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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

Sanctions Are Still the Answer

UkraineAlert
Jan 20, 2026

Ukraine’s best security guarantee is the ability to strike back inside Russia

By
Serhii Kuzan

With Kyiv’s Western allies unlikely to risk war with Russia, Ukraine’s most realistic security guarantee remains a strong military coupled with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia, writes Serhii Kuzan.

Conflict
Defense Policy

Sanctions Are Still the Answer

UkraineAlert
Jan 15, 2026

Veterans can shape the future of Ukrainian democracy

By
Vasyl Sehin

The participation of military veterans in Ukraine’s political life has the potential to dramatically strengthen Ukrainian democracy and safeguard the country’s historic transition from centuries of Russian autocracy, writes Vasyl Sehin.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

Sanctions Are Still the Answer

UkraineAlert
Jan 8, 2026

Ukraine’s robot army will be crucial in 2026 but drones can’t replace infantry

By
David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s growing robot army of land drones will play a vital role in the country’s defense during 2026, but they are not wonder weapons and cannot serve as a miracle cure for Kyiv’s manpower shortages, writes David Kirichenko.

Artificial Intelligence
Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Apr 3, 2024

Ukraine’s allies divided over drone campaign targeting Russian refineries

By
Giorgi Revishvili

Ukraine's expanding campaign of drone strikes on Russian refineries has inflicted significant damage on Putin’s oil and gas industry while also revealing divisions among Ukraine’s allies, writes Giorgi Revishvili.


Conflict

Drones


UkraineAlert

Apr 2, 2024

Putin is weaponizing corruption to weaken Europe from within

By
Francis Shin

Recent revelations regarding a Kremlin influence operation in the heart of the EU have highlighted Europe's continued vulnerability to Russian weaponized corruption, writes Francis Shin.


Conflict

Corruption


UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2024

Russia’s new air offensive leaves Ukraine facing humanitarian disaster

By
Aura Sabadus

Unless Ukraine's Western partners urgently enhance the country's air defenses, Russia's new air offensive will leave millions of Ukrainians without access to electricity, water, and heating, writes Aura Sabadus.


Conflict

Geopolitics & Energy Security


UkraineAlert

Mar 31, 2024

Ukraine urgently needs air defenses as Russia decimates power grid

By
Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

A new Russian air offensive has destroyed much of Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure in a matter of days and threatens to spark a humanitarian catastrophe if Ukraine does not urgently receive enhanced air defenses, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.


Conflict

Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2024

Putin has repeatedly used terror attacks to tighten his grip on Russia

By
Olivia Yanchik

The March 22 terror attack in Moscow has seriously damaged Putin’s carefully crafted public image as a strongman ruler who offers his subjects security in exchange for restrictions on their personal freedoms, writes Olivia Yanchik.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Mar 28, 2024

Putin adds Islamist terror to the list of absurd excuses for Ukraine invasion

By
Peter Dickinson

In addition to imaginary NATO threats and phantom fascists, Putin has now added Islamist terrorism to the expanding list of absurd excuses for the invasion of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict

Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Mar 26, 2024

Is the US Congress finally poised to pass Ukraine aid?

By
Doug Klain

After almost eight months of deadlock, the US Congress may finally be moving toward a political solution that can unlock desperately needed US aid for Ukraine, writes Doug Klain.


Conflict

Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Mar 26, 2024

Ukraine paves way for green energy future amid Russia’s escalating attacks

By
Aura Sabadus

Ukraine has lifted restrictions on the export of biomethane in a move that could make the country one of Europe's biggest green energy suppliers, writes Aura Sabadus.


Energy Markets & Governance

Energy Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2024

The mood in wartime Ukraine: Weariness, resolve, and exasperation

By
Steven Pifer, John Herbst

Ukrainians are war-weary but remain resolved to continue the fight despite growing exasperation with the country's most important partner, the United States, write Steven Pifer and John Herbst.


