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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

Apr 18, 2026

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 long before the full-scale war of 2022

By
Paul Niland

International efforts to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine must reflect the fact that the Kremlin's attack on Ukraine began in 2014 and not with the full-scale war of 2022, writes Paul Niland.


Conflict


Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2026

Drone diplomacy: Ukraine strengthens security role in Europe and the Gulf

By
Maksym Beznosiuk, William Dixon

Ukraine has emerged since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 as a world leader in drone warfare. Kyiv is now using drone diplomacy to build security partnerships throughout Europe and the Middle East, write Maksym Beznosiuk and William Dixon.


Conflict


Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Apr 16, 2026

Could Bulgaria replace Hungary as Putin’s proxy inside the EU?

By
Jan Surotchak

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán's recent election defeat was widely seen as a major setback for Russia, but victory for the pro-Kremlin candidate in this week's Bulgarian parliamentary elections could provide Putin with a new proxy inside the EU, writes Jan Surotchak.


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2026

Orbán’s Hungarian election defeat: Good for Ukraine, bad for Russia

By
Peter Dickinson

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's historic election defeat has removed a major obstacle to Ukraine's EU integration while robbing Putin of his most important European ally, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Elections


UkraineAlert

Apr 13, 2026

Brussels and Kyiv should have realistic expectations about Magyar’s Hungary

By
James Batchik, Eva Mulholland

While Péter Magyar’s election victory provides ample reason for optimism, there is also good cause to temper any expectations of Hungary now playing a leading European role in support of Ukraine, write James Batchik and Eva Mulholland.


Conflict


Elections


UkraineAlert

Apr 9, 2026

Ukraine is winning the drone war with strike campaign behind Russian lines

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Ukraine has regained the initiative from Russia in the world's first full-scale drone war by launching a campaign of mid-range drone strikes aimed at undermining the logistics supporting Putin's invasion, writes Mykola Bielieskov.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Apr 9, 2026

Recognizing the role of propaganda in Russia’s infrastructure of aggression

By
Anna Vyshniakova, Jais Adam-Troian, Kristina Hook 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine demonstrates that propaganda plays a more important part than ever in modern war. Recognizing propaganda as part of Russia’s infrastructure of military aggression is an essential step toward countering it effectively, write Anna Vyshniakova, Jais Adam-Troian, and Kristina Hook. 


Conflict


Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Apr 9, 2026

Ukraine continues remarkable rise from aid recipient to security provider

By
Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy has recently signed a series of landmark security partnerships with countries across the Middle East, underlining wartime Ukraine's remarkable rise from aid recipient to international security provider, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Apr 7, 2026

Hungarian election could have implications for EU, US, Russia, and Ukraine

By
Marc Goedemans

The Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 12 are being billed as the most important in the country’s modern history. With Hungary a key focus in the escalating confrontation between Russia and the West, this weekend’s vote could also have geopolitical implications that will be felt in Kyiv, Moscow, Brussels, and Washington. Current Hungarian Prime Minister […]


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Apr 2, 2026

Ukraine’s heating system resilience offers lessons for European neighbors

By
Miro Sedlák

Russia's bombardment of Ukraine's civilian heating system has forced Kyiv to develop a model of infrastructure resilience based on decentralization and speed that offers important lessons for Ukraine's EU neighbors, writes Miro Sedlák.


Conflict


Critical Infrastructure Policy

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

Jun 8, 2015

With Kippot and Klezmer Music, Messianic Jews Aim to Build Bridges in Ukraine

By Matthew Kupfer

Russian politicians and pro-Russia separatists in the Donbas have repeatedly accused Ukraine of promoting fascism and Nazism since the February 2014 overthrow of former President Viktor Yanukovych. But at a Shabbat concert in Kyiv on June 5, another side of Ukraine was on full display: religious diversity and pluralism.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2015

Father of Recovering Kremlin Critic Vladimir Kara-Murza Says His Son Was Poisoned

By Melinda Haring

Vladimir Kara-Murza has regained consciousness in a Moscow hospital after falling gravely ill on May 26, and the Russian opposition leader’s father now says his son was poisoned.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2015

Why Saakashvili’s Appointment as Odesa’s Governor Actually Makes Perfect Sense

By Brian Mefford

On May 30, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko named former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Governor of the Odesa region. There are a number of ways to interpret the bold move, but two historical analogies may be more apt: Saakashvili is either following in Duke of Richelieu’s footsteps as an outside Governor of Odesa or the late […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2015

Mutual Deterrence? Think Again. Russia Seeks to Intimidate the West

By Stephen Blank

Moscow recently announced that it will procure fifty new nuclear-capable bombers, the Tupolev TU-160 or Blackjacks, which are the world’s largest combat aircraft. This seemingly anodyne announcement points to a critically important element of Russian strategy that we overlook at our and our allies’ peril. The procurement is the latest in a continuing series of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 2, 2015

The Dangerous Game of Truth Telling in Ukraine

By Danielle Johnson

As commentary on Ukraine increasingly focuses on the next Russian offensive and ways to end the war, now is the time to consider how to rebuild a unified country. Any attempt to move past the violence and establish a stable basis for reform must involve a frank discussion of the past. A truth commission is […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 1, 2015

The Odesa Gambit

By Michael Hikari Cecire

Mikheil Saakashvili has a varied resume: former President of Georgia, Justice Minister, parliamentarian, senior statesman, and Ukrainian presidential adviser. On May 30, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko added another line to his CV. He named Saakaskvili regional Governor of Odesa, a vulnerable and strategic port city on the Black Sea. Despite having served in Georgia through […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 28, 2015

Russia’s Secret Funerals

By Melinda Haring

Sgt. Leonid Kichatkin of the Russian 76th Airborne Division and Russian soldier Anton Tumanov died in August 2014 while fighting in eastern Ukraine. Their deaths amply demonstrate that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that there are no Russian troops in Ukraine is false.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 27, 2015

Putin Celebrates Stalinism. Again.

By Stephen Blank

Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 10 once again justified the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as a statesmanlike act of defending Russia’s national interests. This time Putin did so with German Chancellor Angela Merkel next to him. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact—the 1939 deal that split Eastern Europe between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany—was a death warrant for […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2015

The Disastrous EU Summit on the European Partnership

By Anders Åslund

The European Union’s Summit on the Eastern Partnership, held May 21-22 in Riga, was a disaster for Ukraine. For friends of democracy, the rule of law, and Ukraine, it would have been better had this EU summit never taken place and its joint declaration never written.

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2015

Ukraine Is Still Caught between a Hammer and an Anvil

By Alexander J. Motyl

For most of the 20th century, Ukraine was the victim of two equally malevolent empires—Germany and Russia. Germany’s contribution to Ukraine’s devastation was the two World Wars; Russia’s was the imposition of Soviet rule and the concomitant destruction of Ukraine’s peasantry and elites. Unsurprisingly, one of the most constant images in 20th-century Ukrainian commentary is […]

Germany Russia