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

Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016

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

Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016

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

Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016

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

Oct 3, 2024

Ukraine is slowly but steadily weakening Russia’s grip on Crimea

By
Serhii Kuzan

With international attention firmly fixed on the Russian army’s advances in eastern Ukraine and the Ukrainian invasion of Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine is also making progress toward weakening Russia’s grip on Crimea, writes Serhii Kuzan.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2024

Kyiv’s allies should boost Ukraine’s ability to strike deep inside Russia

By
David Kirichenko

With Kyiv’s partners still reluctant to lift restrictions on attacks inside Russia using Western weapons, one obvious solution would be to enhance Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian targets using domestically-produced Ukrainian weapons, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Industry


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


UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2024

Russia’s political prisoners must not be forgotten

By
Leonid Gozman

The international community must not forget the more than one thousand Russian political prisoners currently incarcerated by the Kremlin, writes Leonid Gozman.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2024

Putin will keep escalating his nuclear blackmail until it stops working

By
Peter Dickinson

More than two and half years since the start of Russia’s Ukraine invasion, it should now be abundantly clear that Vladimir Putin will continue escalating his nuclear blackmail until it stops working, writes Peter Dickinson.

Arms Control
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2024

History is a key battleground in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

By
Benton Coblentz

Vladimir Putin has weaponized history to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The international community can combat this by committing more resources to the study of Ukrainian history, writes Benton Coblentz.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Sep 24, 2024

There can be no sustainable peace in Europe without security for Ukraine

By
Mykola Bielieskov

A compromise peace that rewards Putin with around 20 percent of Ukraine would only embolden Moscow and set the stage for further Russian aggression in Ukraine and beyond, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Sep 21, 2024

Ukraine’s expanding drone fleet is flying straight through Putin’s red lines

By
Giorgi Revishvili

Ukraine’s rapidly expanding campaign of long-range drone strikes is flying straight through Vladimir Putin’s red lines and could help persuade Kyiv’s Western partners to lift restrictions on attacks inside Russia, writes Giorgi Revishvili.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Sep 19, 2024

Compromising with the Kremlin in Ukraine will only embolden Putin

By
Kateryna Odarchenko, Elena Davlikanova

JD Vance recently claimed a Trump peace plan would include letting Russia retain occupied areas of Ukraine. But any concessions to the Kremlin will only embolden Putin and invite more war, write Kateryna Odarchenko and Elena Davlikanova.

Conflict
European Union


UkraineAlert

Sep 19, 2024

Ukraine’s innovative defense industry can play a key role in Western security

By
Pavlo Verkhniatskyi

Ukraine’s innovative defense industry has emerged as the country’s secret weapon in the war with Russia and can a play a key role in strengthening the West, writes Pavlo Verkhniatskyi.

Conflict
Defense Industry

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

Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016

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

Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016

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

Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016

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

Jan 5, 2016

Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016

By Anders Åslund

The outlook for the Ukrainian economy in 2016 is positive. Many important reforms were carried out in 2015. The necessary exchange rate adjustment has occurred and most required bank closures have taken place. The parliament has adopted tax changes and a decent budget for 2016. The debt restructuring deal has postponed foreign debt service. The […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2016

Putin’s Next Potential Target: The Baltic States

By Stephen Blank

Although Russia’s economy is reeling and its military forces are increasingly engaged in Syria and Ukraine, NATO commanders, governments, and analysts are concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adventurism has not run its course. Most anxieties focus on the Baltic states as Russia’s next potential military target. Russia has many advantages in the Baltics. The […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 5, 2016

From Ordinary Business Trip to Russian Jail: Former Ukrainian Political Prisoner Exhorts West to Keep Pressure on Russia

By Yuriy Yatsenko

Editor’s Note: Yuriy Yatsenko testified before the US Helsinki Commission in Washington on December 11, 2015. His remarks have been shortened. I am a Ukrainian citizen who was illegally arrested and detained by the Russian Federation for over a year for political reasons. Nadiya Savchenko, Oleg Sentsov, and others who are less known have suffered and […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2016

Putin’s Fragile Popularity

By Andreas Umland

One of the mantras of today’s Kremlin apologists, as well as of some self-described political realists, is that current Russian President Vladimir Putin is unusually popular among Russians. In the interest of pragmatism, they say, the West should acknowledge this allegedly hard fact and adapt its policies accordingly—i.e., try to rebuild a partnership with Russia’s […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2016

What Will 2016 Mean for Ukraine?

By Aaron Korewa

In 2015, Ukraine proved it wasn’t a pushover. The country united in the face of Russian aggression and Russian President Vladimir Putin learned that if he wanted his Novorossiya project, it was going to cost him more than a few little green men. Notably, the war in Ukraine was completely absent from Putin’s December 2015 […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2016

New Russian Management of the Donbas Signifies Putin May Be Ready to Negotiate

By Anders Åslund

On December 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed one of his close, trusted aides, Boris Gryzlov, Russia’s representative in the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, which concluded the two Minsk agreements on the Donbas in September 2014 and February 2015. This appointment suggests an important change in Russia’s policy toward Ukraine. Gryzlov is a heavyweight […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 22, 2015

Civil Service Reform May Revolutionize Ukraine

By Josh Cohen

It took a staggering sixteen months and it wasn’t easy. The old guard resisted it every step of the way. Ukraine’s parliament passed civil service reform, one of the highest priorities of the Euromaidan’s young reformers, on December 10. The Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR), a civic group, described the development as “a real miracle.” […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2015

An Alliance Deterred

By Patrick Stephenson

NATO leaders intended the Alliance’s Trident Juncture military exercises, in part, to send a message to Russia that they would not hesitate to defend allied territory. That intention was commendable. But one wonders how exercises in the western Mediterranean will deter Russian ambitions that lie 3,000 km away in Ukraine and on the borders of […]

NATO
Russia

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2015

Nord Stream 2 Makes No Sense and Must Be Stopped

By Anders Åslund

Europe is saturated with energy and demand falls steadily, as Europe saves energy. From 2004 to 2014, the primary energy consumption in the European Union declined by 12 percent and its consumption of natural gas fell by 21 percent. Yet last June, Russia’s state-controlled natural gas corporation Gazprom announced its intention to build Nord Stream […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Dec 21, 2015

The Kremlin’s Dangerous New Threat in Ukraine

By Ihor Kozak

Fighting continues to gradually intensify in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin-backed militants are now using heavy weapons, including tanks, artillery, and ferocious Grad rocket systems, sporadically. Moscow’s rationale behind this latest escalation is to achieve a frozen conflict by gradually sabotaging the execution of the Minsk II ceasefire agreement. Russian President Vladimir Putin likely realizes that […]

Russia
Ukraine
Load More