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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

Aug 6, 2026

Ukraine cannot defeat Putin’s ballistic blitz by defensive measures alone

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Putin is ramping up Russian ballistic missile production and clearly intends to bomb Ukraine into submission. If he is not stopped, the Ukrainian civilian population will pay a terrible price and Kyiv may be pushed toward capitulation, writes Mykola Bielieskov.


Defense Technologies


European Union


UkraineAlert

Aug 6, 2026

We should not fear a post-Putin Russia

By
Brian Mefford

Some believe a post-Putin Russia could become even more aggressive toward the West. However, past experience and current practicalities suggest that the next Russian ruler may be forced to seek a less hostile path, writes Brian Mefford.


Conflict


European Union


UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2026

Winter is coming: Ukraine warns of escalating Russian ballistic strikes

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, Will Dixon

Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal has warned that Moscow will expand attacks on the country’s civilian population and critical infrastructure in the coming months as Putin seeks to finally break Ukraine’s resistance, write Maksym Beznosiuk and Will Dixon.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2026

Ukrainian drones alone will not force Putin to the negotiating table

By
Christopher Isajiw

Ukraine's escalating long-range drone strike campaign targeting military and industrial sites deep inside Russia is disrupting the Kremlin war machine but will not be enough to push Putin toward meaningful peace talks, writes Christopher Isajiw.


Defense Technologies


Drones


UkraineAlert

Aug 3, 2026

As Ukraine regains the initiative from Russia, Europe must seize the moment

By
Lesia Ogryzko

Ukraine’s recent progress offers a rare window of opportunity to increase the pressure on Putin and push the Russian leader toward credible peace talks to end Europe’s largest war since World War II, writes Lesia Ogryzko.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2026

Putin’s pitiful naval parade highlights his inability to stop Ukrainian drones

By
Peter Dickinson

Russian President Vladimir Putin has faced widespread ridicule following dramatically downgraded Navy Day celebrations that underlined his inability to secure Russian airspace against Ukrainian drones, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2026

Ukraine’s reconstruction: Advancing from solidarity to shared strategic interests

By
Olga Usenko

The future success of Ukraine's reconstruction will increasingly depend on Kyiv’s ability to promote participation in the country’s recovery not only as a moral imperative, but also as a shared economic and security interest, writes Olga Usenko.


Conflict


Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2026

Wartime Ukraine’s people power protests are Putin’s worst nightmare

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukrainians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The protests are a reminder of the vibrant democratic culture that provoked Putin's invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Jul 23, 2026

Ukraine leads European efforts to counter Russia’s growing ballistic missile threat

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

As the Russian army struggles to advance in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is increasingly relying on ballistic missiles to target the Ukrainian civilian population and maintain the momentum of his faltering invasion, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Jul 23, 2026

Putin’s invasion comes home as Ukraine expands attacks inside Russia

By
David Kirichenko

With Russia still showing no signs of ending its invasion, Ukraine is expanding a strategic bombing campaign that aims to undermine the logistics supporting the Kremlin war machine, writes David Kirichenko.


Conflict


Drones

spotlight

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

Sep 8, 2015

Kremlin Uses Minsk Protocol to Undermine Ukraine Government

By Alina Polyakova

In peacetime, September 1 is an eventful day for Ukrainian children—it marks the first day of school. But the war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, now in its second year, has put a dark stain on this usually festive occasion. This year, Ukrainian kids in Kyiv started school following violent protests outside Parliament. On August […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 2, 2015

Mr. Lavrov Builds His Dream World

By Adrian Karatnycky

Each summer, as part of ongoing efforts to influence their young, Russia’s government leaders and propagandists head to a conference center on the Klyazma River about 130 miles northeast of Moscow to address the “Terra Scientia” Russian Youth Education Conference. Despite its lofty name, the conference bears little trace of free inquiry. Over the course […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Sep 2, 2015

In the Face of Russian Aggression in Ukraine, a New US Agenda for Europe

By Stephen Blank

Since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, the world has seen precious little Western leadership when it comes to confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin—despite US and European Union sanctions, recent efforts to strengthen NATO’s conventional deterrence in Europe, and the first signs of increased defense spending in Europe. Even in the face of plans to send […]

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Sep 1, 2015

Frozen Conflict in Moldova’s Transnistria: A Fitting Analogy to Ukraine’s Hybrid War?

By Sergiy Gerasymchuk

History is a great teacher, so it’s no surprise that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and his subsequent Kremlin speech justifying it brought back memories of the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland in 1938. Parallels between Hitler and Putin abound, as do their motivations and the eventual global impact of the two […]

Moldova Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 31, 2015

Outflows of ‘Hot Money’ Exacerbate Europe’s Growing Refugee Crisis

By Diane Francis

The recent collapse in stock markets and the sudden flow of refugees into Europe led world headlines in August—in a convergence of phenomena that are closely linked. Unprecedented flows of hot, or illicit, money are damaging most economies, causing both investors and migrants to flee. Ironically, China has outperformed all other economies, even though it […]

UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2015

Lviv Welcomes Crimean Tatar Community With Open Arms

By Matthew Kupfer

The Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 is widely regarded as a tragedy for Crimean Tatars. But for Adile Namazova, it was also a professional catastrophe. A recent university graduate with near flawless English, Namazova, 22, had been working as a language tutor before annexation. But once Crimea changed hands, travelers stopped coming, food […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2015

Russian Narrative of Ukraine Conflict Fails to Sway Opinions in Odesa

By Ruben Gzirian

Eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region is strewn with remnants of Russian-made cartridges from AK-74U rifles, littered with the splintered, hollowed-out ruins of Russian-made BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, and scarred with the skeletons of Russian T-74B battle tanks. Yet the Kremlin’s incursion into Ukrainian territory is not isolated to the Donbas. Its influence has also permeated the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2015

Ukraine Must Privatize Failing State-Owned Enterprises Quickly

By Anders Åslund

Privatization has generated controversy in every post-communist country. Ministers of privatization are usually accused of heinous crimes, regardless of how impeccably they have performed their jobs. Yet privatization is vital for all such nations, not least for Ukraine. The goal must be to limit state-owned enterprises so that the private sector dominates. The aim isn’t […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 28, 2015

Exiled Russian Lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev: Current US Sanctions Won’t Work

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The United States must expand the scope of its sanctions well beyond Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle if this effort—a response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine—is to have any real impact, says a Russian lawmaker. “The [US] government machine is doing what it can do, but […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2015

To Prevent Global Catastrophe, Putin Must Go

By Leonid Gozman

The minority of Russians who have not been zombified by official propaganda and who still have any clue about what is really going on in the world—rather than just on television—already know Russia is hurtling toward full-blown catastrophe, though the details might be up for debate. Will the collapse come next month, or more like […]

Russia Ukraine