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.

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

Here’s How to Make Ukraine’s Reforms Irreversible

UkraineAlert
Sep 3, 2026

Putin cannot defeat NATO but he could divide and discredit the alliance

By
Peter Dickinson

If Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to attack NATO, his goal will be to divide and discredit the alliance rather than actually defeating it, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy

Here’s How to Make Ukraine’s Reforms Irreversible

UkraineAlert
Aug 27, 2026

Ukrainians are not superheroes with endless powers of resilience

By
Lauren Van Metre, Elena Davlikanova

By celebrating Ukrainian resilience as an almost superhuman quality, the international community risks obscuring the much less glamorous reality that Ukrainians are actually ordinary people who have endured extraordinary violence for far too long, write Lauren Van Metre and Elena Davlikanova.

Civil Society
Conflict

Here’s How to Make Ukraine’s Reforms Irreversible

UkraineAlert
Aug 25, 2026

A cultural renaissance is reshaping national identity in wartime Ukraine

By
Davis Richardson

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is fueling a defiant cultural outpouring that is redefining and strengthening Ukrainian national identity in ways that challenge centuries of Kremlin imperialism, writes Davis Richardson.

Civil Society
Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2017

What Do Russians Think of Ukrainians, and Vice Versa?

By
Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin’s decade long media campaigns turned Russians against Ukrainians and the Ukrainian state prior to his 2014 annexation of Crimea. The divorce between Russia and Ukraine which began with the disintegration of the USSR gained momentum after the 2004 Orange Revolution. Putin’s authoritarian and great power nationalistic regime fanned ethnic Russian nationalism, turning Russians […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2017

What Will Ukraine’s Next Big Reform Be?

By
Maria Repko

The IMF has told Ukraine that it must push through a number of reforms before it can receive any additional funds. Currently, the major effort is pension reform, something both the government and the IMF are focused on. Pensions account for 11 percent of GDP and 26 percent of public expenditures. Luckily, pension reform—unlike land […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2017

When Winning the War Isn’t Enough

By
Andriy Kobolyev

Since Russia’s military aggression began in 2014, I have been asking myself what Ukraine must do to win. There is no simple answer, but we cannot defeat Ukraine’s external enemy until we have overcome the enemy within, which is corruption. And Ukraine is losing this internal battle. I am convinced that a zero-tolerance approach at […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 14, 2017

Miracle of 2014 Was Ukraine’s Dunkirk

By
Peter Dickinson

One of the biggest blockbuster movies of summer 2017 looks likely to be “Dunkirk,” a WWII drama set on the beaches of northern France in summer 1940 as Adolf Hitler’s panzer armies closed in on pockets of trapped and surrounded allied forces. The film will introduce global audiences to one of the most celebrated events […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 14, 2017

The Senate Just Passed a Monumental New Russia Sanctions Bill—Here’s What’s In It

By
Edward Fishman

Today, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that would fortify existing sanctions on Russia and add new restrictions. If the bill becomes law, it would mark the most significant step taken by Congress on Russia policy in recent history. Though not perfect, the bill would substantially strengthen the West’s negotiating position vis-à-vis Russia on the […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2017

Three Years After Euromaidan, Kyiv Struggles with Vision

By
Sergiy Gusovsky

Late May marked three years since Kyiv’s new authorities headed by Mayor Vitali Klitschko assumed responsibility for the capital. I would like to report that people’s expectations have been met and the city has undertaken systemic change. I would like to write that Kyiv is on a path toward sustainable development and serves as an […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2017

How to Putin-Proof Your Elections

By
Jakub Janda and Veronika Víchová

Russia has been meddling in Western democracies and their internal affairs since at least 2014, but the issue came to the fore only after the 2016 US presidential election. And the problem may be more acute than previously thought: Russian hackers attacked election systems in thirty-nine of the fifty states. Since then, several countries have […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2017

Why Populism Isn’t Ukraine’s Number One Enemy

By
Hlib Vyshlinsky

Ukrainians are starting to show greater confidence in the economy, while public trust in the country’s leaders has reached new lows, according to a recent poll from the International Republican Institute. Only 18 percent of those surveyed has a favorable opinion of President Petro Poroshenko, while 76 percent holds an unfavorable opinion. Approval figures for […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 12, 2017

Ukrainians Resolute in Desire to Keep Country United, New Poll Reveals

By
Katie LaRoque

On May 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin separately met with President Donald J. Trump, who later tweeted his desire for the two countries to make peace. Most would like to see this war come to a close—with more than 10,000 lives lost and over 1.7 million internally displaced […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2017

