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

Early Elections in Ukraine Aren’t So Scary. Here’s Why

UkraineAlert
May 12, 2026

Ukrainian long-range drones are turning Russia’s size into a weakness

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine is waging a strategic bombing campaign of deep strikes across the Russian Federation that aims to exploit Russia’s colossal size and transform it from a key strength into a fatal weakness, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

Early Elections in Ukraine Aren’t So Scary. Here’s Why

UkraineAlert
May 1, 2026

Europe needs Ukraine as it looks to counter growing Russian threat

By
Zahar Hryniv

More than a year since Trump returned to the White House, it is clear that Europe needs to develop its own strategic vision for the continent’s defense. It is equally apparent that Ukraine must be central to this vision, writes Zahar Hryniv.

Conflict
Defense Industry

Early Elections in Ukraine Aren’t So Scary. Here’s Why

UkraineAlert
Apr 30, 2026

Zelenskyy refuses Russian demands to surrender Ukraine’s vital fortress belt

By
Marc Goedemans

Ukraine rejects Russian demands to withdraw from northern Donetsk province as part of a peace deal and insists the region’s fortress belt is absolutely indispensable for the defense of the country as a whole, writes Marc Goedemans.

Conflict
Defense Policy

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Feb 21, 2022

Putin escalates his Ukraine war with recognition of separatist republics

By
Peter Dickinson

Eight years since the invasion of Crimea, Putin struck another blow in his war against Ukrainian statehood on February 21 by recognizing the two separatist republics of east Ukraine as independent states.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2022

Putin’s self-defeating war has succeeded in uniting Ukrainians

By
Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland

Vladimir Putin’s eight-year war against Ukraine has had a profound impact on Ukrainian identity and done more for national unity than any other single factor since Ukraine regained independence three decades ago.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2022

NATO must seize the current strategic opportunity in the Black Sea

By
Harlan Ullman

The Ukraine crisis has underlined the need for NATO to develop a coherent Black Sea Strategy that will allow the alliance to counter the growing regional threat posed by Vladimir Putin's resurgent Russia.


Conflict

Maritime Security


UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2022

Will there be a “Munich Moment” in the Russia-Ukraine crisis?

By
Thomas S. Warrick

A full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine could yet be prevented via a "Munich moment" bringing together Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden to strike a last-minute geopolitical deal, writes Thomas Warrick.


Conflict

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion


UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2022

Putin’s absurd genocide claims cannot hide his war crimes in Ukraine

By
Olexander Scherba

Russian President Vladimir Putin likes to claim that an anti-Russian genocide is underway in Ukraine but in reality he is upset by the historical loss of influence suffered by representatives of the Russian state.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2022

What would constitute victory for Putin in his war with Ukraine?

By
David Batashvili

In order to achieve his long-term foreign policy goal of subjugating a hostile Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin must militarily seize and occupy a large portion of what is the largest country wholly in Europe.


Conflict

National Security


UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2022

Putin has seriously wounded Ukraine’s economy without firing a single shot

By
Anders Åslund

Even without physically invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is already causing the country great economic losses. The West cannot stand by and watch this happen, explains Anders Åslund.


Conflict

Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Feb 15, 2022

The view from Ukraine: What happens if war breaks out tomorrow?

By
Vitaliy Deynega

Vitaliy Deynega says Ukraine has never been more united or able to defend itself and argues that Putin's threatened invasion is a gesture of despair by an enemy who cannot accept he has already lost.


Civil Society

Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 14, 2022

Russia may dodge sanctions by using Putin proxies to invade Ukraine

By
Pavlo Kukhta, Viktoria Podhorna, Mykyta Poturaev, Yehor Chernev

With Russia facing the possibility of crushing sanctions over the threatened invasion of Ukraine, Putin may prefer to deploy hybrid forces made up of regular Russian troops and mercenaries posing as Ukrainian separatists.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2022

Free trade and drones: Turkey and Ukraine strengthen strategic ties

By
Christopher Isajiw

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Kyiv in early February for a visit that underlined the deepening strategic partnership between the two Black Sea nations.


