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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

Apr 13, 2023

Putin cancels Victory Day parades as Ukraine invasion continues to unravel

By Peter Dickinson

The cancellation of Victory Day parades in multiple Russian regional capitals is a blow to Putin’s personal prestige that exposes the grim reality behind Moscow’s upbeat propaganda portrayals of the faltering Ukraine invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Apr 12, 2023

Poland and Ukraine: The emerging alliance that could reshape Europe

By Taras Kuzio

Poland’s leading role in the European response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion is fueling talk of a eastward shift in Europe’s geopolitical center of gravity with the Polish-Ukrainian alliance set to become increasingly influential.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Apr 11, 2023

Ukraine’s energy sector survives winter

By Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Vladimir Putin’s winter bombing campaign targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure failed to achieve its goal of breaking Ukrainian resistance and freezing the country into submission, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.

Conflict Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Apr 11, 2023

Ukraine resumes electricity exports in latest show of wartime resilience

By Aura Sabadus

Ukraine resumed energy exports to Europe in early April. The move confirmed the failure of Russia’s six-month energy infrastructure bombing campaign and underlined Ukraine’s remarkable wartime resilience, writes Aura Sabadus.

Conflict Energy Transitions

UkraineAlert

Apr 10, 2023

Russian nukes in Belarus: Putin’s creeping annexation continues

By Hanna Liubakova

Putin’s plan to place nukes in Belarus has been widely interpreted as as an escalation in his ongoing nuclear saber-rattling tactics but it will also greatly strengthen the Russian dictator’s grip over the neighboring country.

Belarus Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 8, 2023

Human wave tactics are demoralizing the Russian army in Ukraine

By Olivia Yanchik

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has not gone according to plan but he still hopes to win a long war of attrition. However, Russia’s reliance on human wave tactics risks undermining morale within his invading army, writes Olivia Yanchik.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2023

NATO poses a threat to Russian imperialism not Russian security

By Peter Dickinson

Russia’s passive acceptance of neighboring Finland’s NATO membership raises serious questions over the Kremlin’s efforts to portray the invasion of Ukraine as a response to NATO expansion, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Apr 6, 2023

Anti-war Russians struggle to be heard

By Christopher Isajiw

The Kremlin has worked hard to create the impression of overwhelming Russian public support for the invasion of Ukraine but anti-war sentiment may become more visible if Putin’s army suffers further battlefield defeats, writes Christopher Isajiw.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 4, 2023

Russia’s Wagner Group is a feature not a bug of the Putin regime

By Allen Maggard

Russian private paramilitaries like the Wagner Group are a symptom of the institutionalized corruption at the heart of Putin’s regime and not just another instrument in Russia’s hybrid warfare toolbox, writes Allen Maggard.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Apr 4, 2023

How to keep Western tech out of Russian weapons

By Aleksander Cwalina

The Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center convened a panel of experts for a virtual event in March to discuss how to prevent the use of Western technologies in Russian weapons, reports Aleksander Cwalina.

Arms Control Conflict

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UkraineAlert

Jan 24, 2023

Leopard tank saga: Germany remains haunted by history

By Bohdan Vitvitsky

Germany's reluctance to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine reflects the ongoing influence of war guilt for the crimes of the Nazi era while also highlighting a failure to differentiate between modern Russia and the Soviet Union.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Jan 18, 2023

Putin’s nuclear blackmail must not prevent the liberation of Crimea

By Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Putin's nuclear threats have led some analysts to argue against attempts to liberate Crimea but bowing down to the Russian dictator's nuclear blackmail would have dire consequences for global security, writes Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jan 17, 2023

How Europe can help Ukraine defeat Russia and win the peace in 2023

By Andreas Umland

Continued European support for Ukraine will be crucial in 2023 and must feature a combination of intensification and innovation if Vladimir Putin's invasion is to be decisively defeated, writes Andreas Umland.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

UkraineAlert

Jan 17, 2023

Resisting Russia one artwork at a time

By Melinda Haring, Jacob Heilbrunn

“Women at War,” a new US exhibition featuring a variety of works by twelve female Ukrainian artists, is a symbol of defiance to the Kremlin’s latest attempt to expunge Ukraine’s heritage.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 16, 2023

Equity for Ukraine

By Ira Straus

Excessive Western caution in the supply of weapons to Ukraine is costing Ukrainian lives and fueling Russian impunity while preventing meaningful progress toward peace, writes Ira Straus.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2023

Ukraine struggles to repair power grid as Russian airstrikes continue

By Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti

Efforts to repair damage to Ukraine's electricity system caused by Russia's strategic bombing campaign are being hampered by a shortage of critical transformers, writes Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2023

The West reaps multiple benefits from backing Ukraine against Russia

By Taras Kuzio

Ukraine is often viewed as being heavily reliant on Western support but the relationship is mutually beneficial and provides the West with enhanced security along with valuable intelligence, writes Taras Kuzio.

Conflict Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Jan 12, 2023

Post-war Ukraine needs a smart digital transformation strategy

By Anatoly Motkin

The war with Russia is far from over but it is important to begin looking ahead and setting the stage for Ukraine's post-war digital transformation, writes StrategEast Center president Anatoly Motkin.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 10, 2023

Putin’s faltering Ukraine invasion exposes limits of Russian propaganda

By Victor Tregubov

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was supposed to be a short and victorious war. Instead, it has transformed him into a pariah and shattered Russia’s reputation as a military superpower. How could he have got it so wrong?

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Jan 8, 2023

Ukraine’s nation-building progress spells doom for Putin’s Russian Empire

By Dennis Soltys

Many observers seek to blame Putin's Ukraine invasion on his imperial ambitions or Kremlin fears over NATO expansion, but in reality the war is a desperate Russian response to Ukraine's historic nation-building progress.

Civil Society Conflict