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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

Nov 18, 2024

1000 days of war: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine passes grim milestone

By
Kira Rudik

1000 days of war in Ukraine: Russia’s 2022 invasion was expected to be short and victorious. Almost three years on, Vladimir Putin is still deeply embroiled in the largest European conflict since World War II, writes Kira Rudik.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Nov 18, 2024

Biden’s green light highlights the diminishing power of Putin’s red lines

By
Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden’s decision to allow long-range Ukrainian strikes inside Russia will not win the war, but it does underline the diminishing power of Putin’s red lines, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2024

Forcing Ukraine to cede land will only increase Putin’s imperial appetite

By
Peter Dickinson

If Ukraine is forced to cede land to Russia in exchange for peace, Vladimir Putin’s entire invasion will be legitimized and his imperial appetite will only grow, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2024

Ukrainian civil society leaders call for extension of Nord Stream 2 sanctions

By
Ukrainian civil society leaders

Representatives of Ukraine’s civil society have penned an appeal to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee calling for the extension of United States sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Economic Sanctions
Energy & Environment


UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2024

Freezing the front lines in Ukraine would condemn millions to Russian occupation

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

Donald Trump’s election win is fueling speculation of a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, but any attempt to freeze the front lines would condemn millions of Ukrainians to the horrors of Russian occupation, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2024

Russia’s economically vital energy sector is Vladimir Putin’s Achilles’ Heel

By
Oleksiy Zagorodnyuk

By introducing additional sanctions on Russia’s energy industry and intensifying implementation cooperation, the West can undermine Putin’s ability to wage war and strengthen the global order against further acts of international aggression, writes Oleksiy Zagorodnyuk.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions


UkraineAlert

Nov 12, 2024

Russia emerges as the real winner of Georgia’s disputed election

By
Nicholas Chkhaidze

Critics say Georgia’s October parliamentary elections were marred by widespread vote-rigging, but the success of the ruling Georgian Dream party is nevertheless a major victory for Russia that consolidates Moscow’s position in the Caucasus region.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2024

Donald Trump’s election victory fuels hopes and fears in Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Donald Trump’s election win has sparked alarm in Ukraine, where many fear he will end US support for the country. However, some war-weary Ukrainians hope he can help end the Russian invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Elections


UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2024

The West must respond to Russia’s rapidly escalating hybrid warfare

By
Doug Livermore

Russia’s hybrid war against the West is escalating rapidly and requires a far firmer collective response, writes Doug Livermore.

Conflict
Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Nov 5, 2024

Putin’s 2022 ‘peace proposal’ was a blueprint for the destruction of Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

New details of talks between Russia and Ukraine during spring 2022 confirm that Putin’s alleged peace proposal was in fact a call for unconditional surrender and a blueprint for the destruction of the Ukrainian state, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation

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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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UkraineAlert

Nov 12, 2014

Putin’s Project Sparta

By Adrian Karatnycky

As the US Congress Reconvenes, It and Europe Must Respond to the Kremlin’s Coming Offensive in Ukraine Russia has moved a massive wave of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and artillery into Ukraine’s Donbas region in recent days, accompanied by new uniformed troops without insignia, to bolster the armed forces of the Russian-sponsored Donetsk and Lugansk […]

Eastern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 10, 2014

How Russia Sells Itself to the Long-Demoralized People of Donbas

By Irena Chalupa

In Stakhanov, a Cossack Rebel and Local Radio Mix Nostalgias for Russia’s Greatness and Soviet Goodness While analysts of Russia’s assault on Ukraine debate the veiled question of President Vladimir Putin’s motives, little is hidden about how the Kremlin and its proxy forces are selling themselves to the long-demoralized people of southeastern Ukraine. As Moscow […]

Eastern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2014

For Putin, Ukraine’s Elections Backfired. So the War Is On Again.

By James Rupert

Analysts: Moscow Fights Now with Mercenaries and Local Trainees, But in 20 Weeks May Again Send Its Own Troops The Russian-Ukrainian conflict in southeastern Ukraine is sliding back quickly into all-out war. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said this morning that its forces have killed 200 separatist fighters and destroyed four tanks, plus artillery in the past […]

Eastern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 6, 2014

Ukraine’s Need for Fast Reform Means Government Has No Time for Infighting

By Sabine Freizer

Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk Must Cut Short Their Recent Signs of Rivalry As Ukraine’s new leading political parties renew their talks today, they can waste no time in forming the government that now must grapple with a financial emergency, economic crisis, and war in the east. They must avoid acrimony or drawn-out negotiations, yet some signs […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 3, 2014

Ukraine’s New Government: Here’s What to Expect

By New Atlanticist

Amid Horse-Trading by Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk, a New Parliament Speaker Is Likely The Atlantic Council’s Kyiv-based senior fellow, Brian Mefford, writes on the likely makeup of Ukraine’s post-election government. His key observations are below, and you can read his detailed analysis on his own blog.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Nov 3, 2014

Russian-Ukraine Gas Deal Gives Moscow the Leverage and Europe the Energy

By John E. Herbst

Ukrainians Will Get Gas, Too, But Their Cost and Risk of Cutoffs Remain High European Union leaders in Brussels may be celebrating the gas deal signed Thursday between Ukraine and Russia as an assurance of Russian gas supplies to Europe this winter, but Ukrainians can at best take cold comfort from the agreement. EU Energy […]

Eastern Europe Energy & Environment

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2014

Ukraine Gas Deal May Show That the West’s Sanctions on Russia Are Working

By James Rupert

The gas supply deal signed in Brussels yesterday among Russia, Ukraine and the European Union “is perhaps the clearest indication yet that sanctions imposed on Russia are working in terms of changing Russia’s behavior,” writes Timothy Ash, an economist who directs emerging markets strategy at Standard Bank in London.

Eastern Europe Energy & Environment

UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2014

Russian-Backed ‘People’s Republics’ in Ukraine Prepare Elections for Sunday

By James Rupert

Donetsk, Lugansk Vote for ‘Parliaments’ Violates Truce and Raises Risks, Say Analysts The Russian-backed, miniature, “people’s republics” declared in southeastern Ukraine are preparing to elect parliaments and heads of state on Sunday, a step backed by Moscow to consolidate their self-declared statehood. Those elections promise to further undermine the already wobbly political deal that underpins […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 27, 2014

Today’s Corruption Video: Which Ukrainian Officials Own These Palaces?

By New Atlanticist

The former director and deputy director of Ukraine’s state-owned gas company, Naftogaz, will have been waiting today to hear if they are elected to Ukraine’s parliament, not least because winning seats would offer them immunity from prosecution. Prosecution for what?

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Oct 27, 2014

Ukraine Counts Its Votes: Here Is What They Mean

By New Atlanticist

Official Tallies Are Tracking With Polls Predicting a Strong, Pro-Europe and Reformist Coalition With 71 percent of Ukraine’s ballots counted today, the official results are broadly tracking the recent days’ polls, suggesting that Ukraine’s next government will be a pro-European coalition built across several political parties, with President Petro Poroshenko likely to rely on his […]

Eastern Europe Elections