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

New Film Captures Ukraine’s 91-Day Fight for Freedom

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

New Film Captures Ukraine’s 91-Day Fight for Freedom

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

New Film Captures Ukraine’s 91-Day Fight for Freedom

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

May 24, 2017

The Obvious Mistake We Make in Fighting Russian Disinformation

By
Geysha Gonzalez

“The person who tells their story best, wins,” said Jed Willard of the FDR Center for Global Engagement at Harvard University in Prague on May 17, succinctly explaining the challenges of fighting disinformation. Willard and 330 other experts from twenty-nine countries gathered in Prague for a strategic communications summit (STRATCOM) hosted by European Values, a […]


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 24, 2017

Will Facebook Finally Fight Disinformation or Just Make Things Worse?

By
Nina Jankowicz

For years, Facebook has quietly and very intentionally inserted itself into the daily lives of its users. It has succeeded wildly, becoming arguably the world’s most ubiquitous communication platform, with an average of 1.28 billion daily users. But now that it has become one of the world’s most popular sources of news, Facebook is failing […]


Russia


UkraineAlert

May 23, 2017

By Changing Alphabet, Kazakhs Take Another Step Toward the West

By
Ariel Cohen

Kazakhstan has decided to switch alphabets, from Cyrillic to Latin script, by 2025. After decades of Russian and Soviet domination, countries are developing their own cultural code, though some feel uneasy about the change. Yet the Latin alphabet will only boost Kazakhstan’s international integration and its economic, technological, and scientific development. Plus, Latin script isn’t […]


Central Asia


UkraineAlert

May 23, 2017

The Reform Story Isn’t Over in Kyiv

By
Ivan Mikloš

In the West, many people are ready to write off Ukraine. They wrongly believe that Ukraine’s reforms are stagnating, corruption is widespread, and the country is at war. But Ukraine’s reforms are definitely not done. To understand Ukraine’s promise, one must first grasp the country’s situation in 2014 when the reforms began. Two decades of […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

May 22, 2017

Why Are Russian Opposition Leaders Democrats at Home and Imperialists Abroad?

By
Taras Kuzio

The US Congress has approved $100 million to counter “Russian influence and aggression” and support civil society organizations in Europe and Eurasia. According to the legislation, the funding will be used to “support democracy programs in the Russian Federation, including to promote internet freedom, and shall also be made available to support the democracy and […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

May 18, 2017

Something Is Very Wrong in Kyiv

By
Josh Cohen

Ukraine Brags about Reforms and Harasses Activists Oleksandra Ustinova does not scare easily. Ustinova—Ustik to her friends—is a member of the board of the most outspoken watchdog in Kyiv and has led lobbying campaigns which successfully pushed through anticorruption reforms in Ukraine. She’s also a recognizable face with her straight blond hair and light blue […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

May 17, 2017

From Russia with Hate: The Kremlin’s Support for Violent Extremism in Central Europe

By
Péter Krekó and Lóránt Győri

In 2016, the mayor of Ásotthalom, a small Hungarian town close to the country’s southern border, celebrated the opening of Gagarin Street with an obelisk to Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin and a speech about Russia’s greatness. The mayor was László Toroczkai, an extremist politician who serves as the vice president of the far-right Jobbik party; […]


Central Europe

Hungary


UkraineAlert

May 17, 2017

Crimea’s Virtual Blackout Means Anything Goes

By
Yuriy Lukanov

On Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the Russian authorities are suppressing freedom of speech so that no one will really know what has happened there. Journalists in particular are under threat. The case of Ukrainian journalist Mykola Semena is one example of the situation in Crimea, which Russia has illegally occupied since 2014. His opinions were published […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

May 15, 2017

Why Ukraine’s Worst Enemy Is Not Vladimir Putin

By
Peter Dickinson

Identifying Ukraine’s enemies has become a popular pastime. Unsurprisingly, Russia was the first one to be listed after the Kremlin dropped any pretense of Slavic fraternity and invaded the country. Corruption was next. Whereas Russia was the enemy at the gates, corruption was the enemy within. An eclectic collection of lesser enemies has since joined […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

