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

Russia Threatens Ukrainian Pilot Nadiya Savchenko with 25-Year Jail Term

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

Russia Threatens Ukrainian Pilot Nadiya Savchenko with 25-Year Jail Term

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

Russia Threatens Ukrainian Pilot Nadiya Savchenko with 25-Year Jail Term

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

Dec 1, 2017

Ukraine Politicians Embrace Extreme Rhetoric

By
Adrian Karatnycky

Ukraine has experienced some major reforms, particularly the ProZorro electronic procurement system, the restructuring of corrupt banks, and fundamental reforms in the gas sector. Nonetheless, the country still suffers from widespread corruption and a malfunctioning court system that has delayed major cases against allegedly corrupt officials. In this environment, politicians on all sides have been […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Dec 1, 2017

How the West Can Finally Get Moscow’s Attention

By
Diane Francis

In March 1980, former President Jimmy Carter announced sanctions against the Soviet Union and a boycott of the Moscow Olympics in protest against its invasion of Afghanistan. “We call for the moving of the Olympics or the delay of the Olympics for at least a year, until Soviet troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan, or the […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 27, 2017

Ukraine’s Challenges Are Very Real, but Now Is Not the Time for the West to Let Up

By
Timothy Ash, Janet Gunn, John Lough, Orysia Lutsevych, James Nixey, James Sherr and Kataryna Wolczuk

Four years since its Euromaidan revolution, Ukraine is fighting for its survival as an independent and viable state. The country is struggling to hold together and resist Russia’s interference and pressure—in the military, diplomatic, economic, and media spheres. But simultaneously, an internal contest is occurring that will determine the political, institutional, and civic future of […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 27, 2017

Does the EU Even Care about Eastern Europe Anymore?

By
Anders Åslund

If you missed the European Union’s Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels on November 24, you are not alone. It was a forgettable event, but it tells us quite a bit about the EU’s state of affairs in Eastern Europe. The proud start of the EU Eastern Partnership was the Prague summit in May 2009, instigated […]


Moldova

The Caucasus


UkraineAlert

Nov 24, 2017

Will President Trump Finally Arm Ukraine?

By
Stephen Blank

There’s a real possibility that the United States will finally send lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. The country has been fighting a defensive war in its east for nearly four years, after Russia seized Crimea and Russian-backed separatists invaded eastern Ukraine in 2014. Many experts have argued that better weapons would change the tactical imbalance […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 22, 2017

It’s Never Too Late to Set the Record Straight

By
Diane Francis

On November 24, 1933, the Soviet Union threw a lavish dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for 1,500 in honor of President Franklin Roosevelt’s recognition of the Soviet Union. They feasted on fancy wines, caviar, and Boeuf Stroganoff, then later in the evening gave a standing ovation to the special guest of honor, Walter Duranty, […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2017

Moscow’s Eye Turns South

By
Alina Polyakova

In November 2016, the Atlantic Council published the first volume of The Kremlin’s Trojan Horses, detailing the extent of Russian-linked political networks in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. That report has since become a guide to those seeking to understand how the Kremlin cultivates political allies in Western European countries in order to undermine […]


Greece

Italy


UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2017

Will Ukraine Ever Join Europe? The Answer Doesn’t Just Depend on Politics

By
Anna Kyslytska

As they say in real estate, location is everything. Thus Ukraine, the biggest country in Europe and one that is advantageously located, has a major role to play as an international transportation hub. Ukraine has one of the longest railroad systems in Eurasia, and its transportation capacities are superseded only by China, India, and Russia. […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2017

The Best Way to Improve Kyiv’s Military Odds Isn’t What You Think It Is

By
Josh Cohen

As Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russian aggression in the east, there is one thing Kyiv can do to improve its odds for military success: reform its corruption-riddled defense sector. Transparency International’s most recent Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index gives Ukraine a D grade, indicating a high risk of corruption. It’s not difficult to see […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Nov 13, 2017

Here’s One Way Ukraine Can Hold Russia Accountable Now

By
Lauren Van Metre

Ukraine’s internally displaced persons (IDPs) have struggled. After having fled their houses due to military conflict and living with the uncertainty of whether they will ever regain that property, some have been poorly regarded in their new host communities. How the displaced were received often depended on where they came from. In general Ukrainians have […]


