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

Latest analysis


UkraineAlert

Sep 12, 2024

Concerns grow over possible Russian sabotage of undersea cables

By
Aleksander Cwalina

The United States has recently detected indications of increased Russian military activity around key undersea cables, fueling concerns over a possible escalation in the Kremlin’s hybrid war against the west, writes Aleksander Cwalina.

Conflict
Defense Policy


UkraineAlert

Sep 12, 2024

Why Ukraine will remain central to the future of European security

By
Silvester Nosenko

Although it is currently common to talk about the West as a unitary actor in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian War, the stakes actually differ significantly on the two opposite sides of the Atlantic, writes Silvester Nosenko.

Conflict
European Union


UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2024

Ukraine’s biggest wartime government shakeup prompts muted reaction in Kyiv

By
Andrew D’Anieri

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presided over his government’s largest wartime reshuffle in early September, with nine ministries getting new permanent leadership, writes Andrew D’Anieri.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2024

Escalation management is the appeasement of the 21st century

By
Peter Dickinson

The West’s emphasis on avoiding escalation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the modern equivalent of the appeasement policies that emboldened Hitler and set the stage for WWII, writes Peter Dickinson.

Defense Policy
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Sep 5, 2024

Too many still view Ukraine through the prism of Russian imperialism

By
Olesya Khromeychuk

Far too many Western newspaper editors, academics, and cultural commentators continue to view Ukraine through the distorting lens of Russian imperialism, writes Olesya Khromeychuk.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Sep 4, 2024

Indian PM Modi visits Ukraine to open new foreign policy horizons

By
Mridula Ghosh

Indian PM Narendra Modi paid an historic visit to Kyiv in late August as Delhi seeks to counter negative perceptions of its close economic and defense ties with Moscow and underline its status as an emerging geopolitical power in its own right, writes Mridula Ghosh.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2024

Moscow escalates nuclear threats as Ukraine erases Russia’s red lines

By
Peter Dickinson

The Kremlin has this week vowed to revise its nuclear doctrine as Moscow seeks to regain the fear factor after Ukraine’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk region made a mockery Putin’s nuclear red lines, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Sep 2, 2024

The United States needs a long-term approach to Ukraine aid

By
Doug Klain

It’s time the United States matched its allies by passing meaningful long-term support for Ukraine. If executed properly, the Blumenthal-Graham proposal could soon make that a reality, writes Doug Klain.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Sep 1, 2024

Key Ukrainian front line city evacuates as Russian offensive gains pace

By
Maria Avdeeva

Evacuation efforts are accelerating in Pokrovsk as Russian troops draw closer amid fears the city will soon become the latest in a growing list of Ukrainian urban centers reduced to rubble by Putin’s invading army, writes Maria Avdeeva.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Aug 29, 2024

There can be no European peace without Ukrainian victory

By
Olena Halushka

Putin’s Russia is an expansionist power that will inevitably go further if it is not stopped in Ukraine. Western leaders must recognize that there can be no European peace without Ukrainian victory, writes Olena Halushka.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity

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.

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.

Follow us on social media
and support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2014

Russian-Backed Rebels Put a Local Man Out Front, But Still Look Divided

By Irena Chalupa

Separatists Show No Unity Under New Donetsk ‘Prime Minister,’ Kremlin Paper Says The Kremlin and its proxy rebellion in southeastern Ukraine seemed to recognize last week that as a supposedly Ukrainian uprising, it should have a titular Ukrainian leader, rather than a Moscow-based Russian ultra-nationalist with ties to the Kremlin. So after three months as […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 7, 2014

Putin Will Decide Captured Ukrainian Pilot’s Fate, Her Lawyer Says

By Irena Chalupa

Nadiya Savchenko’s Trial is Political, Not Legal, Says Human Rights Attorney Mark Feygin Although a Russian court is preparing to try Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko on war-related charges, it is Russian President Vladimir Putin who will decide her fate, said Savchenko’s defense attorney, Russian human rights lawyer Mark Feygin.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 7, 2014

Kremlin Silences Crimea’s Last Pro-Ukraine TV Station

By Irena Chalupa

Shutdown Virtually Completes Muffling of Crimean Media On August 1, police in Crimea entered the headquarters of the Chornomorska Television Company to shut it down, virtually completing Russia’s silencing of all Ukrainian and independent media on the peninsula five months after its invasion. The Moscow-backed authorities had already halted other Ukrainian broadcasts and have progressively been constricting Chornomorska […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2014

‪‪Why The EU Finally Decided on Strong Sanctions

By John E. Herbst

Russian Fighters’ Thuggishness Eroded Germany’s Putin-Verstehen ‪Last week was a good one for both the transatlantic relationship and the cause of freedom in Ukraine. It followed weeks in which Moscow had escalated its war in southeast Ukraine, sending advanced weaponry and more fighters, and directly shelling Ukrainian forces. On Tuesday, after a month of dawdling, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 31, 2014

From Lugansk to Las Vegas: The Corrupt Empire of Oleksander Yefremov

By Irena Chalupa

How a Ukrainian Boss and His Political Machine Have Helped Russia’s Attack on Ukraine Oleksander Yefremov, a boyish-looking sixty-year-old, is one of eastern Ukraine’s most prominent politicians and businessmen. For over a decade, he has been the corrupt strongman of Lugansk, one of the two provinces where Russia’s government and military have been sponsoring the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2014

A Hostage in War: Vasyl Budik is Both Captive and Press Spokesman of Rebel Leader Bezler

By Irena Chalupa

Vasyl Budik has spent eighty-six days as the hostage of Russian Lieutenant Colonel Igor Bezler, a rebel commander in southeast Ukraine. But not just any hostage. Budik has at times been Bezler’s intermediary with Ukrainian authorities and his spokesman to local media. He has the freedom to make a Skype call to a reporter – […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2014

The Flight of ‘The Demon’: A Brutal Russian Officer Reportedly Flees His Place In the Ukraine War

By Irena Chalupa

Lieutenant Colonel Igor Bezler Leaves as Ukrainian Troops Advance, His Hostage Says As Ukraine’s army advances against the Russian proxy forces in southeast Ukraine, it has forced one of the rebels’ most prominent and brutal commanders, former Russian army Lieutenant Colonel Igor Bezler, out of his headquarters. Ukrainian troops and Bezler’s rebels fought battles at […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2014

Here’s Why Russia’s Military Is Now Directly Attacking Ukraine

By John E. Herbst

As Ukrainian Army Weakens Kremlin’s Proxy Forces, Putin Steps Up War to Avoid Defeat The war in Ukraine has heated up significantly in the ten days since the Russian-led and supplied insurgents shot down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. Ukrainian forces retook the city of Lysychansk from the rebels late last week and have established control […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 21, 2014

Through the Looking Glass: Russian Media Cover the MH17 Disaster

By irena Chalupa

Alternate Reality Presented to the Russian Public by its Media Four days after the destruction of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, Russia’s state-dominated news media are bending fact and credulity in an effort to blame Ukraine for the disaster. Within hours of the crash, Russia’s second largest news agency, RIA Novosti, announced that the Boeing 777 […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 21, 2014

A Death of Innocents Jolts Europe’s Business-as-Usual With Russia

By John E. Herbst

Calls for Probe of Flight MH17 Will Disturb Back-Room Policymaking The shooting down of the Malaysian airliner by the Russian-led insurgents in southeastern Ukraine appears to have awakened Europe’s conscience. The principal powers in the EU had been able thus far in the Ukraine crisis to avoid directly accusing the Kremlin of responsibility for the […]

Ukraine