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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Feb 28, 2023

Calls mount for Russia to face tribunal for aggression against Ukraine

By
Irina Paliashvili

As Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its second year, calls are mounting for the establishment of a special tribunal to try the Russian leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, writes Irina Paliashvili.

Conflict
European Union


UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2023

Russia’s invasion one year on: Ukraine is stronger than ever

By
Vitaly Sych

Vladimir Putin expected a short and victorious war that would extinguish Ukrainian independence and force the country back into the Russian orbit. One year on, Ukraine has never been stronger, writes Vitaly Sych.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 23, 2023

Invasion anniversary: Does Putin still have a pathway to victory in Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine is widely seen as one of the biggest geopolitical blunders of the modern era, but as the war enters its second year, could the Russian dictator still have a pathway to potential victory?

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2023

Superhumans Center: Symbol of Ukrainian defiance amid Russia’s war

By
Andrey Stavnitser

Opening in the coming months, the Superhumans Center war trauma hospital in western Ukraine is a symbol of Ukrainian defiance as Russia’s brutal invasion enters its second year, writes co-founder Andrey Stavnitser.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 21, 2023

Putin could still win unless the West speeds up efforts to arm Ukraine

By
Dennis Soltys

Ukraine’s international partners are gradually providing the country with the weapons it needs to beat Russia, but excessive caution and continued delays could still allow Vladimir Putin to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Feb 21, 2023

US foreign policy: China is important but the top priority is stopping Russia

By
Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

Members of the US foreign policy establishment are wrong to prioritize a “China First” perspective at a time when Putin’s Russia is waging a major war of aggression in Ukraine, writes Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

China
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2023

‘You cannot outlast us’: Biden’s Kyiv visit sends strong message to Moscow

By
Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden’s bold surprise visit to wartime Kyiv sent a strong message to Moscow that time is not on Putin’s side and Russia should not pin its hopes on a weakening of Western resolve to stand with Ukraine.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2023

Putin’s invasion shatters the myth of Russian-Ukrainian brotherhood

By
Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine has shattered the myth of Russian-Ukrainian brotherhood and represents the point of no return in the relationship between the post-Soviet neighbors, writes Taras Kuzio.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2023

Rebuilding Ukraine: Private sector role can help counter corruption concerns

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Recent corruption allegations have shaken international confidence in the Ukrainian authorities but Ukraine’s vibrant private sector benefits from broadly positive perceptions and should play a leading role in rebuilding efforts.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 14, 2023

Russia’s new offensive will test the morale of Putin’s mobilized masses

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin’s desperation to regain the military initiative in Ukraine is leading to suicidal tactics that are undermining morale among hundreds of thousands of recently mobilized Russian troops, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society
Conflict

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UkraineAlert

Mar 2, 2016

Women of the Euromaidan: Where Were They Then and Where Are They Now

By Josh Cohen

As Kateryna Kruk walked among her fellow protesters in Kyiv’s central square while checking her phone during the early days of the Euromaidan in December 2013, she noticed an opportunity: Ukrainians shared news of the revolution almost entirely in Ukrainian or Russian. Inspired by the use of social media during the Arab Spring, Kruk started […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 29, 2016

The Real Fight for Ukraine’s Future

By Emmet Tuohy

As rain clouds sweep in from the west on a winter morning, the Ukrainian Black Sea town of Mykolayiv does not present the most welcoming picture. Up to three feet of standing water obscure the city’s main intersections, where stray dogs and homeless people rush to traverse four lanes of traffic before the next taxi […]

Ukraine
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