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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

Feb 8, 2024

President Zelenskyy’s dual citizenship proposal presents wartime dilemmas

By Mark Temnycky

President Zelenskyy’s recent proposal to allow dual citizenship is a potentially popular but impractical measure in the current wartime conditions, writes Mark Temnycky.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2024

Ukraine opens new front with drone strikes on Russia’s energy sector

By Mykola Bielieskov

Ukraine is seeking to bring the war home to Russia in 2024 with a new long-range drone strike campaign against Putin’s oil and gas industry, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2024

Russia’s Bashkortostan protests: Separatism isn’t the real threat facing Putin

By Dylan Myles-Primakoff, Lillian Posner

The main risk to the Putin regime is unity and solidarity across regions between Russians protesting shared forms of mistreatment at the hands of the state, write Dylan Myles-Primakoff and Lillian Posner.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2024

Wartime Ukraine ranks among world’s top performers in anti-corruption index

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s partners are right to expect maximum accountability, but there are currently no grounds for abandoning the country based on claims of corruption that are both exaggerated and outdated, writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2024

Zelenskyy gives Putin a long overdue history lesson

By Taras Kuzio

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s weaponization of bad history has helped fuel the bloodiest European conflict since World War II, writes Taras Kuzio.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2024

Europe United: EU leaders agree on long-term support package for Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

The European Union confirmed a landmark $54 billion aid package for Ukraine on February 1 in Brussels, after EU leaders were able to overcome opposition from Hungary.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jan 30, 2024

Big Tech must listen to the concerns of Russia’s pro-democracy voices

By Joanna Nowakowska, Anna Kuznetsova, Marta Bilska

Big Tech companies offer a variety of opportunities for free expression in Putin’s Russia, write Joanna Nowakowska, Anna Kuznetsova, and Marta Bilska.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2024

Putin’s Achilles Heel: Ukraine targets Russia’s vital but vulnerable energy industry

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine has begun 2024 by opening a new front in the war against Putin’s Russia with a series of long-range drone strikes on Russia’s vital but vulnerable energy industry, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2024

Putin accused of fast-tracking Russian citizenship for abducted Ukrainian kids

By Vladyslav Havrylov

Ukrainian officials have condemned a new decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in early 2024 simplifying the process of conferring Russian citizenship on Ukrainian children abducted from wartime Ukraine.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 23, 2024

No European security without Ukrainian victory

By Pavlo Zhovnirenko

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches the two-year mark, Western leaders increasingly acknowledge that there can be no European security without Ukrainian victory, writes Pavlo Zhovnirenko.

Conflict Defense Policy
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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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