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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

Latest analysis


UkraineAlert

Jan 11, 2024

Arsenal of Autocracy: North Korea and Iran are arming Russia in Ukraine

By
Olivia Yanchik

Together with Iran and North Korea, Russia has succeeded in establishing an Arsenal of Autocrats that now threatens to plunge the world into a new era of war and insecurity, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Arms Control
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 11, 2024

EU aspirations and Russian realities: Georgia at the geopolitical crossroads

By
Zviad Adzinbaia

2024 is shaping up to be a crucial year for Georgia’s EU aspirations. This could have implications for the wider region, while also challenging Russia’s own imperial ambitions in Georgia and beyond, writes Zviad Adzinbaia.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 9, 2024

Ukraine is on the front lines of global cyber security

By
Joshua Stein

Ukraine is currently on the front lines of global cyber security and the primary target for groundbreaking new Russian cyber attacks, writes Joshua Stein.

Conflict
Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Jan 9, 2024

The case for a new Ukrainian Constitution

By
Brian Mefford

As Ukraine fights for its survival as a nation, it may be time to adopt a new constitution that matches the country’s current realities and future ambitions, writes Brian Mefford.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 9, 2024

How strong is Russian public support for the invasion of Ukraine?

By
Vladimir Milov

Many in the West argue that the majority of Russians support the invasion of Ukraine. However, nuanced analysis of Russian polling data indicates this is not the case, and suggests the Russian public is actually more concerned with how soon the war will end, writes Vladimir Milov.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2024

To defeat Putin in a long war, Ukraine must switch to active defense in 2024

By
Mykola Bielieskov

By embracing a strategy of active defense in 2024, Kyiv can achieve the twin goals of preventing any major Russian advances and creating conditions that strongly favor Ukraine in what is increasingly a war of attrition, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2024

Russia’s invasion aims to erase Ukrainian cultural identity

By
Martha Holder

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine seeks to destroy Ukraine’s national heritage and erase Ukrainian identity. The authorities in Kyiv should respond by placing Ukrainian culture at the heart of the country’s recovery efforts, writes Martha Holder.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2024

Belarus opposition are key allies in the fight against Russian imperialism

By
Tatsiana Kulakevich, Michael Berg

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominates Europe’s geopolitical agenda, but neighboring Belarus is also a critical battleground in the fight back against Putin’s resurgent brand of Russian imperialism, write Tatsiana Kulakevich and Michael Berg.

Belarus
Civil Society


UkraineAlert

Jan 2, 2024

Ukraine needs urgent air defense aid as Putin launches bombing campaign

By
Peter Dickinson

As Russia launches a long-awaited new bombing campaign against Ukrainian cities, fears are mounting that deadlock over continued US and EU military aid may soon leave Ukraine facing critical air defense shortages, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jan 2, 2024

Ukraine’s wartime economy is performing surprisingly well

By
Anders Åslund

The Ukrainian government is to be congratulated for its considerable accomplishments on the economic front while defending itself against Europe’s largest invasion since World War II, writes Anders Åslund.

Conflict
Economy & Business

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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.

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Content

UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2015

To Secure Europe’s Energy, Build a Market and Integrate Ukraine

By Basil Kalymon and Adonis Yatchew

Europe Should Press Moscow to Respect EU Rules—and Kyiv to End Gas Monopoly In recent days, Russia has once more threatened the security of Europe’s gas supplies by announcing that it will refuse to pipe gas through Ukraine and will require that a southern alternative be built through Turkey. The European gas supply system has […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Mar 2, 2015

Is the IMF Bailout Enough for Ukraine?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

MIT Economist Says Rescue Plan Is Too Small, May Need Adjustment An International Monetary Fund bailout for Ukraine underestimates the banking sector’s needs and is unrealistic about government expenditure on security and defense, according to Andrei Kirilenko, a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ukraine has secured a $40 billion bailout from the IMF […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 1, 2015

Nemtsov Assassination Is Rooted in Putin’s Authoritarianism

By John E. Herbst

Passive Responses to Putin Darken the Future for Ukraine—and for Russia The professional killing of Boris Nemtsov February 27 confronts us with two facts that Western policymakers ignore at great cost in the Russia-Ukraine war. First, Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine is potentially a great domestic political liability for him. Second, it is central to […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2015

The Flawed Minsk Peace Accord—And How to Use It

By Adrian Karatnycky

Truce Buys Ukraine Time to Get a Little Real Help From Its Friends Ukraine and its allies hope this month’s cease-fire deal agreed with Russia and Russian-backed rebels brings relative calm to southeastern Ukraine. But the Minsk agreement is deeply flawed, and there is every chance it may yet unravel, even if it holds for […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2015

Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Battle Slogs Ahead

By Olena Tregub

New Prosecutor Briefly Arrests an Oligarch; Anti-Corruption Bureau Seeks a Director The Ukrainian campaign to actually begin cleaning up Europe’s most corrupt government and economy is progressing more slowly than many Ukrainians have demanded. But the past week showed some movement in two critical government agencies: the prosecutor general’s office and the nascent National Anti-Corruption […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2015

Amid the ‘Cease-Fire,’ Russian Forces Win a Battle in Ukraine

By New Atlanticist

Kyiv Forced into New Retreat; US, Europe Must Increase Support, Atlantic Council Analysts Say At midday February 18, three-and-a-half days beyond the designated hour for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, fighting was continuing in the strategic city of Debaltseve, where Russian forces continue to pound a nearly surrounded Ukrainian contingent that may still number in […]

Eastern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2015

Ukraine’s Other War: Parliament Advances Anti-Corruption Fight

By New Atlanticist

Lawmakers Vote to End Their Immunity from Prosecution Members of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, overwhelmingly passed a bill to end their own legal immunity from prosecution, one of the main laws that for years helped Ukraine to the top of Europe’s corruption charts. Article 80 of Ukraine’s constitution protects all Rada members from prosecution […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2015

Making Ukraine’s ‘Glimmer of Hope’ Sustainable

By Sabine Freizer

If Russia Permits, the Minsk Accord Could Be a Start for Stabilizing Donbas The ceasefire agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine on in Minsk on 12 February offers what German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls “a glimmer of hope, no more no less” for constricting, and eventually ending, the war in southeast Ukraine’s Donbas region. Whether […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2015

Russia’s Ukraine War Wins it the Advantage in New Truce Deal

By John E. Herbst

‘Minsk II’ Accord Will Let Moscow Keep Pumping Arms, Fighters into Ukraine’s Donbas With thousands of Ukrainian troops nearly surrounded in Donbas by the freshly armed, Kremlin-directed rebel militias, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko accepted the Minsk II agreement February 12. The new accord is clearly less advantageous to Kyiv than was the Minsk I agreement, which […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 10, 2015

Obama-Merkel Accord Delays Talk of Arms for Ukraine’s Defense Against Russia

By John E. Herbst

Europe Signals New Negotiation With Kremlin Will Not Include New Pressures on Kyiv The Obama-Merkel summit was critical for maintaining Transatlantic unity in the face of Moscow’s escalating aggression in Ukraine. While skeptical of the Kremlin’s intentions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel would like to try another round of diplomacy to stop the fighting. That is why […]

Europe & Eurasia Germany