UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics, economy, civil society, and culture. UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders, politicians, experts, and activists from Ukraine and the global community. UkraineAlert has become a major publication in Ukraine’s news landscape and has established itself not only through its quality of content but also significant partnerships with English, Ukrainian, and Russian-language media through the country.

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

Ukraine Must Put Reform Agenda in Overdrive While There’s Still Time

UkraineAlert
Sep 3, 2026

Putin cannot defeat NATO but he could divide and discredit the alliance

By
Peter Dickinson

If Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to attack NATO, his goal will be to divide and discredit the alliance rather than actually defeating it, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict
Defense Policy

Ukraine Must Put Reform Agenda in Overdrive While There’s Still Time

UkraineAlert
Aug 27, 2026

Ukrainians are not superheroes with endless powers of resilience

By
Lauren Van Metre, Elena Davlikanova

By celebrating Ukrainian resilience as an almost superhuman quality, the international community risks obscuring the much less glamorous reality that Ukrainians are actually ordinary people who have endured extraordinary violence for far too long, write Lauren Van Metre and Elena Davlikanova.

Civil Society
Conflict

Ukraine Must Put Reform Agenda in Overdrive While There’s Still Time

UkraineAlert
Aug 25, 2026

A cultural renaissance is reshaping national identity in wartime Ukraine

By
Davis Richardson

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is fueling a defiant cultural outpouring that is redefining and strengthening Ukrainian national identity in ways that challenge centuries of Kremlin imperialism, writes Davis Richardson.

Civil Society
Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Jul 17, 2018

Helsinki Was Bad, but It Could Have Been Far Worse

By
Melinda Haring

There’s no dancing around it. Donald Trump got schooled in Helsinki. President Vladimir Putin put on a hell of a show. The masterfully prepared former spy buttered up the US president at every opportunity, and even tossed him a soccer ball from the just-completed World Cup that Russia hosted to lighten up the press conference. […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 17, 2018

Q&A: How Did Trump Do in Helsinki?

By
Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump on July 16 appeared to believe Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials over the US intelligence community’s assessment that Russia meddled in the 2016 elections, saying he saw “no reason why” Moscow would have acted in that way. Speaking at a joint press conference following his first summit with Putin in […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 14, 2018

Why Is the International Media Still Repeating Kremlin Propaganda about Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

When two members of Croatia’s World Cup squad recorded a nine-second video dedicating their quarter final victory over Russia to Ukraine, they chose to accompany it with the patriotic slogan “Slava Ukraini” (“Glory to Ukraine”). As former Dynamo Kyiv players, they appear to have believed they were sending a somewhat cheeky but essentially harmless message […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2018

If Trump Gambles Away Crimea, What Does This Actually Mean?

By
Mykola Vorobiov

On July 16, a historic summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will take place in Helsinki. Many have speculated as to what the Master of the Deal will offer the Russian strongman. No one knows. Kyiv is legitimately worried that Trump will give away Crimea, Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula, that Russia illegally annexed […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2018

Why the Donbas Is So Vulnerable to Russian Propaganda

By
Vera Zimmerman

When thousands of Ukrainian citizens and most journalists fled to safety, Stanislav Aseev, an aspiring young journalist from the Donbas decided to stay put. Surrounded by frequent shelling, rupturing grenades, flying rockets, worn by the psychological stress of death, destruction, and high unemployment, and bombarded by propaganda that shattered friendships and families, he put his […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2018

Stop Freaking Out. Trump Has Less Power Than Everyone Thinks.

By
Melinda Haring

If one took the punditry seriously, it would be easy to conclude that the Western liberal order is being unmade before our very eyes. Some worried that US President Donald Trump would destroy the North Atlantic Treaty Organization this week. He didn’t. Instead, he reaffirmed his commitment to it. Yes, he undermined the credibility of […]


NATO

Russia


UkraineAlert

Jul 12, 2018

Why the Russian Fuss over “Fascist” Salute at World Cup Backfired

By
Adrian Karatnycky

“Glory to Ukraine!” saluted Domagoj Vida in a video message last week to his Ukrainian fans following Croatia’s victory over host Russia in the quarter finals of the World Cup. Vida, a Croatian defender who had played for five years with Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv, was pumped up from a heady goal in a dramatic victory […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 11, 2018

Another Way to Kill Nord Stream 2

By
Oleksandr Kharchenko

Europe faces a looming choice with serious geopolitical consequences. It can continue to receive its natural gas through Ukraine or bypass Ukraine altogether and receive its gas through Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Option one—preserving Ukraine’s gas transportation system—helps diversify fuel supplies and means that Europe’s gas supplies can be expanded if needed. Option two […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 11, 2018

What the West Conveniently Forgets When It Talks about Ukraine

By
Taras Kuzio

Some in the West like to beat up on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and portray him as the chief obstacle to reform. However, if Poroshenko is holding the country back, how did parliament, which is governed by Poroshenko’s party and Popular Front, manage to adopt so many reforms in four short years?


