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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

Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

UkraineAlert Sep 30, 2025

Putin’s dream of demilitarizing Ukraine has turned into his worst nightmare

By Peter Dickinson

Putin had hoped to demilitarize and decapitate the Ukrainian state, but his self-defeating invasion has inadvertently created the militarily powerful and fiercely independent Ukraine he feared most of all, writes Peter Dickinson.
Conflict Defense Technologies
Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

UkraineAlert Oct 2, 2025

Drone superpower Ukraine is teaching NATO how to defend against Russia

By David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s unrivaled experience of drone warfare makes it a key partner for NATO and an indispensable ally in the defense of Europe as the continent faces up to the mounting threat posed by an expansionist Russia, writes David Kirichenko.
Conflict Defense Technologies
Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

UkraineAlert Oct 14, 2025

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are a European problem

By Aura Sabadus

Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure are no longer just a Ukrainian problem. Moscow’s bombing campaign will become a wider European issue unless more support is offered to Kyiv, writes Aura Sabadus.
Conflict Drones

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Oct 6, 2025

Putin rejected Trump’s generous deal. Time to try peace through strength.

By Sergiy Solodkyy

President Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine by offering Putin Kremlin-friendly peace terms have failed to convince the Russian dictator. It is now time to speak to Putin in the language of strength, the only language he truly understands, writes Sergiy Solodkyy.

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Oct 4, 2025

Putin’s Moldova election failure highlights Russia’s declining influence

By Kateryna Odarchenko

Russia’s failed bid to sway recent elections in Moldova underscores the challenges Putin faces as he seeks to reassert Russian dominance over countries once ruled from the Kremlin at a time when Moscow’s ability to project power is increasingly in question, writes Kateryna Odarchenko.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Oct 2, 2025

Drone superpower Ukraine is teaching NATO how to defend against Russia

By David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s unrivaled experience of drone warfare makes it a key partner for NATO and an indispensable ally in the defense of Europe as the continent faces up to the mounting threat posed by an expansionist Russia, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Oct 1, 2025

Plight of Belarusian political prisoners must not be forgotten

By Craig Jackson

Belarusian human rights defender Andrei Chapiuk spent almost five years in prison and says the world must not forget about the more than one thousand Belarusian political prisoners who remain behind bars.

Belarus Civil Society

UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2025

Putin’s dream of demilitarizing Ukraine has turned into his worst nightmare

By Peter Dickinson

Putin had hoped to demilitarize and decapitate the Ukrainian state, but his self-defeating invasion has inadvertently created the militarily powerful and fiercely independent Ukraine he feared most of all, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2025

Belarus dictator must not be rewarded for releasing his own prisoners

By Hanna Liubakova

Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is attempting to repair relations with the West by trading political prisoners for concessions. If this hostage diplomacy proves successful, it will strengthen Lukashenka’s grip on power, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus Conflict

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2025

Trump called Russia a ‘paper tiger’ because he believes Putin is losing

By Peter Dickinson

US President Donald Trump now says Ukraine can defeat Russia. His dramatic change in tone reflects growing recognition that Putin’s invasion is not going according to the Kremlin plan, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2025

Ukrainians believe there can be no lasting peace without security

By Yaroslava Shvechykova-Plavska

Ukrainians are acutely aware that Russia remains determined to erase Ukraine and understand that the war will not truly be over until the Kremlin has been decisively deterred from pursuing its imperial ambitions, writes Yaroslava Shvechykova-Plavska.

Conflict Freedom and Prosperity

UkraineAlert

Sep 24, 2025

What we can learn from Tibetan and Ukrainian freedom fighters

By Nolan Peterson

Nolan Peterson reflects on his experience embedded in the Tibetan and Ukrainian freedom struggles as he has sought to understand how these two nations summoned the will to defy the empires that meant to destroy them.

China Conflict

UkraineAlert

Sep 23, 2025

Putin is escalating Russia’s hybrid war against Europe. Is Europe ready?

By Maksym Beznosiuk

Putin has clearly been encouraged by Trump’s efforts to downgrade America’s involvement in transatlantic security and feels emboldened to escalate his own hybrid war against Europe, writes Maksym Beznosiuk.

Belarus Conflict
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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
Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

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.

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Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

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
Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

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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UkraineAlert

Jul 18, 2023

Putin’s biggest mistake was believing Ukrainians were really Russians

By Roman Solchanyk

Vladimir Putin insists Ukrainians and Russians are "one people" and appears to have genuinely believed his invading army would be welcomed. It is now clear this was a catastrophic miscalculation, writes Roman Solchanyk.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2023

After Wagner: Could the Russian army now turn against Putin?

By Mercedes Sapuppo

With dozens of senior Russian officers reportedly detained following the Wagner revolt and a senior commander dismissed this week for criticizing the conduct of the Ukraine invasion, could Putin face a mutiny within the Russian army?

Conflict Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2023

Disappointed but not discouraged: Ukrainians react to NATO summit

By Peter Dickinson

The 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius failed to produce a breakthrough toward Ukrainian membership but did underline international support for Ukraine in the fight against Russia's invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Jul 11, 2023

NATO summit leaves Ukrainians frustrated

By Peter Dickinson

The 2023 NATO summit failed to deliver on hopes for a clear commitment on future Ukrainian membership, leaving many in Ukraine deeply frustrated by the apparent lack of urgency among the country's allies, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

Jul 10, 2023

Moldova must seize opportunity to end energy dependence on Russia

By Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

With the Russian army struggling in Ukraine and Putin weakened on the domestic front, Moldova may never have a better opportunity to end its energy sector dependence on Russia, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.

Conflict Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Jul 10, 2023

Why local officials must participate in Ukraine’s reconstruction

By Zachary Popovich, Michael Druckman

As the international community continues preparations for the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine it is vital to maximize engagement with Ukrainian local authorities, write Zachary Popovich and Michael Druckman.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jul 7, 2023

Oleksii Reznikov: Ukraine’s defense doctrine will define country’s future

By Oleksii Reznikov

Ukraine's defense doctrine will define the country's future and must reflect unique Ukrainian combat experience while making the most of domestic capabilities, writes Ukraine's Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2023

Wagner fallout: Time to begin preparing for a post-Putin Russia

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

As we assess the fallout from the Wagner revolt, it no longer makes sense to be afraid of a new Russian collapse. On the contrary, the time has come to begin preparing for the possibility of a post-Putin Russia, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2023

Wagner putsch is symptomatic of Russia’s ongoing imperial decline

By Richard Cashman, Lesia Ogryzko

The attempted putsch by Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his Wagner troops in late June is perhaps best understood as a symptom of Russia’s ongoing imperial decline, writes Richard Cashman and Lesia Ogryzko.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2023

Putin’s Wagner weakness is a signal to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive

By Taras Kuzio

With the short-lived Wagner mutiny exposing Vladimir Putin’s weakness for all to see, the time has come for Ukraine's Western partners to provide the country with everything it needs to secure victory, writes Taras Kuzio.

Conflict Freedom and Prosperity
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