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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

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

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2025

A Putin-friendly peace deal would be disastrous for global security

By Ihor Smeshko

As US President Donald Trump announces the start of negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, Ihor Smeshko warns that a Putin-friendly compromise peace would have catastrophic consequences for the future of international security.

Conflict International Norms

UkraineAlert

Feb 12, 2025

Europe must prepare to defend itself in an increasingly multipolar world

By Mykola Bielieskov

With the United States looking to pivot away from Europe to Asia and a revisionist Russia openly embracing an expansionist agenda, European leaders must prepare to defend themselves in an increasingly multipolar world, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2025

Can Russia be held accountable for the crime of aggression in Ukraine?

By Kristina Hook

In early February, a coalition of 37 countries announced “significant progress” toward the establishment of a special tribunal for the international crime of aggression against Ukraine, writes Kristina Hook.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2025

How Ukraine’s shadow army fights back against the Russian occupation

By Omar Ashour

Ukraine’s resistance movement has evolved significantly in the eleven years since the onset of Russian military aggression, with a dramatic escalation following the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, writes Omar Ashour.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2025

Ukraine can play a key role in Europe’s future energy architecture

By Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the need for Europe to pursue greater energy flexibility and connectivity, writes Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2025

Russian foreign minister compares Trump’s ‘America First’ to Nazi propaganda

By Peter Dickinson

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has compared US President Donald Trump’s “America First” concept to Nazi propaganda as the Kremlin continues its long tradition of exploiting the trauma of World War II to demonize opponents, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 4, 2025

Russia’s war against the West will continue until Putin tastes defeat

By Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is part of a far larger war against the West. If he succeeds in Ukraine, Putin aims to destroy the existing rules-based world order and usher in a new era dominated by a handful of great powers, writes Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

UkraineAlert

Jan 30, 2025

Ukrainian Holocaust survivor: Russia is waging ‘war of extermination’

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainian Holocaust survivor Roman Schwarzman has implored Germany to increase support for Ukraine in the fight against Russia’s “war of extermination,” writes Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society Conflict

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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.

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

Feb 20, 2022

Putin’s self-defeating war has succeeded in uniting Ukrainians

By Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland

Vladimir Putin’s eight-year war against Ukraine has had a profound impact on Ukrainian identity and done more for national unity than any other single factor since Ukraine regained independence three decades ago.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2022

NATO must seize the current strategic opportunity in the Black Sea

By Harlan Ullman

The Ukraine crisis has underlined the need for NATO to develop a coherent Black Sea Strategy that will allow the alliance to counter the growing regional threat posed by Vladimir Putin's resurgent Russia.

Conflict Maritime Security

UkraineAlert

Feb 19, 2022

Will there be a “Munich Moment” in the Russia-Ukraine crisis?

By Thomas S. Warrick

A full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine could yet be prevented via a "Munich moment" bringing together Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden to strike a last-minute geopolitical deal, writes Thomas Warrick.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2022

Putin’s absurd genocide claims cannot hide his war crimes in Ukraine

By Olexander Scherba

Russian President Vladimir Putin likes to claim that an anti-Russian genocide is underway in Ukraine but in reality he is upset by the historical loss of influence suffered by representatives of the Russian state.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2022

What would constitute victory for Putin in his war with Ukraine?

By David Batashvili

In order to achieve his long-term foreign policy goal of subjugating a hostile Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin must militarily seize and occupy a large portion of what is the largest country wholly in Europe.

Conflict National Security

UkraineAlert

Feb 16, 2022

Putin has seriously wounded Ukraine’s economy without firing a single shot

By Anders Åslund

Even without physically invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is already causing the country great economic losses. The West cannot stand by and watch this happen, explains Anders Åslund.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Feb 15, 2022

The view from Ukraine: What happens if war breaks out tomorrow?

By Vitaliy Deynega

Vitaliy Deynega says Ukraine has never been more united or able to defend itself and argues that Putin's threatened invasion is a gesture of despair by an enemy who cannot accept he has already lost.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Feb 14, 2022

Russia may dodge sanctions by using Putin proxies to invade Ukraine

By Pavlo Kukhta, Viktoria Podhorna, Mykyta Poturaev, Yehor Chernev

With Russia facing the possibility of crushing sanctions over the threatened invasion of Ukraine, Putin may prefer to deploy hybrid forces made up of regular Russian troops and mercenaries posing as Ukrainian separatists.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2022

Free trade and drones: Turkey and Ukraine strengthen strategic ties

By Christopher Isajiw

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Kyiv in early February for a visit that underlined the deepening strategic partnership between the two Black Sea nations.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2022

Ukraine Crisis: Deterring Putin is expensive but much cheaper than war

By Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Deterring Putin from launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine is an expensive business, but it is infinitely cheaper than the price the international community will have to pay if Russia unleashes a major European war.

Conflict Economic Sanctions