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

Russia Threatens Ukrainian Pilot Nadiya Savchenko with 25-Year Jail Term

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

Russia Threatens Ukrainian Pilot Nadiya Savchenko with 25-Year Jail Term

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

Russia Threatens Ukrainian Pilot Nadiya Savchenko with 25-Year Jail Term

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 31, 2015

Russia Threatens Ukrainian Pilot Nadiya Savchenko with 25-Year Jail Term

By Irena Chalupa

Nadiya Savchenko, Ukraine’s most famous female military officer, has languished in a Moscow prison for more than a year since Moscow-backed separatists captured her in eastern Ukraine last June and smuggled across the border to Russia shackled, her head covered by a sack. Now her captors have moved her again—and again under the cover of […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 30, 2015

Euromaidan’s Shockwaves: An Exile in Ukraine Recalls Fleeing his Native Kyrgyzstan

By Matthew Kupfer

On a recent warm summer night, Ilya Lukash sat in a bar near Kyiv’s trendy Kontraktova Square, drinking a beer and chatting with his friends in Ukrainian, Russian, and English. In a red T-shirt emblazoned with patriotic Ukrainian slogans, he could easily have been any one of the countless young, educated, pro-democracy Ukrainians who in […]

Central Asia Russia

UkraineAlert

Jul 27, 2015

Here’s How the EU Can Get Putin’s Attention

By Andreas Umland

How would the West react to a major escalation of the war in eastern Ukraine? What would Brussels and Washington do if Russia continues to send troops there? Even though analysts often suggest arming Ukraine with defensive weapons, what people sometimes forget is that the West is still, by far, Russia’s largest trade and investment […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 27, 2015

Ukraine’s IDP Crisis Worsens as Local Attitudes Harden

By Kateryna Moroz and Olena Vynogradova

Ukraine officially has 1,381,953 internally displaced persons (IDPs), the country’s Ministry of Social Policy (MoSP) reported July 10. Overall, more than 2.3 million Ukrainians—including IDPs and those seeking refuge abroad—have been uprooted by conflict since March 2014. Yet the actual number of IDPs remains unknown and is likely to be higher, since the official figure […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 25, 2015

The Future of Ukraine’s Default

By Yuriy Gorodnichenko

On July 24, Ukraine paid a $120 million coupon to service its sovereign debt. In many ways, this event is a moment of truth: it signals that there is a prospect of reaching an agreement with Ukraine’s creditors. Earlier this year, Ukraine signed a major deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF agreed […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2015

Kremlin Stages Fake Separatist Stunt in Lviv

By Halya Coynash

Western leaders pressing Ukraine to give into Russian demands and offer the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics autonomy would be well-advised to take note of the other parts of Ukraine which, according to Russian media, are also demanding self-rule. On July 17, approximately twenty people in Lviv staged a blitzkrieg demonstration with banners demanding […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 24, 2015

The Enemy Within: Paramilitaries and the Ukrainian State

By Peter Sattler

Ukrainian paramilitaries pose an increasingly existential threat to Kyiv. Earlier this year, Kyiv launched an initiative to bring them under their direct control. But despite their nominal subordination to Kyiv’s security services, these groups operate with minimal supervision and maintain financial independence. Their fighting capacity breeds instability and violence. More recently, Right Sector is undermining […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 22, 2015

Reform Agenda in Kyiv on Slow Burn, But in Odesa, Saakashvili Already Delivers

By Kateryna Smagliy

“I come away from this visit to Odesa with a sense of optimism,” wrote US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt after his recent trip there. After I posted Pyatt’s article to my Facebook page in an attempt to diminish the growing fatigue of fellow Ukrainians over the mixed results of the new government’s reforms, angry reactions followed. […]

Russia The Caucasus

UkraineAlert

Jul 22, 2015

We Are All Ukrainians Now

By Diane M. Francis

My first visit to Ukraine was in February 1992 and the City of Kyiv was gray, bleak and joyless as was the rest of the Soviet Union. Last month I re-visited—23 years and several other assignments later—to find a new nation of extremes. There is prosperity and there is poverty; there is peace and war; […]

Ukraine
20150720MH172event

UkraineAlert

Jul 21, 2015

One Year After MH17 Shootdown, Brazen Act Over Ukraine Still Poisons Atmosphere

By Larry Luxner

Simon Ostrovsky will never forget the moment he learned that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 had fallen from the sky, with 298 passengers and crew aboard. “I was on a train from Kyiv to Kharkiv reading my Twitter feed, and something came down about a plane crash. Somebody said it was a Malaysian plane,” the Soviet-born […]

Russia Ukraine
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