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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 14, 2023

Putin failed to freeze Europe but Russia’s energy war will continue

By
Aura Sabadus

Vladimir Putin's plan to freeze Europe into submission during the winter season failed but there is no room for complacency as Russia still sees gas and oil exports as key weapons in its campaign to isolate and destroy Ukraine.


China


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2023

Will morale prove the decisive factor in the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin is preparing for a long war in Ukraine and still believes he can outlast the West, but mounting signs of demoralization among mobilized Russian soldiers may pose a serious threat to the success of his invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 9, 2023

Calls to appease Putin in Ukraine ignore the lessons of history

By
Arman Mahmoudian

While the desire for peace in Ukraine is perfectly understandable, mounting calls to appease Putin by handing him a partial victory ignore the lessons of history and would almost certainly lead to more war.


Belarus


Central Asia


UkraineAlert

Mar 8, 2023

Ukrainians will never surrender. How long can they count on the West?

By
Serhiy Prytula

Ukraine's remarkable resistance during the first days of the Russian invasion convinced the democratic world to back the country but with Putin now preparing for a long war, continued Western resolve is vital writes Serhiy Prytula.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 6, 2023

How Putin’s fear of democracy convinced him to invade Ukraine

By
Michael John Williams

Putin's decision to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was rooted in his longstanding fear that the emergence of a democratic Ukraine could serve as a catalyst for the collapse of his own autocratic regime.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2023

It is time for the West to welcome Ukraine home

By
Michael Druckman

Russia's full-scale invasion has strengthened Ukraine's commitment to a future as part of the Western world. Western leaders should now respond by intensifying Ukraine's further integration, writes Michael Druckman.


Conflict


Democratic Transitions


UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2023

Premature peace with Putin would be disastrous for international security

By
Peter Dickinson

Perhaps the best way to illustrate the perils of appeasing Putin with a premature peace deal is by imagining where the world would be today if Ukraine had indeed fallen one year ago, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Freedom and Prosperity


UkraineAlert

Mar 2, 2023

Ukraine’s women are playing a key role in the fight against Russia

By
Adrienne Ross

From frontline soldiers to unofficial ambassadors, Ukraine's women are playing a key role in their country's struggle to defeat the Russian army and end Vladimir Putin's criminal invasion, writes Adrienne Ross.


Civil Society


Conflict


UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2023

Tech innovation helps Ukraine even the odds against Russia’s military might

By
Mykhailo Fedorov

Over the past year, Ukrainians have demonstrated their ability to defeat Russia using a combination of raw courage and innovative military tech, writes Ukraine's Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.


Conflict


Cybersecurity


UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2023

Calls mount for Russia to face tribunal for aggression against Ukraine

By
Irina Paliashvili

As Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its second year, calls are mounting for the establishment of a special tribunal to try the Russian leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, writes Irina Paliashvili.


Conflict


European Union

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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

Oct 20, 2014

Ukraine Prepares to Elect Its Most Pro-European Parliament in History

By New Atlanticist

Poroshenko’s Party Leads; Yatsenyuk Improves Chance of Remaining Prime Minister On Sunday, Ukrainians will elect their first parliament since the Maidan revolution and the Russian invasions of Crimea and Donbas. Kyiv-based political analyst Brian Mefford, now a nonresident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council, analyzes Ukrainian politics and elections on his website’s blog. Mefford’s analysis […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Oct 17, 2014

Yanukovych Birthday Video Reflects What Is Angering Ukrainians Now

By James Rupert

Kyiv Says It Fires 39 Officials as Voters Show Frustration Over Continued Corruption Eight months after Ukrainians forced the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, they will elect a parliament amid rising public anger over the persistence of government corruption under the still-new regime of President Petro Poroshenko. Public discussion about how many new leaders are […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 16, 2014

Putin’s Balkan Gambit

By Damon Wilson

Buoyed by Successes in Europe’s East, Russia’s Leader Turns His Gaze to Serbia and Its Neighbors Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine aims to deny that nation a European future, partly by closing the door permanently to membership in NATO or the European Union. Putin’s aims, however, are not limited to extending a Russian […]

Russia The Balkans

UkraineAlert

Oct 10, 2014

General Wesley Clark: America’s Global Strategy Begins With Ukraine

By James Rupert

Former NATO Commander Says Every US Strategic Interest Is Tied to Russia-Ukraine Crisis America’s five most broadly dangerous 21st-century challenges are disparate, says former presidential candidate and retired senior general Wesley Clark. They stretch from an aggressive China and frail cyber-security to climatic disruptions, unstable financial systems, and terrorism rooted in the Islamic world. All […]

Eastern Europe NATO

UkraineAlert

Oct 6, 2014

Four More Crimean Tatars Vanish, One Dead Amid Russian Crackdown

By James Rupert

19 Tatars Abducted or Disappeared Since Moscow’s Takeover of Crimea At least nineteen ethnic Tatars have been abducted or have disappeared in Russian-ruled Crimea, four of them in the past ten days, Tatar and human rights activists say. Russian authorities up to the office of President Vladimir Putin have promised to investigate the disappearances, which […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2014

Ukraine’s New Parliament Will Strengthen Poroshenko, but Independents Will Make It Unpredictable

By New Atlanticist

Analysis: Putin Unlikely to Scrap the Ceasefire Before October 26 Vote While Russia’s President Vladimir Putin still has unmet ambitions in Ukraine, he is likely to avoid launching any new military offensive there before Ukraine’s October 26 parliamentary election, writes Timothy Ash, an economist who directs emerging markets strategy at Standard Bank in London. Putin […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2014

Can US Support for Ukraine Help Prevent a New Russian Invasion?

By James Rupert

Canadian Analyst Says US Should Signal Moscow To Avoid Any Assault in South Amid the relative lull in the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian military specialists say Russia may soon re-invade Ukraine to seize a critical overland supply route to Crimea. But some analysts and officials in the West are less worried. In the end, says military […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2014

As Winter Nears in Ukraine, Will Moscow Attempt Another Strategic Invasion?

By James Rupert

Continued Attacks Show Kremlin May Be Preparing Drive Toward Crimea, Analysts Say Distracted US and European policymakers may feel grateful that this month’s truce has slowed the Russia-Ukraine war. The Obama administration is seized with the Syria-Iraq crisis and Congress has gone home to campaign for the November 4 election. Europe faces an internal battle […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2014

Ukraine’s Parliamentary Election: Poroshenko Leads Big at Campaign’s Start

By James Rupert

Early Voter Surveys Reflect Anti-Russian, Pro-Independence Mood Ukrainians will elect a new parliament in exactly thirty days, completing the electoral portion of the political revolution triggered by last winter’s Maidan movement. As the campaign began in recent weeks, two Ukrainian polling organizations conducted surveys that yielded similar numbers on the early mindset of Ukraine’s electorate. […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2014

A Dangerous October: Ukraine Contests an Election As It Fears a Truce

By John E. Herbst

Kyiv Feels Little Supported by the West, Hopes to Survive an Unequal Ceasefire With Russia KYIVA junction of war and politics dominates public life in Ukraine as autumn settles firmly in Kyiv. An unequal cease-fire this month in southeast Ukraine will let Moscow maintain there a core of the invasion force it sent in last […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy