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.

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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

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

UkraineAlert
May 12, 2026

Ukrainian long-range drones are turning Russia’s size into a weakness

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine is waging a strategic bombing campaign of deep strikes across the Russian Federation that aims to exploit Russia’s colossal size and transform it from a key strength into a fatal weakness, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

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

UkraineAlert
May 1, 2026

Europe needs Ukraine as it looks to counter growing Russian threat

By
Zahar Hryniv

More than a year since Trump returned to the White House, it is clear that Europe needs to develop its own strategic vision for the continent’s defense. It is equally apparent that Ukraine must be central to this vision, writes Zahar Hryniv.

Conflict
Defense Industry

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

UkraineAlert
Apr 30, 2026

Zelenskyy refuses Russian demands to surrender Ukraine’s vital fortress belt

By
Marc Goedemans

Ukraine rejects Russian demands to withdraw from northern Donetsk province as part of a peace deal and insists the region’s fortress belt is absolutely indispensable for the defense of the country as a whole, writes Marc Goedemans.

Conflict
Defense Policy

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Jul 19, 2022

Ukraine’s vibrant civil society deserves key role in post-war transformation

By
Mykhailo Zhernakov

Ukraine's vibrant civil society sector is the country's secret weapon in its civilizational struggle against Putin's Russia and should be a key focus of support efforts as the international community looks to rebuild Ukraine.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2022

The West must take urgent steps to prevent Ukrainian economic collapse

By
Bate Toms

Recent talk of a Ukrainian Marshall Plan for the post-war period is certainly welcome but Ukraine also needs action from the West without delay to avoid a potentially catastrophic economic collapse while the war continues.


Conflict

Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2022

Canada accused of betraying Ukraine and helping Russia break sanctions

By
Diane Francis

Canada is facing accusations of bowing to Kremlin blackmail after agreeing to lift sanctions imposed over Vladimir Putin's Ukraine invasion in order to secure Russian gas supplies to Germany.


Conflict

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


UkraineAlert

Jul 15, 2022

Killer in the Kremlin: New book explores Vladimir Putin’s bloody reign

By
John Sweeney

British journalist John Sweeney's new book "Killer In The Kremlin" offers a chilling portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a menace to global security whose entire reign has been marked by death and destruction.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 15, 2022

EU candidate status is an historic opportunity to transform Ukraine

By
Kira Rudik

The decision to grant Ukraine official EU candidate status does not guarantee the country's future membership but the process of further integration can dramatically boost Ukraine's domestic reform momentum, writes Kira Rudik.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2022

Building a better Ukraine: Rule of law is essential for post-war prosperity

By
Bohdan Vitvitsky

Few would argue that the rule of law is essential for Ukraine’s post-war prosperity. However, previous efforts to implement judicial reforms have fallen short. What is required to make sure next time is different?


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2022

Putin weaponizes Russian passports in his genocidal war against Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's decision to expand fast-track Russian passport distribution to the whole of Ukraine is a clear signal that his imperial appetite is not limited to the Ukrainian regions currently under Kremlin control.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jul 9, 2022

Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine at risk from infections and epidemics

By
Ihor Kuzin

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and occupation of around 20% of the country has produced a range of major public health challenges that require urgent international attention, writes Ihor Kuzin.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2022

Putin’s energy weapon: Europe must be ready for Russian gas blackmail

By
Aura Sabadus

Disarming Putin's energy weapon: Europe can disconnect from Russia’s gas supplies sooner than some would suggest providing it mobilizes the right human and financial resources to work in that direction.


Conflict

Energy Markets & Governance


UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2022

Post-Boris Britain will continue to stand with Ukraine against Putin’s war

By
Peter Dickinson

Boris Johnson's resignation has sparked fears in Kyiv over continued UK support but in reality there is little chance of a weakening in British backing for Ukraine in its fight for survival against Vladimir Putin's ongoing invasion.


Conflict

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

UkraineAlert

Aug 9, 2016

Memo to Ukrainian Government: Privatization Can Succeed if You Get Out of the Way

By Basil Kalymon

On July 18, Ukraine’s most recent attempt at privatization came to a disappointing conclusion. Odesa’s petrochemical plant, OPZ, was placed up for auction, but after the government set a minimum price of $520 million, no qualified bidders came forward. As a consequence, the state still owns the enterprise, which continues to impose losses on the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 9, 2016

In Ukraine, Two Steps Forward and One Step Back: Procurement Reform Advances, Slowly

By Josh Cohen

Many changes have occurred in Ukraine since the Euromaidan, but the country still struggles mightily with corruption. Those efforts are symbolized in the ongoing fight to reform Ukraine’s corrupt procurement practices. For years, links between government officials and Ukraine’s “pharma mafia” resulted in the theft of approximately $100 million of the Ministry of Health’s $250 […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2016

Saakashvili in Odesa: When Making Waves is Not Enough

By Kateryna Smagliy

A year after my Atlantic Council blog post on Mikheil Saakashvili’s first fifty days as Odesa oblast governor, it’s time to reexamine his record. The results are mixed: his brisk and spectacular first wins soon hit the skids. The Presidential Administration’s promised support evaporated in late 2015 and Saakashvili’s many initiatives were skillfully torpedoed at […]

The Caucasus Ukraine
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