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

The Flawed Minsk Peace Accord—And How to Use It

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

The Flawed Minsk Peace Accord—And How to Use It

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

The Flawed Minsk Peace Accord—And How to Use It

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

Sep 1, 2016

Paul Manafort’s Ukrainian Legacy

By
Sergii Leshchenko

I have seen Paul Manafort twice in my life. The first time was in 2007 during a Ukrainian lunch at Morosani Hotel in Davos, Switzerland, where Viktor Yanukovych came to speak. The second time was at a solemn reception in honor of Yanukovych’s 2010 inauguration at the Ukrainian House in Kyiv; Manfort arrived with oligarch […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Aug 31, 2016

Anti-Corruption Cases Are Finally Moving Forward in Ukraine

By
Adrian Karatnycky

Something is stirring in Ukraine’s war on corruption. Since the Maidan protests of 2013-14 toppled the regime of former President Viktor Yanukovych and revealed the details of the criminality and venality of his inner circle, attacking corruption has been a focal point of public expectations. Important progress has been made on key reforms. Under the […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Aug 31, 2016

Russia and Turkey: Rapprochement and Its Implications

By
John E. Herbst

The rapprochement between Russia and Turkey is a significant geopolitical development that increases the leverage of each nation. Where the interests of Moscow and Ankara do not conflict, their new relationship will be useful to both. Yet their different interests limit the significance of the new amity.


Russia

Turkey


UkraineAlert

Aug 29, 2016

Have Ukraine’s Reforms Stalled?

By
Anders Åslund

Few Ukrainians realize how impressive their economic reforms were in 2015. The question today is whether that reform wave will continue, or has come to a halt. The slashing of energy subsidies by 10 percent of GDP by unifying energy prices from 2014 to 2016 was most important. As a consequence, Ukraine’s public expenditures fell […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Aug 29, 2016

E-Declaration—and Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Strategy—in Jeopardy

By
Josh Cohen

A key element of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agenda is at a crossroads—and whether it is implemented on August 31 will indicate Kyiv’s commitment to reform. In October 2014, a new law requiring Ukrainian public officials to file an electronic declaration disclosing all of their financial assets was passed by parliament. This e-declaration law mandates that officials […]


Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Aug 29, 2016

Three Mythologies of European Security

By
Stephen Blank

Samuel Johnson famously told his biographer James Boswell, “Clear your mind of cant.” In thinking about European security, we should do so, too.


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Aug 26, 2016

How One University Defied Putin and His Armed Mob

By
Melinda Haring

On July 7, 2014, Russian-backed separatists entered Donetsk and occupied four dormitories at Donetsk National University; armed gunmen expelled students from their rooms in the middle of the night. Nine days later, the separatists seized the entire university. During that summer, separatists stole at least seventeen university vehicles and converted student dorms into barracks for […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2016

Ukraine: Forwards or Backwards? A Response to Thomas Theiner and James Brooke

By
Martin Nunn

When driving a car, it is essential to look forward to assess changing road conditions, new obstacles, and new opportunities. Prudent drivers—and investors—regularly check the rear view mirrors, but their main focus is on the future.


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2016

Does Ukraine Need an Anti-Corruption Court?

By
Thomas Firestone

The recent scandal surrounding alleged payments made to Paul Manafort by the former Ukrainian government has again cast a spotlight on corruption in Ukraine. Whatever one thinks of the Manafort story, no one can dispute that Ukrainians are entitled to an honest government that does not steal from them. But how can Ukraine achieve this […]


Russia

Ukraine


UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2016

Russia is Surrounding Ukraine, but Where’s the West?

By
Aaron Korewa

In recent weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been doing what he is best at: war mongering. It began with the Kremlin’s accusation that Ukrainian leaders had “chosen terror over peace,” despite the fact Russia has not been able to produce any credible evidence of the alleged “sabotage plot” in Crimea. Additionally, neither the OSCE’s […]


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

The Flawed Minsk Peace Accord—And How to Use It

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

The Flawed Minsk Peace Accord—And How to Use It

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

The Flawed Minsk Peace Accord—And How to Use It

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

Feb 25, 2015

The Flawed Minsk Peace Accord—And How to Use It

By Adrian Karatnycky

Truce Buys Ukraine Time to Get a Little Real Help From Its Friends Ukraine and its allies hope this month’s cease-fire deal agreed with Russia and Russian-backed rebels brings relative calm to southeastern Ukraine. But the Minsk agreement is deeply flawed, and there is every chance it may yet unravel, even if it holds for […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2015

Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Battle Slogs Ahead

By Olena Tregub

New Prosecutor Briefly Arrests an Oligarch; Anti-Corruption Bureau Seeks a Director The Ukrainian campaign to actually begin cleaning up Europe’s most corrupt government and economy is progressing more slowly than many Ukrainians have demanded. But the past week showed some movement in two critical government agencies: the prosecutor general’s office and the nascent National Anti-Corruption […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2015

Amid the ‘Cease-Fire,’ Russian Forces Win a Battle in Ukraine

By New Atlanticist

Kyiv Forced into New Retreat; US, Europe Must Increase Support, Atlantic Council Analysts Say At midday February 18, three-and-a-half days beyond the designated hour for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, fighting was continuing in the strategic city of Debaltseve, where Russian forces continue to pound a nearly surrounded Ukrainian contingent that may still number in […]

Eastern Europe Russia

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2015

Ukraine’s Other War: Parliament Advances Anti-Corruption Fight

By New Atlanticist

Lawmakers Vote to End Their Immunity from Prosecution Members of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, overwhelmingly passed a bill to end their own legal immunity from prosecution, one of the main laws that for years helped Ukraine to the top of Europe’s corruption charts. Article 80 of Ukraine’s constitution protects all Rada members from prosecution […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2015

Making Ukraine’s ‘Glimmer of Hope’ Sustainable

By Sabine Freizer

If Russia Permits, the Minsk Accord Could Be a Start for Stabilizing Donbas The ceasefire agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine on in Minsk on 12 February offers what German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls “a glimmer of hope, no more no less” for constricting, and eventually ending, the war in southeast Ukraine’s Donbas region. Whether […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2015

Russia’s Ukraine War Wins it the Advantage in New Truce Deal

By John E. Herbst

‘Minsk II’ Accord Will Let Moscow Keep Pumping Arms, Fighters into Ukraine’s Donbas With thousands of Ukrainian troops nearly surrounded in Donbas by the freshly armed, Kremlin-directed rebel militias, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko accepted the Minsk II agreement February 12. The new accord is clearly less advantageous to Kyiv than was the Minsk I agreement, which […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 10, 2015

Obama-Merkel Accord Delays Talk of Arms for Ukraine’s Defense Against Russia

By John E. Herbst

Europe Signals New Negotiation With Kremlin Will Not Include New Pressures on Kyiv The Obama-Merkel summit was critical for maintaining Transatlantic unity in the face of Moscow’s escalating aggression in Ukraine. While skeptical of the Kremlin’s intentions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel would like to try another round of diplomacy to stop the fighting. That is why […]

Europe & Eurasia Germany

UkraineAlert

Feb 10, 2015

Ukraine’s Economic Crisis is Deep; It Needs Loans Faster Than You May Think

By Yuriy Gorodnichenko

Kyiv Lacks Money for the Aggressive Reforms That Ukrainians and the West Seek The uncertainty around how much—and how soon—Ukraine might get help from international lenders is contributing to two real economic dangers facing the country: a default on its debts and a radical slashing of the budget. Ukraine’s friends—the United States and European governments—need […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2015

Amid Escalated War, U.S. Weighs Defensive Weapons for Ukraine

By New Atlanticist

France & Germany Seek to Halt the Fighting, May Use Specter of a Better-Armed Ukraine to Press Putin The Obama administration has announced no decision on whether to help Ukraine use US-made weapons to defend against Russian-sponsored attacks. But France and Germany are probing to see whether that threat might help push Russian President Vladimir […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 3, 2015

Will Moldova’s Dangerous Political Deadlock Force Out Its Prime Minister?

By New Atlanticist

Foreign Minister and Europeanist Nataliya Gherman May Become Next Leader Moldova’s political parties are deadlocked on forming a government, and the parliament has until next week (February 12) to either confirm Prime Minister Iurie Leanca in his post or find an alternative. But Leanca is sure of having only 42 of the 51 votes he […]

Moldova
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