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

Here’s One Practical Way to Save Ukraine

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

Here’s One Practical Way to Save Ukraine

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

Here’s One Practical Way to Save Ukraine

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

May 3, 2020

Zelenskyy fails to deliver on promise of a new beginning

By
David Clark

Volodymyr Zelenskyy won the Ukrainian presidency in spring 2019 as a political outsider promising an end to decades of corrupt government. One year on, Ukrainians are still waiting for evidence of this fight against corruption.


Democratic Transitions

Populism


UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2020

Putin must end Ukraine war if he wants sanctions relief

By
Lisa Yasko

The Kremlin is calling for sanctions to be relaxed as part of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, but Putin has shown no accompanying inclination to end Russia's six-year war in Ukraine.


Conflict

Coronavirus


UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2020

Ukraine must continue electoral reform in 2020

By
Harald Jepsen

Ukraine's fledgling democracy has made huge progress in recent years, but further reform of the country's Election Code is urgently required ahead of October's planned local elections, argues Harald Jepsen.


Democratic Transitions

Elections


UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2020

Broadening Ukraine’s foreign policy horizons in the post-coronavirus world

By
Hanna Shelest

Ukraine's foreign policy has traditionally focused on the choice between Russia and the West, but the country could benefit from a more global approach to diplomacy with clearly defined regional strategies.


Coronavirus

Politics & Diplomacy


UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2020

Coronavirus crisis spells doom for Putin’s dreams of rebuilding the Soviet empire

By
Solomiia Bobrovska

The coronavirus crisis has sparked a collapse in oil prices that is hitting Russia hard. With the Kremlin coffers increasingly empty, could change be on the horizon in Moscow for the first time since 1991?


Coronavirus

Russia


UkraineAlert

Apr 28, 2020

Three more reasons to be optimistic about Ukraine’s future

By
Adair Appleton and Doug Klain

After spending a year studying with some of the best political scientists and economists in the United States, Ukraine's up-and-coming innovators make their mark.


Civil Society

Economy & Business


UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2020

Is Saakashvili the right choice for Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili is on the verge of a highly unlikely return to Ukrainian politics as the country's new Deputy Prime Minister for Reforms. What might this mean for Ukraine?


Democratic Transitions

Political Reform


UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2020

Does Putin want peace?

By
Peter Dickinson

The election of Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine's new president in April 2019 raised hopes of a breakthrough towards peace in the country's war with Russia. One year on, it is clear that only Putin can end the conflict.


Conflict

Russia


UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2020

Unprepared Ukraine must learn from Chornobyl fires

By
Iryna Matviyishyn

Wildfires in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone generated global headlines in April and also served as a warning to Ukraine of what to expect this summer following a dry winter season of record high temperatures.


Climate Change & Climate Action

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Apr 23, 2020

From virtual candidate to compromised president: Zelenskyy’s tough first year

By
Ilya Timtchenko

Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected as the sixth president of independent Ukraine in April 2019 with a mandate to transform the way the country was governed. One year on, many voters are disillusioned.


Democratic Transitions

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

Here’s One Practical Way to Save Ukraine

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

Here’s One Practical Way to Save Ukraine

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

Here’s One Practical Way to Save Ukraine

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

Jun 16, 2015

Here’s One Practical Way to Save Ukraine

By Andreas Umland

Stimulating Ukraine’s economy is a key goal of the reforms that are underway in Kyiv. Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) should enable better economic management and freer trade. But there’s an important precondition for growth: investor confidence. Domestic businessmen and foreign investors must feel sufficiently motivated to spend their money, time, and […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2015

The Muddled Thinking at the G-7 Only Encourages Putin

By Stephen Blank

Leaders at the recent G-7 summit reaffirmed their commitment to keeping sanctions on Russia in place. They also agreed that sanctions will likely be extended until 2016 because Russia has failed to implement the Minsk II ceasefire agreement. But the summit ended on a disappointing note: The summit communiqué and all the G-7 leaders indicated […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2015

Corruption, not Russian Tanks, Greatest Threat to Success of Ukraine

By Melinda Haring

Corruption threatens to derail Ukraine’s progress, American and Ukrainians officials agreed at the Atlantic Council’s Wrocław Global Forum in Wrocław, Poland on June 13. “There is no issue that is a greater threat to Ukraine’s long-term success today than institutionalized corruption,” said Geoffrey R. Pyatt, US Ambassador to Ukraine. “It’s a bigger threat than Russian […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2015

Russia’s Buildup Along Ukraine’s Border Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Does

By Ruben Gzirian

Much has been made about the tactics and military doctrine driving Russian operations in eastern Ukraine. Some analysts see Russia following a hybrid war strategy, while others contend that the Kremlin is simply trying to “catch up conceptually to the realities of modern war.” One thing is clear: Russia is manipulating eastern Ukraine through misdirection, […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 11, 2015

Here’s How to Ensure Radical Transparency in Ukraine: Install Cameras Everywhere

By Melinda Haring

On Saturday, June 6, approximately 200 people gathered in the great hall of the Vyshhorod state administration building to welcome home 120 soldiers returning from the war in eastern Ukraine. Vyshhorod District Head Alexander Gorgan presented certificates to those soldiers who had completed one year of military service, which entitles them to land, medical care, […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 9, 2015

Everything You Thought You Knew about Right-Wing Parties is Wrong

By Alina Polyakova

The Russian government and its proxies in eastern Ukraine have consistently branded Kyiv’s government a fascist junta and accused it of having Nazi sympathizers. Moscow’s propaganda is outrageous and wrong. In fact, Ukraine’s radical right political parties—Right Sector and Svoboda—have been marginalized.

Eastern Europe Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 8, 2015

With Kippot and Klezmer Music, Messianic Jews Aim to Build Bridges in Ukraine

By Matthew Kupfer

Russian politicians and pro-Russia separatists in the Donbas have repeatedly accused Ukraine of promoting fascism and Nazism since the February 2014 overthrow of former President Viktor Yanukovych. But at a Shabbat concert in Kyiv on June 5, another side of Ukraine was on full display: religious diversity and pluralism.

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 4, 2015

Father of Recovering Kremlin Critic Vladimir Kara-Murza Says His Son Was Poisoned

By Melinda Haring

Vladimir Kara-Murza has regained consciousness in a Moscow hospital after falling gravely ill on May 26, and the Russian opposition leader’s father now says his son was poisoned.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2015

Why Saakashvili’s Appointment as Odesa’s Governor Actually Makes Perfect Sense

By Brian Mefford

On May 30, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko named former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Governor of the Odesa region. There are a number of ways to interpret the bold move, but two historical analogies may be more apt: Saakashvili is either following in Duke of Richelieu’s footsteps as an outside Governor of Odesa or the late […]

The Caucasus Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2015

Mutual Deterrence? Think Again. Russia Seeks to Intimidate the West

By Stephen Blank

Moscow recently announced that it will procure fifty new nuclear-capable bombers, the Tupolev TU-160 or Blackjacks, which are the world’s largest combat aircraft. This seemingly anodyne announcement points to a critically important element of Russian strategy that we overlook at our and our allies’ peril. The procurement is the latest in a continuing series of […]

Russia Ukraine
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