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Jul 9, 2018

Russia Didn’t Just Annex Crimea. It Took People, Too.

By
Taras Berezovets

On June 29, US President Donald Trump told reporters that recognizing Russia’s illegal land grab of Ukraine’s Crimea is on the table when he meets President Vladimir Putin in July. While the White House has since backed away and insisted that US policy hasn’t changed, the president and his staff may need a refresher. In […]


Russia

Ukraine

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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

Ukraine Must Put Reform Agenda in Overdrive While There’s Still Time

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

Ukraine Must Put Reform Agenda in Overdrive While There’s Still Time

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

Ukraine Must Put Reform Agenda in Overdrive While There’s Still Time

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

Jul 13, 2015

Ukraine Must Put Reform Agenda in Overdrive While There’s Still Time

By Anders Åslund

Kyiv is vibrant with intellectual and political discussions. As after any revolution the debate is about what is wrong and what should be done. Policy people acknowledge that reforms are proceeding but too slowly, while a typical business verdict is that corruption is as bad as before, but it has become more disorganized, since the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2015

Here’s Why European Disunity is a Greater Threat to Ukraine Than Russia

By Aaron Korewa

As the Greek tragedy unfolds, many Europeans seem to have forgotten that for the first time since the end of World War II, a country is trying to redraw European borders by force. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for rebels in eastern Ukraine is, by far, Europe’s most serious security crisis since the […]

Germany Russia

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2015

Ukraine’s Dangerous Drive to Decentralize

By Maksym Khylko

Here’s Why the West Should Stop Pushing Decentralization Now  In the coming days the Ukrainian parliament is expected to debate a draft law that would amend Ukraine’s Constitution on decentralization to expand local governments’ powers. The West has enthusiastically encouraged Ukraine to embrace decentralization, provide special status for the Donbas, and hold local elections in […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2015

Here’s Why More Ukrainians Admire Nationalists, and Why the West Shouldn’t Freak Out

By Alexander J. Motyl

Here’s a suggestion that will strike you as either painfully obvious or unnecessarily cumbersome. If you really want to understand contemporary Ukraine and Ukrainians, you need to know Ukrainian. If you accept that point, then discard all the writings by linguistically challenged analysts incapable of delving deeper into the Ukrainian psyche—and then go see two […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2015

Repression of Crimean Tatars Intensifies Under Russia, Says New Turkish Report

By Melinda Haring

Russian authorities have forced Crimean Tatars to become Russian citizens and curtailed their freedoms of speech, language, education, and residence—as well as their right to a fair trial. That’s according to an independent group of Turkish scholars sent to Crimea to investigate human rights violations after Russia annexed the peninsula on March 18, 2014.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2015

Here’s Why Armenia Is Not Ukraine

By Sabine Freizer

The Electric Yerevan protest officially ended July 7, two weeks after it began as a reaction to the Armenian government’s 16.7 percent increase in electricity prices. But the social movement behind it will likely continue influencing Armenia until the country makes serious political reforms. Thousands marched on Yerevan’s Baghramyan Avenue—a main artery fronting the presidential […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2015

Ukraine Is More Important Than Greece

By Anders Åslund

For one year, Russia has pursued a long, costly war of aggression against Ukraine. Its objective is obvious: to destabilize Ukraine so that the new democratic regime fails. Therefore, the West should adjust its goals accordingly to offer Ukraine financial support. The Kremlin has presented one false objective after the other for this aggression. On […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2015

History as a Weapon of Mass Deception

By Ruben Gzirian

Leading up to the seventieth anniversary of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, seemingly every Russian media outlet buzzed about the unveiling of the country’s new premier tank, the Armata T-14. Outfitted with an advanced remote-controlled armed turret, a new 125-mm 2A82-1M smoothbore cannon, the new tank was rumored to come with a […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 2, 2015

Here’s How the Kremlin Manufactured a Civil War in Ukraine

By Alina Polyakova

The war in eastern Ukraine is a Kremlin-manufactured conflict. The arrival of “little green men” in Crimea in February 2014 transformed the conflict from a domestic altercation between citizens and their government to an international crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledged in a government-sponsored documentary that he carefully planned and orchestrated the military takeover of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2015

Putin Isn’t Winging It

By Walter Zaryckyj

After US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Sochi on May 12, a barrage of articles urged Western leaders to provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with an off-ramp for his various Ukrainian adventures. Even more disheartening than the volume was the growing diversity of reasons for giving Putin a pass. At least three arguments […]

Russia Ukraine
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