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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.

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Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Feb 28, 2025

Putin uses NATO as an excuse for his war against Ukrainian statehood

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin claims his invasion of Ukraine was provoked by NATO expansion but his efforts to eradicate Ukrainian identity in areas under Russian occupation and his insistence regarding Ukraine’s complete disarmament reveal his ultimate goal of erasing Ukrainian statehood entirely, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 27, 2025

Ukraine’s IT sector offers opportunities for pragmatic partnership with the US

By Anatoly Motkin, Hanna Myshko

As the new Trump administration reassesses its foreign partnerships through a lens of transactional pragmatism, Ukraine’s IT sector presents a potentially compelling case for deepening bilateral cooperation, write Anatoly Motkin and Hanna Myshko.

Conflict Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Feb 27, 2025

The Finlandization fallacy: Ukrainian neutrality will not stop Putin’s Russia

By Brian Mefford

Donald Trump seeks to broker a peace deal with Vladimir Putin but any attempt to impose neutrality on Ukraine could set the stage for further Russian aggression, writes Brian Mefford.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2025

US sides with Russia against Ukraine and Europe at the United Nations

By Shelby Magid

A diplomatic clash at the UN has illustrated the dramatic divide that has emerged between the United States and Europe since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump just over one month ago, writes Shelby Magid.

Conflict Freedom and Prosperity

UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2025

Will a new Russia reset prove more successful than earlier attempts?

By Leah Nodvin

The Trump administration is seeking to reset relations with Russia as part of a comprehensive shift in US foreign policy, but successive past Russia resets have ended in failure, writes Leah Nodvin.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2025

Ukrainians are proudly democratic but resoundingly reject wartime elections

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s fight for democracy has been at the heart of the country’s struggle against the past two decades of escalating Russian aggression, but Ukrainians overwhelmingly reject the idea of staging dangerous wartime elections before peace is secured, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2025

Trump and Putin seek economic reset but businesses may not rush back to Russia

By Edward Verona

As the Trump administration seeks to reset relations with Russia as part of a peace process to end the war in Ukraine, Moscow is pushing the idea of increased economic cooperation, writes Edward Verona.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2025

Transatlantic alliance enters most challenging period since Suez crisis

By Edward Verona

The conclusion that many observers are drawing from the 2025 Munich Security Conference is that the United States, at least during the Trump presidency, is no longer willing to guarantee European security, writes Edward Verona.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2025

Georgia’s pro-Kremlin authorities intensify crackdown on opposition

By Mercedes Sapuppo

Georgia’s pro-Kremlin authorities presented new legislation in February that critics say will increase pressure on the country’s civil society and independent media while also placing additional restrictions on protests, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2025

Ukrainian drones reportedly knock out 10 percent of Russian refining capacity

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s 2025 campaign of drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure has succeeded in knocking out around one-tenth of Russia’s refining capacity, according to analysis by Reuters, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

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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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UkraineAlert

Oct 13, 2023

Ukraine’s neglected Danube region is a crucial front in the war with Russia

By Michael Druckman

Ukraine's Danube ports are at the heart of efforts to bypass Russia's Black Sea naval blockade but years of neglect have left the Bessarabia region unprepared to play a key wartime role, writes Michael Druckman.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Oct 12, 2023

The West must learn hard lessons from years of failed Russia policies

By Kira Rudik

If Russia is able to achieve even a partial victory in Ukraine, the consequences for global security would be catastrophic. Western leaders must escalate their support for Ukraine to prevent this outcome and make sure Putin’s invasion ends in decisive defeat, writes Kira Rudik.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Oct 12, 2023

Russia’s Ukraine invasion highlights the need for fundamental UN reform

By Paul Niland

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the ineffectiveness of the current international security architecture and underlined the need for fundamental reform of the United Nations, writes Paul Niland.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Oct 10, 2023

Ukrainians fear becoming hostage to US political paralysis

By Peter Dickinson

The unprecedented removal of Kevin McCarthy as House speaker has thrust US politics into uncharted territory while also sparking alarm across the Atlantic as Ukrainians fear for the future of vital American military aid, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Oct 9, 2023

Russian imperialism shapes public support for the war against Ukraine

By Neringa Klumbytė

Modern Russia retains an imperialistic ideology that is fueling strong public support for the war in Ukraine amid deep-rooted perceptions of Ukrainians as misguided younger siblings in need of correction, writes Neringa Klumbytė.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2023

Vladimir Putin is still convinced he can outlast the West in Ukraine

By Dennis Soltys

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has united the democratic world to a degree not seen in decades, but the Western response to the war continues to be hampered by excessive fear of provoking Putin, writes Dennis Soltys.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Oct 4, 2023

Putin’s fleet retreats: Ukraine is winning the Battle of the Black Sea

By Peter Dickinson

Putin was already struggling to account for his army’s evident inability to conquer a nation that he insists does not exist. He must now also explain how his once vaunted Black Sea Fleet is being defeated by a country without a navy, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Oct 3, 2023

Mixed messaging from Moldova on energy sector reforms

By Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Recent steps by the Moldovan authorities cast doubt on Chisinau’s commitment to energy market liberalization, escaping Russian energy dominance, and anti-corruption imperatives, writes Suriya Jayanti.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2023

Ukraine’s soccer stars help to keep Russia’s invasion in global spotlight

By Renat Zihanshyn, Oleksandra Gaidai

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed soccer legend Andriy Shevchenko as an advisor on September 26 in recognition of the role played by Ukrainian footballers in keeping Ukraine's struggle against Russian aggression in the global spotlight.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2023

Can US Abrams tanks help Ukraine achieve a battlefield breakthrough?

By Olivia Yanchik

The first US M1 Abrams tanks arrived in Ukraine in late September, writes Olivia Yanchik. Will these American tanks help Ukraine to achieve a breakthrough against Vladimir Putin's deeply entrenched Russian invasion force?

Conflict Defense Industry