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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

Mar 26, 2025

If Trump wants peace in Ukraine, he must increase the pressure on Putin

By
Doug Klain

Weeks after Ukraine backed a US proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, Russia continues to stall and push for further concessions. If Trump wants to secure peace, he must increase the pressure on Putin, writes Doug Klain.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


UkraineAlert

Mar 25, 2025

Ukraine’s growing military strength is an underrated factor in peace talks

By
Serhii Kuzan

Any discussion on the future course of the war against Russia and the terms of any peace deal must take into account the fact that Ukraine is a now major military power in its own right, writes Serhii Kuzan.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Mar 20, 2025

Putin is ruthlessly erasing Ukrainian identity in Russian-occupied Ukraine

By
Peter Dickinson

Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin is pursuing policies in Russian-occupied Ukraine that almost certainly meet the definition of ethnic cleansing and may qualify as genocide, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society
Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 20, 2025

Silencing Voice of America will only strengthen autocrats around the world

By
Mercedes Sapuppo

United States President Donald Trump’s decision to shut down US-funded media outlets including Voice of America will boost authoritarian regimes around the world, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Democratic Transitions
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Mar 20, 2025

Trump’s energy sector ceasefire could be good news for Putin’s war machine

By
David Kirichenko 

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has backed US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a partial ceasefire on energy sector attacks, but this may be a strategic step rather than an indication of his readiness to end the invasion of Ukraine, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Drones


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2025

Putin backs Trump’s partial ceasefire but insists Ukraine must be disarmed

By
Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin has backed Donald Trump’s call for a partial ceasefire but his insistence on disarming Ukraine reveals his continued determination to complete the conquest of the country, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Mar 18, 2025

Britain takes the lead as Europe seeks to boost support for Ukraine

By
Alina Hrytsenko

With the future of US support for Ukraine in doubt, Britain is leading European efforts to bolster the Ukrainian war effort and deny Putin an historic victory that would place the whole of Europe in peril, writes Alina Hrytsenko.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2025

Ukraine’s innovative defense tech sector is the country’s trump card

By
David Kirichenko

From the Black Sea to deep inside Russia, Ukraine’s innovative and rapidly expanding defense tech sector is proving to be the country’s secret weapon as it fights for survival against one of the world’s strongest military superpowers, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Industry


UkraineAlert

Mar 13, 2025

Vladimir Putin does not want peace. He wants to subjugate Ukraine.

By
Mykola Bielieskov

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s evasive response to US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal underlines his commitment to continue with an invasion that aims to extinguish Ukraine as a state and nation, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict
Disinformation


UkraineAlert

Mar 11, 2025

Pressure is now on Putin as Ukraine agrees to Trump’s ceasefire proposal

By
Peter Dickinson

Ukraine has agreed to a United States proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, representing a potentially significant breakthrough in US-led diplomatic efforts to end the largest European conflict since World War II, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions

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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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Content

UkraineAlert

Jul 17, 2014

Airliner Shot Down Over Ukraine: Rapid Reaction by Atlantic Council Expert John Herbst

By John Herbst

Around the time the plane disappeared, Russian Col. Girkin (Strelkov) on his ‘VKontakte’ page (‘VKontakte’ is the Russian Facebook equivalent) noted that a plane (which he called an Antonov – a Ukrainian transport plane) had been shot down in the region of Torez. The post also mentioned that the local authorities had warned all not […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 17, 2014

In the Ukraine War, Putin’s Veil of Deniability Has Vanished

By James Rupert

The Kremlin’s thin veil concealing its waging of war against Ukraine effectively disappeared weeks ago for anyone carefully watching the evidence. But now it has vanished even for the casual observer. Moscow’s escalation of the war since the start of July has created too much clear evidence to permit President Vladimir Putin any further benefit […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 17, 2014

Needing Better Control in Ukraine War, Moscow Sends in an Old KGB Hand

By Irena Chalupa

Vladimir Antyufeyev Fought Dirty Wars in Latvia, Moldova, Georgia; He’s Just the Man the Kremlin Needs  Last week the Russian-backed “Donetsk People’s Republic” became even more Russian-led. The two Muscovites at the top of the separatist leadership introduced the latest Russian citizen to join their team – and the one with the most prominent role so far […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 17, 2014

New US Sanctions on Russia: A Good Step, Two Weeks Too Late

By John Herbst

Putin Used West’s Hesitation to Escalate Kremlin’s War on Ukraine The news that the United States has sanctioned several major Russian banks and firms, greatly limiting their use of American financial markets, is the first good news in months in terms of Western support for Ukraine. The designation of Vnesheconombank (Bank for Development and Foreign […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 16, 2014

The Kremlin’s Myth About Ukraine Militias Echoes in the Baltics

By James Rupert

A Diaspora Russian Declares That 500 Pro-Kremlin Fighters Could Break Up Latvia Latvia’s government and the world’s mainstream media may have been right to publicly ignore a Latvia-born Russian named Andrey Neronsky this week when he declared that “about 500 [Donbas-style] militiamen would be enough to end the existence of Latvia as a unified state.” […]

Northern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Jul 14, 2014

After the West’s Retreat on Sanctions: Putin, Tanks & Missiles Escalate the War on Ukraine

By James Rupert

Kyiv Government and Local Residents Report New Tanks From Russia Entering the Fight A week after the European Union backed away from its vow to impose broad economic sanctions on Russia over the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, the government of President Vladimir Putin has intensified the assault. Ukraine’s government and independent reports say Russia has […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 11, 2014

As EU Decides Russia Sanctions July 16, Will the US Have to Lead on Its Own?

By James Rupert

Damon Wilson: White House May Have to Decide to Act Without European Union The United States has only a dwindling few days left to persuade the European Union to join it in imposing broad economic sanctions against Russia for its attacks on Ukraine. After the EU Council meets on Wednesday, July 16, the Obama administration […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Jul 10, 2014

Ukraine’s War Zone: Government Claims New Advances

By James Rupert

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council has issued a map showing what it says are its troops’ latest advances on the battlefield in the two southeastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk as of July 9, 2014 (at noon Ukrainian time).

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 10, 2014

Ukraine’s Female Pilot-Soldier Surfaces in a Russian Prison

By James Rupert

At age 33, Nadiya Savchenko has served her country as a paratrooper in the combat zone of Iraq, as a helicopter navigator, and as a volunteer National Guard infantrywoman in the three-month-old war against Russian-backed militias. Yesterday she surfaced in a new role – as Ukraine’s most prominent prisoner of that war, detained in a […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 7, 2014

A Day in Luhansk: Crimes and Uncertainties of War

By Tanya Lokshina, Human Rights Watch

Tanya Lokshina, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, published on July 5 an account, excerpted below, of a visit to the conflict zone in Luhansk province. Read her full report here.

Ukraine