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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

What Minsk Accord? Kremlin-Backed Militants Hold Luhansk Journalist Hostage for Year

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

What Minsk Accord? Kremlin-Backed Militants Hold Luhansk Journalist Hostage for Year

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

What Minsk Accord? Kremlin-Backed Militants Hold Luhansk Journalist Hostage for Year

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

Jun 12, 2023

Beyond the counteroffensive: 84% of Ukrainians are ready for a long war

By
Peter Dickinson

84% of Ukrainians reject any compromise with Russia and are ready for a long war if necessary in order to fully de-occupy their country. Most simply see no middle ground between genocide and national survival, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2023

Russia’s failing Ukraine invasion is exposing Putin’s many weaknesses

By
Anders Åslund

Vladimir Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine is exposing all of his personal weaknesses as a ruler and casting an unforgiving light on the extensive damage he has done to Russia, writes Anders Åslund.

Conflict
Corruption


UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2023

Ukraine’s counteroffensive will likely create new reintegration challenges

By
Lesia Dubenko

If Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive is successful, Kyiv will be faced with the significant challenge of reintegrating communities that have lived under Russian occupation for extended periods, writes Lesia Dubenko.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2023

Could Russia be held accountable for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam?

By
Danielle Johnson

Initial analysis indicates that Russia deliberately destroyed the Kakhovka dam in what would qualify as one of Moscow’s worst war crimes in Ukraine, but holding the Kremlin accountable will prove extremely difficult, writes Danielle Johnson.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2023

Kakhovka dam collapse threatens Europe’s largest nuclear plant

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

The blowing up of the Kakhovka dam in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine threatens to deprive the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant of vital water supplies and raises the threat of nuclear disaster, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Jun 7, 2023

Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive will aim to keep the Russians guessing

By
Peter Dickinson

Speculation is mounting that Ukraine’s hotly anticipated summer counteroffensive may be underway but initial stages are likely to feature probes and diversionary attacks rather than a big push, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Drones


Fast Thinking

Jun 7, 2023

Has Ukraine’s counteroffensive really begun?

By
Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council experts share their insights on the intensifying war in Ukraine.

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia


UkraineAlert

Jun 7, 2023

Moldova needs an energy overhaul

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

If energy security is national security, then Moldova is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world and is in need of a comprehensive energy sector overall, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.

Energy Markets & Governance
European Union


UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2023

Is China preparing for a post-Putin Russia?

By
Anders Åslund

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have famously proclaimed a “friendship without limits” but the Chinese leader may be looking to a post-Putin Russia and cultivating ties with Putin’s PM Mikhail Mishustin, writes Anders Åslund.

China
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2023

Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive is a key moment but long-term resolve remains crucial

By
Tennyson Dearing

Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive is an important moment in the war with Russia but it is critical to maintain a sense of perspective and underline the need for long-term Western backing, writes Tennyson Dearing.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity

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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

What Minsk Accord? Kremlin-Backed Militants Hold Luhansk Journalist Hostage for Year

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

What Minsk Accord? Kremlin-Backed Militants Hold Luhansk Journalist Hostage for Year

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

What Minsk Accord? Kremlin-Backed Militants Hold Luhansk Journalist Hostage for Year

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

Jan 19, 2016

What Minsk Accord? Kremlin-Backed Militants Hold Luhansk Journalist Hostage for Year

By Halya Coynash

Eleven months after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agreement in Minsk that all prisoners must be released, Kremlin-backed militants are continuing to hold a number of prisoners, including many civilians, like 31-year-old Luhansk journalist Maria Varfolomeyeva. Varfolomeyeva worked for the local news website Svobodny Reporter and has worked as a fixer for various national media, including […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 19, 2016

How to Help Ukraine: An Alternative Vision

By Vladislav Inozemtsev

Three former US Ambassadors to Ukraine recently wrote an op-ed article in the New York Times (“Investing in Ukraine’s Future,” December 30, 2015) that called for an increase in Western financial assistance to Ukraine and argued that the country is now “teetering on the brink.” I strongly support their willingness to stay firm against a […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 19, 2016

How Ukraine’s Reformers Beat the Pharma Mafia

By Josh Cohen

A little over a month after US Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian legislators that graft was eating Ukraine “like a cancer,” an order from Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers struck a decisive blow against pharmaceutical corruption. This order outsources the purchasing of numerous medicines for seriously ill Ukrainians from the Ministry of Health to respected international […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2016

Seven Key Reforms for Ukraine in 2016

By Anders Åslund

After Orthodox Christmas, I spent a few days in Kyiv. It is quite striking how the mood has changed in a positive direction. The 2016 budget and the modified tax code were adopted on December 24. After two weeks of well-deserved rest, there is a sudden realization that Ukraine accomplished many important economic reforms in […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2016

New Poll Confirms Growing Mistrust Between Donbas Residents and Kyiv

By Michael Druckman and Katie LaRoque

Ukrainians elected more than 10,000 mayors and 160,000 city councilmembers in local elections on October 25. It was the third nationwide election since the Euromaidan Revolution. A new International Republican Institute (IRI) poll of the Ukrainian-controlled territories of the Donbas region (i.e., Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts) reveals that only 26 percent of respondents believe the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2016

Free the Kremlin’s 20 Ukrainian Hostages Now

By Maria Tomak

Soviet dissident Vasyl Stus—an important Ukrainian poet of the twentieth century—never lived to see the fall of the Soviet Union. He died in a prison camp near Perm in 1985. As I read one of Stus’s poems about Siberia, I realized that Gennadiy Afanasyev, a 25-year-old Crimean photographer exiled to the Sytkyvkar penal camp in […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2016

The Complex History of the Ukrainian Nation: A Review of “The Gates of Europe”

By Alexei Sobchenko

During a time of war, history becomes a weapon used to justify claims and raise soldiers’ spirits. In this case, successful histories are simple, unequivocal, and confirmed by the experiences of past centuries. The current Kremlin version of history of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine fully meets these criteria. According to Moscow, there was […]

Poland
Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2016

Ukraine Should Do More to Combat Human Trafficking

By Luke A. Drabyn

Ukraine remains one of Europe’s most notorious sources of human trafficking. Since 1991, over 160,000 men, women, and children have been exploited for labor, sex, forced begging, and organ removal, according to a mid-2015 report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy, with recommendations from domestic and international nongovernmental organizations, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2016

2016 Will Be a Make It or Break It Year for Ukraine

By Alina Polyakova

Two years ago, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians braved the freezing temperatures on Kyiv’s Maidan to protest. Since then, Ukraine has gone through almost too many crises to count: upheaval with the ousting of former President Viktor Yanukovych; Russian occupation of Crimea; a war with Russian forces in the Donbas that continues to simmer; and […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 6, 2016

How Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Sabotaged the Reform Process

By Halya Coynash

Viktor Shokin, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, was upbeat in his New Year’s message to colleagues. While “2015 was a difficult and responsible year for us all,” he wrote, we “carried out unprecedented reform and overhaul of the prosecutor’s system, bringing it closer to European standards.” Almost twenty years after Ukraine promised to reform its prosecutor’s office […]

Ukraine
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