May 15, 2017

Why the Internet May Save Us After All

By
Nina Jankowicz

New Activists in Belarus and Russia Take to the Streets after Videos and Memes Spread On a single weekend in March, Russia and Belarus witnessed their largest protests in five years. Both countries have seen major street demonstrations in the past, but these were different and catalyzed by social media. The widespread use of online […]


Belarus

Russia

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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

New Film Captures Ukraine’s 91-Day Fight for Freedom

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

New Film Captures Ukraine’s 91-Day Fight for Freedom

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

New Film Captures Ukraine’s 91-Day Fight for Freedom

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

Nov 4, 2015

New Film Captures Ukraine’s 91-Day Fight for Freedom

By Diane Francis

History is mostly curated and told years or even centuries later by persons not directly involved. But the twentieth century video camera brought us history on the run, produced by journalists, and now the cell phone records events and stories told by the participants themselves in real time. The finest example of this New History […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2015

Why Poroshenko’s Support for Shokin Is Dangerous

By Josh Cohen

On October 31, protesters parked ninety-three cars outside the private residence of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to demand that he fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. Protesters held signs demanding change and a few held placards supporting the President. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the Euromaidan protests, but on a much smaller scale. Elected on a […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2015

Poroshenko Not Serious About Fighting Corruption, Says Anticorruption Reformer

By Melinda Haring

Bogdan Yakymiuk radiates optimism. But despite his quick smile, the thirty-seven-year old reformer is deadly serious when it comes to corruption. “Over 30 percent of our yearly budget is being stolen one way or another through corruption,” Yakymiuk said in an October 27 interview in Washington.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2015

“We Must Keep the Focus on Ukraine and Spread the Truth,” Says New Ukrainian Ambassador

By Larry Luxner

Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine’s new ambassador in Washington, sees the United States as his country’s “main strategic partner” and says he wants to use that bilateral relationship “to resolve the crisis created by Russia in Eastern Europe and find the best model of security in this part of the world.” Chaly, 45, presented his White House […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 3, 2015

The Motivations Behind Poroshenko’s New Anticorruption Drive

By John E. Herbst

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s government appears to have launched a new anticorruption drive with the October 31 detention of Gennadiy Korban, a close associate of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and the leader of Ukrop, a political party funded by Kolomoisky. The authorities arrested Korban following an investigation that began last year into the assault on government […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2015

Ukraine Must Not Pay Russia Back

By Anders Åslund

On December 20, Ukraine is supposed to pay Russia $3 billion in return for a Eurobond that Russian President Vladimir Putin issued in December 2013. Ukraine has no reason to pay. In February 2014, the Kremlin launched military aggression against Ukraine, first annexing Crimea and later pursuing military subversion in southern and eastern Ukraine. For […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2015

Why the Realists Were Wrong About the War in Ukraine

By Alexander Motyl

The ongoing ceasefire in eastern Ukraine may or may not lead to a lasting peace, but it has already had one important consequence: it has undermined both Russian and realist interpretations of the Russo-Ukrainian war. On August 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that a ceasefire […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 28, 2015

Five Steps to Unleash Ukraine’s Economy

By Sergiy Tsivkach

Ukraine faces numerous challenges that would be hard for any government to address. However, it must implement economic reforms to stabilize the country and show immediate positive results. Ordinary Ukrainians want to see their bottom line improve, and businesses want fair rules. Developing an effective competition policy to eliminate the poisonous influence of monopolies and […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2015

A New Generation for a New Ukraine

By Carl Gershman

Editor’s Note: This piece is adapted from a speech Carl Gershman gave to the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation on October 24, 2015. Preparing for tonight’s talk has been an unexpected process of learning and discovery. I had thought I understood Ukraine, having given a number of talks and written articles urging the US government to […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2015

Ukraine Goes to the Polls: Kolomoyskyi Is King Again

By Brian Mefford

As the ballots are counted in Ukraine’s October 25 local elections, early returns and exit polls indicate some surprises. The big story is that oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi came out on top. Kolomoyskyi, former governor of Dnipropetrovsk who was dismissed in March by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for his overreach, backed candidates who look set to […]

Ukraine
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