The Truth of Being an IDP Is Painfully Clear in “Women’s Voices”

By
Amanda Abrams

“In July, armed men came to their house and searched it for three hours looking for Ukrainian flags. The next day, Olena fled her hometown.” So began the odyssey of Olena, an internally displaced person from Donetsk who was driven from her home by the conflict in 2014. Like Ukraine’s other 1.7 million IDPs, her […]


Russia

Ukraine

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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

Here’s How to Make Ukraine’s Reforms Irreversible

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

Here’s How to Make Ukraine’s Reforms Irreversible

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

Here’s How to Make Ukraine’s Reforms Irreversible

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

Apr 25, 2016

Here’s How to Make Ukraine’s Reforms Irreversible

By Hanna Hopko

We live in a time of transformations: today, we decide which Ukraine our children will live in tomorrow. But a new Ukraine will be hard to achieve unless citizens with no connections to the old system take action and begin controlling the government and thinking long-term. In 2013, Ukrainians protested to demonstrate that there was […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 21, 2016

Why I’m Pessimistic about Ukraine’s New Government

By Sergii Leshchenko

President Petro Poroshenko’s passivity in the fight against corruption has restored the old rules of Ukrainian politics and renewed the significance of the oligarchs. They’re his main partners now. The search for a new prime minister is only part of this ignoble process. Over the last two months, Poroshenko has managed to back himself into […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Time for Ukraine to Assume Rightful Place in Global Energy Market

By Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska

In the course of its reforms, Ukraine has launched one of its most critical markets, the energy market. The state economy is highly energy intensive, based on fossil fuels, and imports-dependent. After having lost 10 percent of its industrial coal and gas-bearing territories, the government needs to make up for its energy shortage. Meanwhile, lying […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

If Ukraine Finally Gets Visa-Free Travel, Activists Deserve Credit, Too

By Josh Cohen

The chattering classes in Kyiv remain riveted by the startling revelations from the Panama Papers, the resignation of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and the formation of a new government, but there’s another story that deserves attention. On April 20, the European Union proposed visa-free travel in Europe to Ukrainians. It’s no exaggeration to say that Ukrainians […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Ukraine’s Finally Got a Cybersecurity Strategy. But Is It Enough?

By Vera Zimmerman

Ukraine has been battling for its independence not only in the fields of the Donbas, but also in cyberspace. Government networks have been subject to continuous cyber espionage, while other cyberattacks have disrupted a presidential election, blocked access to news media, and engaged in hacktivism and propaganda distribution. Although these attacks initially did not seem […]

Cybersecurity Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Why I’m Optimistic about Ukraine’s New Government

By John E. Herbst

The past two months have not been favorable for Ukraine’s image in the West. The unnecessary government crisis leading to the ouster of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his government has meant little progress on reform and lots of attention to politics. The strongest reform ministers—Natalie Jaresko, Aivaras Abromavicius, Oleksiy Pavlenko, and Andriy Pyvovarskiy—left with […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Shame on You, Netherlands

By Aaron Korewa

In a recent referendum, the Dutch people rejected the EU-Ukraine association agreement. Or rather, it was rejected by a majority of the just over 30 percent of Dutch people who decided to participate in this—for lack of a better word—joke. On the day of the referendum, a cartoon with the statement, “If you are voting […]

Russia Ukraine

Bremain vs Brexit

Apr 12, 2016

Ukraine, Let’s Build a Country that the Dutch and All of Europe Will Embrace

By Hanna Hopko

Shall we live the old way? What are the lessons for the government of Ukraine from the referendum in the Netherlands? Let’s begin with gratitude to the hundreds of colleagues and friends who in recent days worked to urge the people of the Netherlands to support Ukraine in the referendum. We lost and Holland lost too. […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 12, 2016

“Putin’s Not Finished,” Warns Former Defense Official Evelyn Farkas

By Diane Francis

On April 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin suddenly announced creation of a National Guard, of up to 400,000 personnel, to control drug trafficking and terrorism. But former Pentagon adviser Evelyn Farkas has a different take: “I see this as riot control.” Putin is distracting attention from bad economic news, due to sanctions, she said. “This […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 12, 2016

In Odesa, Protesters Demand that Poroshenko Restore Reformist Prosecutor

By Vladislav Davidzon

Several hundred protesters have camped out in front of the regional prosecutor’s office in Odesa for the past two weeks demanding that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reinstate reformist Deputy Prosecutor General Davit Sakvarelidze, who also concurrently held the post of regional prosecutor of Odesa. Sakvarelidze’s replacement, Nikolai Stoyanov, has held the position twice before, including […]

Ukraine
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