainian farmers threatens global food security

By
Oleksandr Tolokonnikov

By attacking Ukrainian farmers, Russia seeks to undermine Ukraine’s food security, just as it targets the country’s energy infrastructure to deprive the civilian population of access to electricity and heating, writes Oleksandr Tolokonnikov.

Conflict
Drones


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


UkraineAlert

Jan 7, 2026

Ukraine security guarantees are futile without increased pressure on Putin

By
Peter Dickinson

Western leaders have hailed progress toward “robust” security guarantees for Ukraine this week, but until Putin faces increased pressure to make peace, Russia will remain committed to continuing the war, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
France


UkraineAlert

Dec 24, 2025

The art of war is undergoing a technological revolution in Ukraine

By
Oleg Dunda

Ukraine’s battlefield experience since 2022 confirms that in order to be successful in modern warfare, armies should model themselves on technological giants like Amazon and SpaceX, writes Oleg Dunda.

Conflict
Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Dec 23, 2025

Reclaiming Russia’s ‘historical lands’: How far do Putin’s imperial ambitions extend?

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin has again vowed to “liberate Russia’s historical lands” via negotiations or military means. The list of countries that could qualify as “historically Russian” in Putin’s revisionist worldview is long and extends far beyond Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Central Europe
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Dec 18, 2025

Prisoner releases are welcome news but talk of a Belarus thaw is premature

By
Hanna Liubakova

The freeing of 123 political prisoners in Belarus last week is encouraging news but should not be interpreted as an indication of more fundamental change, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Dec 18, 2025

What’s in the new US defense bill for Ukraine?

By
Doug Klain

The NDAA includes the best legislative support from Congress that Ukraine has received all year. At the same time, it also underscores the dramatic reduction in overall US support for Ukraine during 2025, writes Doug Klain.

Conflict
Human Rights


UkraineAlert

Dec 16, 2025

‘Putin is lying’: Zelenskyy visits front to expose false claims of Russian gains

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a personal visit last week to a front line city that Putin has repeatedly bragged of seizing in order to expose the Russian leader’s habit of lying about battlefield gains, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Dec 16, 2025

The only winner from Ukrainian wartime elections would be Putin

By
Yuriy Boyechko

Ukrainians are fighting to defend their democracy against Kremlin authoritarianism, but they are also in no rush to hold wartime elections amid relentless Russian bombardment and with millions of Ukrainians displaced, writes Yuriy Boyechko.

Conflict
Elections


UkraineAlert

Dec 11, 2025

Russia’s insistence on a defenseless Ukraine betrays Putin’s true intentions

By
Peter Dickinson

Russia’s key demands during US-led peace talks all appear designed to leave Ukraine disarmed and defenseless. This is a clear indication of Vladimir Putin’s intention to continue his invasion and complete the conquest of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

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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

Shame on You, Netherlands

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

Shame on You, Netherlands

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

Shame on You, Netherlands

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

Apr 20, 2016

Shame on You, Netherlands

By Aaron Korewa

In a recent referendum, the Dutch people rejected the EU-Ukraine association agreement. Or rather, it was rejected by a majority of the just over 30 percent of Dutch people who decided to participate in this—for lack of a better word—joke. On the day of the referendum, a cartoon with the statement, “If you are voting […]

Russia
Ukraine

Bremain vs Brexit

Apr 12, 2016

Ukraine, Let’s Build a Country that the Dutch and All of Europe Will Embrace

By Hanna Hopko

Shall we live the old way? What are the lessons for the government of Ukraine from the referendum in the Netherlands? Let’s begin with gratitude to the hundreds of colleagues and friends who in recent days worked to urge the people of the Netherlands to support Ukraine in the referendum. We lost and Holland lost too. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 12, 2016

“Putin’s Not Finished,” Warns Former Defense Official Evelyn Farkas

By Diane Francis

On April 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin suddenly announced creation of a National Guard, of up to 400,000 personnel, to control drug trafficking and terrorism. But former Pentagon adviser Evelyn Farkas has a different take: “I see this as riot control.” Putin is distracting attention from bad economic news, due to sanctions, she said. “This […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 12, 2016

In Odesa, Protesters Demand that Poroshenko Restore Reformist Prosecutor

By Vladislav Davidzon

Several hundred protesters have camped out in front of the regional prosecutor’s office in Odesa for the past two weeks demanding that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reinstate reformist Deputy Prosecutor General Davit Sakvarelidze, who also concurrently held the post of regional prosecutor of Odesa. Sakvarelidze’s replacement, Nikolai Stoyanov, has held the position twice before, including […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 11, 2016

Prime Minister Yatsenyuk Resigns. Why Now? What’s Next?

By Anders Åslund

On April 10, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk submitted his resignation, and on April 12 parliament is expected to approve Speaker of Parliament Volodymyr Groisman as prime minister. It is, of course, good that Ukraine’s two-month long government crisis is being resolved, but it is not evident that the new government will be able to […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2016

The Economics of Ukraine’s Political Crisis

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine’s current political crisis is easy to understand. It was unleashed by an offensive by the Poroshenko Bloc to get greater control over the government. It started on February 3, when Economy Minister Aivaras Abramovicius resigned in protest against Ihor Kononenko, the gray cardinal of the Poroshenko Bloc, and it was aggravated by the failed […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2016

You Wouldn’t Think It from the Headlines, but Ukraine Is Making Progress

By Michael Druckman and Katie LaRoque

It’s been a rough several weeks for Ukraine in the news. From the firing of prominent reformer Davit Sakvarelidze from the Prosecutor General’s Office to the recent release of the “Panama Papers,” which seemingly link President Petro Poroshenko to several offshore accounts and sparked accusations from members of the Verkhovna Rada of abuse of office […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2016

How Ukraine Can Contribute to NATO’s Forward Defense

By Ian J. Brzezinski and Markian Bilynskyj

NATO has decided to bolster its military operations in Central Europe to better deter and, if necessary, defend against Russian aggression. Toward that end, Alliance military authorities have been tasked to develop plans for the deployment of multinational units, possibly battalions or brigades, that will be deployed on a persistent basis along NATO’s eastern frontier. […]

NATO
Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2016

Obama Silent on Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, While Putin Plans Shuttle Diplomacy

By Matthew J. Bryza

Absence of US Leadership May Have Consequences in Syria, Ukraine, and Beyond The United States has been conspicuously absent during the latest crisis over Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh (NK). The White House has not yet issued a statement on this unprecedented uptick in violence. US Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement released on April […]

Syria
The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2016

New Schedule for Minsk Implementation Urgently Needed

By Maksym Khylko

For several months, the Minsk peace process has been in a stalemate. Meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group and the Normandy Four have failed to make progress on the issue of elections in the Russian-occupied areas of the Donbas. The fourth provision of the Minsk II agreement envisages that local elections should be discussed “in […]

Russia
Ukraine
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