Stay Updated

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

Xi calls Zelenskyy but doubts remain over China’s peacemaker credentials

UkraineAlert Jan 20, 2026

Ukraine’s best security guarantee is the ability to strike back inside Russia

By Serhii Kuzan

With Kyiv’s Western allies unlikely to risk war with Russia, Ukraine’s most realistic security guarantee remains a strong military coupled with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia, writes Serhii Kuzan.
Conflict Defense Policy
Xi calls Zelenskyy but doubts remain over China’s peacemaker credentials

UkraineAlert Jan 15, 2026

Veterans can shape the future of Ukrainian democracy

By Vasyl Sehin

The participation of military veterans in Ukraine’s political life has the potential to dramatically strengthen Ukrainian democracy and safeguard the country’s historic transition from centuries of Russian autocracy, writes Vasyl Sehin.
Conflict Democratic Transitions
Xi calls Zelenskyy but doubts remain over China’s peacemaker credentials

UkraineAlert Jan 8, 2026

Ukraine’s robot army will be crucial in 2026 but drones can’t replace infantry

By David Kirichenko

Ukraine’s growing robot army of land drones will play a vital role in the country’s defense during 2026, but they are not wonder weapons and cannot serve as a miracle cure for Kyiv’s manpower shortages, writes David Kirichenko.
Artificial Intelligence Conflict

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Feb 26, 2026

Ukraine’s women may hold the key to the country’s future security

By Calin Trenkov-Wermuth, Sofia Kryshtal

Ukraine's female population should play a larger part in the country's future security strategy and can take on a wide range of military support and administrative roles far from the front lines, write Calin Trenkov-Wermuth and Sofia Kryshtal.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Feb 26, 2026

Putin’s plan: Make Ukraine unlivable by destroying essential infrastructure

By William Dixon, Maksym Beznosiuk

With the Russian army currently unable to achieve any meaningful breakthroughs on the battlefield, Putin's plan for 2026 looks set to focus on escalating bombardment of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in a bid to make the country unlivable, write William Dixon and Maksym Beznosiuk.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Feb 24, 2026

Fiber-optic drones have emerged as critical kit for both Russia and Ukraine

By Vlad Sutea

Fiber-optic drones may not replace conventional unmanned systems, but they have established themselves in Ukraine as a durable component of the modern battlefield toolkit, writes Vlad Sutea.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Feb 24, 2026

Ukrainians don’t want to be resilient. Putin has given them no other choice.

By Peter Dickinson

For the past four years, Ukrainians have been praised for their remarkable resilience, but in reality most recognize that Russia's genocidal invasion leaves them with no real choice but to fight on, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 20, 2026

After four years of Russia’s invasion, time to stop underestimating Ukraine

By Mykola Bielieskov

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters a fifth year, it is time to stop underestimating the Ukrainian military and recognize that Kyiv is now a major military power with plenty of trump cards in its possession, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2026

Ukraine hopes escalating Russian losses will push Putin toward peace

By David Kirichenko

As the Russian invasion enters a fifth year, Ukraine is hoping escalating Russian losses can finally force Putin to seek a meaningful settlement, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2026

As Russian battlefield losses mount, Putin is turning to Africa for soldiers

By Katherine Spencer

Russia’s growing reliance on African recruits to continue the war in Ukraine is a powerful symbol of an invasion that has gone horribly wrong for Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, writes Katherine Spencer.

Africa Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2026

Ukrainian defense tech companies must prepare for export opportunities

By Michael Druckman

Ukraine’s defense sector has already demonstrated enormous battlefield credibility. The next phase is commercial and institutional credibility, writes Michael Druckman.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2026

A bad Ukraine peace could ignite new wars in Russia’s former empire

By Joseph Epstein

If a settlement in Ukraine frees up Russian military resources without establishing credible deterrents against further Kremlin aggression, Moscow will have the means and the motive to reassert dominance elsewhere in its former empire, writes Joseph Epstein.

Central Asia European Union

UkraineAlert

Feb 12, 2026

Vladimir Putin is trapped in a war he cannot win but dare not end

By Peter Dickinson

As the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale Ukraine invasion approaches, Vladimir Putin finds himself trapped in a war he cannot win but dare not end for fear of entering Russian history as the man who lost Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation
Load More

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
Xi calls Zelenskyy but doubts remain over China’s peacemaker credentials

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.

Read More
Xi calls Zelenskyy but doubts remain over China’s peacemaker credentials

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
Xi calls Zelenskyy but doubts remain over China’s peacemaker credentials

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.

Learn more

Follow us on social media
and support our work

support our work

Content

UkraineAlert

Apr 26, 2023

Xi calls Zelenskyy but doubts remain over China’s peacemaker credentials

By Peter Dickinson

China’s Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke for over an hour by phone on April 26 in what was the first conversation between the two leaders since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began more than fourteen months ago.

China Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 25, 2023

Putin’s dreams of a new Russian Empire are unraveling in Ukraine

By Mark Temnycky

Putin saw the invasion of Ukraine as a key step toward rebuilding the Russian Empire. Instead, it has forced countries across the former Soviet Union to distance themselves from the Kremlin, writes Mark Temnycky.

Central Asia Civil Society

UkraineAlert

Apr 25, 2023

Russia’s invasion highlights the need to invest more in Ukrainian studies

By Oleksandra Gaidai

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the need for greater international investment into Ukrainian studies but has also created huge challenges for Ukrainian academia, writes Oleksandra Gaidai.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2023

There can be no lasting peace with Russia until Ukraine liberates Crimea

By Mariia Zolkina

Some skeptics question the feasibility and wisdom of a military campaign to de-occupy Crimea, but no lasting peace with Putin's Russia will be possible until the Ukrainian peninsula is liberated, argues Mariia Zolkina.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2023

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also being fought in cyberspace

By Vera Mironova

While the war in Ukraine often resembles the trench warfare of the twentieth century, the battle for cyber dominance is highly innovative and offers insights into the future of international aggression, writes Vera Mironova.

Conflict Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Apr 18, 2023

Russia’s Ukraine invasion is the latest stage in the unfinished Soviet collapse

By Richard Cashman

Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is best understood as the latest stage in the unfinished collapse of the Soviet Union and as part of Russia's historic retreat from empire, argues Richard Cashman.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 18, 2023

Vladimir Kara-Murza’s 25-year sentence is a verdict against all Russians

By Arseniy Yatsenyuk

Vladimir Kara-Murza's 25-year prison sentence for speaking the truth about the invasion of Ukraine is a major milestone in modern Russia's descent into Stalinism, says former Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Apr 14, 2023

Ukrainian victory “could help ensure Europe’s future energy security”

By Diane Francis

Ukraine has massive potential to increase domestic energy production and could eventually replace Russian energy exports to the European Union in the post-war era, says Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov.

Conflict European Union

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
Load More