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

The New York Times Was Right about Ukraine’s Corruption Problem

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

The New York Times Was Right about Ukraine’s Corruption Problem

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

The New York Times Was Right about Ukraine’s Corruption Problem

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

Jul 2, 2024

Bombing Europe’s breadbasket: Russia targets Ukrainian farmers

By
Hanna Hopko

Russia is attempting to destroy Ukraine's agricultural industry as part of the Kremlin's plan to undermine the economic foundations of Ukrainian statehood and pave the way for the country’s subjugation, writes Hanna Hopko.


Conflict

Drones


UkraineAlert

Jul 2, 2024

US signals long-term support for Ukraine with new security pact

By
Mykola Bielieskov

The United States has signaled its long-term commitment to Ukrainian security with a new pact but the agreement is not a formal treaty and does not oblige the US to defend Ukraine, writes Mykola Bielieskov.


Conflict

Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2024

More senior Russian officials join Putin on war crimes wanted list

By
Andrii Mikheiev

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has this week issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian army chief Valeriy Gerasimov for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the invasion of Ukraine, writes Andrii Mikheiev.


Conflict

Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Jun 26, 2024

Ukraine’s innovative drone industry helps counter Putin’s war machine

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine's rapidly expanding and highly innovative domestic drone industry is helping the country compensate for Russia's overwhelming advantages in both manpower and munitions, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict

Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jun 25, 2024

Historic day for Ukraine as EU launches official membership talks

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine began official membership talks with the EU on June 25, providing the embattled East European nation with a powerful morale boost as it continues to fight for survival against Russia’s ongoing invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Jun 24, 2024

Kyiv Pride event highlights changing attitudes in wartime Ukraine

By
Aleksander Cwalina

Ukraine’s LGBTQI+ community is playing an important role in Ukraine’s ongoing European integration and defense against the Kremlin’s anti-Western crusade, writes Aleksander Cwalina.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 21, 2024

Russia’s flagship international forum showcases Putin’s pariah status

By
Edward Verona

The lack of international attendees at Russia's flagship economic forum in June highlighted Vladimir Putin's pariah status on the world stage, writes Edward Verona.


Conflict

Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jun 20, 2024

Putin just reminded the world why Russia must lose

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's bogus recent peace proposal was in reality a call for Ukraine's surrender that underlines his continued commitment to the destruction of the Ukrainian state, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jun 20, 2024

FPV drones in Ukraine are changing modern warfare

By
Tomas Milasauskas, Liudvikas Jaškūnas

First Person View (FPV) attack drones are shaping the battlefield in Ukraine and transforming our understanding of modern warfare, write Tomas Milasauskas and Liudvikas Jaškūnas.


Conflict

Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Jun 18, 2024

Ukraine’s peace summit offers solidarity but no breakthroughs

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

Ukraine's hotly anticipated peace summit in Switzerland produced plenty of solidarity but did not result in any major diplomatic breakthroughs, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.


Conflict

Freedom and Prosperity

Load More

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 New York Times Was Right about Ukraine’s Corruption Problem

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 New York Times Was Right about Ukraine’s Corruption Problem

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 New York Times Was Right about Ukraine’s Corruption Problem

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.

Learn more

Follow us on social media
and support our work

support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2016

The New York Times Was Right about Ukraine’s Corruption Problem

By Halya Coynash

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko dismissed the recent New York Times editorial “Ukraine’s Unyielding Corruption” as “part of the hybrid war against Ukraine” at a press conference on April 1 in Washington, DC. The editorial’s tone and substance were certainly lightyears away from the President’s own rosy assessment given on March 31. So who’s right? While […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 4, 2016

The Battles Are in the Donbas, But the War Is in the Energy Sector

By Anders Åslund

The energy sector is key to the success of Ukraine’s economic reforms, battle against corruption, and independence from Russia. Ukraine carried out far-reaching reforms to the energy sector in 2015; now it must complete the substantial reforms that have been undertaken. Energy is the linchpin of Ukraine’s dependence on Russia. The Kremlin has used energy […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 30, 2016

Revealing Europe’s Best-Kept Secret

By Peter Dickinson and Vladislav Davidzon

Early April will see the closure of Ukraine Today, which had been the only full-time English language TV news service offering Ukrainian perspectives to international audiences. The channel will reportedly continue online, but the end of its broadcasting is a sobering development hinting at the difficulties of finding sufficient funding for major Ukrainian English-language media […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2016

Shokin’s Revenge: Ukraine’s Odious Prosecutor General Fires Honest Deputy Before Parliament Sacks Him

By Anders Åslund

On March 29, the Ukrainian Rada finally approved the resignation of Ukraine’s disreputable Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. He was voted out with an overwhelming majority of 289 votes, including 114 of the 134 deputies of the Poroshenko Bloc. On February 16, Shokin was forced to submit his letter of resignation in connection with the failed […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2016

US Presidential Politics Play Poorly in Ukraine

By James Brooke

US President Barack Obama’s refusal to militarily defend Ukraine against Russian aggression has sent a chill halfway around the world to Odesa, the Black Sea port only 200 kilometers by warship from Crimea. In the April issue of The Atlantic, Obama says: “The fact is that Ukraine, which is a non-NATO country, is going to […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 29, 2016

Sick of the Ukraine Crisis? Then Arm Ukraine

By Alexander J. Motyl

Building Up Ukraine’s Military is the Counterintuitive Solution to Peace Western policymakers who believe the Minsk accords would work if only Ukraine made the requisite constitutional and electoral concessions are missing a key point: that they, and Russia, forced Ukraine to make security its priority by violating the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. Russia […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2016

Ukraine and Turkey’s Newly Strengthened Relationship

By Hannah Thoburn

Turkey and Ukraine, including Crimea, control 71 percent of the Black Sea coast between the two of them. With Ukraine to the north and Turkey directly to the south, the two nations have long been collegial when working together on regional problems, but their reasonably friendly relationship has generally been subordinated to more pressing issues. […]

Europe & Eurasia Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2016

Separatists Launch New “Passportization” Strategy in Eastern Ukraine

By Agnia Grigas

On March 16, the separatist leaders of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) began issuing their own passports in eastern Ukraine. The territory’s militant leader Aleksander Zakharchenko called the move “a very important step toward building statehood” that will serve to solidify and formalize the territory’s separatist status. Earlier, Moscow had planned to hand out […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 23, 2016

Memo to Secretary Kerry: Russia Is Weaker Than You Think

By Ariel Cohen

When US Secretary of State John Kerry goes to Moscow this week, he should keep in mind that Russia’s recent military engagements in Ukraine and Syria represent an attempt to manipulate perceptions. The Kremlin wants to position itself as a peer of America, open to cooperation against ISIS, but capable of military threats against US […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 22, 2016

Russian Court Finds Ukraine’s Defiant Pilot Savchenko Guilty

By Irena Chalupa

Nothing in the Nadiya Savchenko case has been easy or fast. The famed Ukrainian pilot whom Russia has charged with complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists can’t even get a quick verdict at the end of a trial that has lasted nine months. On March 22, the court found Savchenko guilty of all […]

Europe & Eurasia Russia
Load More