Conflict

Defense Industry

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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

Early Elections in Ukraine Aren’t So Scary. Here’s Why

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

Early Elections in Ukraine Aren’t So Scary. Here’s Why

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

Early Elections in Ukraine Aren’t So Scary. Here’s Why

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

Feb 29, 2016

Early Elections in Ukraine Aren’t So Scary. Here’s Why

By Anders Åslund

The dominant view in Washington is that Ukraine must avoid early parliamentary elections. Many Ukrainians, however, see them as inevitable and ultimately they decide. Therefore, we need to discuss not if early parliamentary elections should be held, but instead how and when. Both the United States and the European Union reckon that Ukraine needs political […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 26, 2016

Ukraine’s Booming Tech Sector Gets International Attention Despite War

By Diane Francis

A plain Soviet-era office block squats on a residential street in the beautiful historic city of Lviv, Ukraine. The lobby is dimly lit and there is no seating, only a stern guard who points to the elevator to access local software engineering firm N-iX. The doors part and the offices are an orange and white […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 24, 2016

Remembering the Day Russia Invaded Ukraine

By John E. Herbst and Alina Polyakova

Two years ago on February 27, Russia invaded Ukraine. On the heels of the Euromaidan Revolution and the vicious sniper attacks that killed 103 Ukrainians, Russian President Vladimir Putin saw an opportunity and ordered the military takeover of Crimea. The operation began when Russian military personnel, disguised as little green men in unmarked uniforms, and […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 24, 2016

What If Parliamentary Elections Were Held in Ukraine Today?

By Brian Mefford

With Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s government surviving a no-confidence vote on February 16 and the parliamentary coalition splintering the next day, early parliamentary elections are now possible this year. New elections could be triggered by three scenarios: first, if the current majority coalition in parliament collapses and a new majority isn’t formed within thirty days; […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 24, 2016

In the Absence of American Leadership, Germany Steps in to Engage with Russia—at the EU’s Peril

By Stephen Blank

One particularly visible trend at the recent Munich Security Conference was America’s disengagement from European security issues. Foreign leaders often spoke without referring to the United States, and there was little sign of US involvement beyond its military participation in NATO. Washington’s priorities clearly revolved around Syria, not Europe. This trend confirms theories about the […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 23, 2016

Parliament Votes to Weaken Ukraine’s Key Anti-Corruption Law

By Josh Cohen

Since the overthrow of former President Viktor Yanukovych, the attitude of Ukraine’s post-Maidan government toward reform could best be described as ambivalent. Last week was a case in point. While Kyiv and its Western partners remained riveted by the fate of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, parliament greatly weakened a key anti-corruption law originally enacted almost one-and-a-half […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2016

Russia’s Pernicious Hybrid War Against Ukraine

By Andreas Umland

In recent months, the relative calming of the Russian-Ukrainian war in the Donbas has led many observers to describe this confrontation as yet another “frozen conflict” in the post-Soviet space. Yet even if Russian military activities ceased completely, the analogy is misleading. It is not always understood that Ukraine’s neighbor to the east is actively […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 22, 2016

How Soft Power Works: Russian Passportization and Compatriot Policies Paved Way for Crimean Annexation and War in Donbas

By Agnia Grigas

The following is an edited excerpt from Agnia Grigas’ new book, Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire. The book examines Moscow’s policies toward Russian compatriots in former Soviet republics, including Ukraine where they laid the groundwork for Crimea’s annexation and the conflict in the Donbas. Moscow’s policies towards its “compatriots”—loosely defined as ethnic Russians, Russian […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2016

A Pyrrhic Victory for President Poroshenko

By Anders Åslund

On February 16, the Ukrainian parliament deemed the performance of its government unsatisfactory with 247 votes, but only 194 parliamentarians voted for a no-confidence measure. The government did not fall as some had expected. Overtly, this strange vote may appear a victory for President Petro Poroshenko, but it seems a Pyrrhic victory that may have […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2016

Making Sense of the Turmoil in Kyiv

By John E. Herbst

Turmoil in Kyiv continued as President Petro Poroshenko called on both Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin to resign on February 16. The President’s parliamentary faction then introduced a resolution in the Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, describing the performance of the cabinet of ministers, headed by Yatsenyuk, as inadequate. That measure passed, but […]

Ukraine
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