Conflict

Drones


UkraineAlert

Mar 21, 2024

Russian victory in Ukraine would leave Europe at Putin’s mercy

By
Mykola Bielieskov

A Russian victory in Ukraine would reinvigorate Putin's war machine and leave much of Europe at the mercy of the Kremlin, writes Mykola Bielieskov.


Conflict

Defense Industry

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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

Sanctions Are Still the Answer

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

Sanctions Are Still the Answer

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

Sanctions Are Still the Answer

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

Mar 18, 2015

Sanctions Are Still the Answer

By John E. Herbst

Last week, UkraineAlert linked to an interesting piece by Clifford Gaddy criticizing the West’s sanctions on Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. His point is this: Putin believes that Russia is “under assault” by the West and cannot allow Ukraine “to be brought fully into the sphere of influence of its enemy.” Therefore, the West […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 12, 2015

Did Kharkiv Just Become Russia’s Next Target in Ukraine War?

By New Atlanticist

A Criminal Case Could Turn the City’s Political Strongman Back into a Kremlin Ally  In Russia’s campaign to re-assert control over Ukraine, a logical target for its “hybrid war” is Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and a center of its Russian-speaking population. And indeed, Russia has been working steadily to destabilize Kharkiv (just 25 miles from […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 11, 2015

Ukraine’s Shrinking Hryvnia: How Alarming Is It?

By Yuriy Gorodnichenko

Kyiv Has Begun the Hard Steps of Reform; IMF and Allies Must Now Deliver Quickly The dramatic plunge last month in the value of the hryvnia, Ukraine’s currency, sparked speculation about an immediate, national economic collapse. Despite the drama—the hryvnia lost more than half of its value against the dollar in February, hitting a record […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 6, 2015

The Kremlin’s Secret War: Soldiers’ Families Shattered and Silenced

By New Atlanticist

A Vice News Documentary Shows What Russia Is Hiding—and How Since last summer, when President Vladimir Putin’s government first deployed major units of Russian conventional army troops to fight in its war against Ukraine, the Kremlin has used state secrecy, propaganda, intimidation, and violence to conceal the story. Police have obstructed journalists, arrested them—and in […]

Russia Ukraine

Testimony

Mar 6, 2015

US and Allies Risk War with Russia by a ‘Hesitancy on Ukraine’

By New Atlanticist

Wilson: Only the US Can Lead in Defending Europe Against Putin’s Rising Ambition The United States and its allies must confront the aggressive actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin because failing to do so will escalate his ambitions—perhaps to the point of forcing a war with NATO, the Atlantic Council’s Damon Wilson told the US […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO

UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2015

Before Russia’s Next Offensive, Obama Should Take the Lead

By New Atlanticist

Burns: Give Arms to Ukraine, More NATO Cover to Baltics—and Leadership for Europe President Barack Obama has given space for Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel to lead recently in the Western response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. But it’s now time for the US president to take the reins back, writes former Undersecretary of State Nicholas […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2015

The Myth of the West’s Threat to Russia

By Alexander J. Motyl

Did NATO Provoke a War By Trying to ‘Take’ Ukraine From Russia? Much Western thinking about the causes of the Russo-Ukrainian War is rooted in a myth. It posits that the West—or, more specifically, NATO—attempted to wrest Ukraine from Russia’s sphere of influence, thereby forcing Vladimir Putin to defend Russia’s legitimate strategic interests by going […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO

UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2015

Europe Averts Winter Gas Cutoff for Now with Ukraine-Russia Deal

By New Atlanticist

For Long-Term Security, EU Should Push Moscow to Obey Rules and Kyiv to Reform Gas Sector By brokering a March 2 interim gas deal between Ukraine and Russia, the European Union helped avert a wintertime cutoff of gas to Ukraine and other parts of Europe. Russia had threatened to halt supplies to Ukraine in the […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

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
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