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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

Russia may dodge sanctions by using Putin proxies to invade Ukraine

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
Russia may dodge sanctions by using Putin proxies to invade Ukraine

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
Russia may dodge sanctions by using Putin proxies to invade Ukraine

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

Nov 20, 2022

Putin’s invasion has strengthened the case for Ukrainian NATO membership

By Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion has highlighted the dangers of allowing Ukraine to exist in a geopolitical gray zone and strengthened arguments for the country’s post-war NATO integration, writes Taras Kuzio.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Nov 17, 2022

Kherson euphoria highlights the folly of a premature peace with Putin

By Peter Dickinson

Footage of the euphoric scenes in liberated Kherson should be compulsory viewing for anyone who still believes in the possibility of a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia, argues Peter Dickinson.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Nov 16, 2022

Ukrainian victory can deal a decisive blow to Russian imperialism

By Danylo Lubkivsky

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is an attempt to drag the world back to an era of imperial aggression. The best way to make sure he fails is to provide Ukraine with the arms and financial support it needs to win the war.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2022

Odesa rejects Catherine the Great as Putin’s invasion makes Russia toxic

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

Work is underway to dismantle a controversial monument to Russian Empress Catherine the Great in Ukrainian Black Sea port city Odesa as Vladimir Putin’s invasion forces Ukrainians to rethink historic ties with Russia.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Nov 14, 2022

Ukraine needs urgent help to counter Putin’s energy infrastructure attacks

By Aura Sabadus

Ukraine urgently needs international support in order to counter Moscow’s campaign of airstrikes against the country’s energy infrastructure and prevent Putin from freezing Ukrainians into submission this winter.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Nov 10, 2022

US national interests are best served by stopping Vladimir Putin in Ukraine

By Steven Pifer

As Ukraine defends itself against a full-scale Russian invasion, continued American support is not only the morally correct position but also in the national interests of the United States, writes Steven Pifer.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions

UkraineAlert

Nov 10, 2022

Battle of Kherson: Russian retreat confirms Putin is losing the war

By Andriy Zagorodnyuk

The war is still far from over, but Ukraine’s victory in the Battle of Kherson may eventually come to be seen as one of the key turning points in the defeat of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, writes Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2022

Putin suffers humiliating defeat as Russia announces Kherson retreat

By Peter Dickinson

Russia’s retreat from Kherson is a turning point in the invasion of Ukraine and a personal humiliation for Vladimir Putin just weeks after he declared that the city had joined the Russian Federation “forever.”

Conflict
Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Nov 8, 2022

NATO, Nazis, Satanists: Putin is running out of excuses for his imperial war

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin has blamed his invasion on everything from NATO expansion to Nazis and Satanists. In reality, he is waging an old-fashioned war of imperial expansion with the end goal of extinguishing Ukrainian statehood.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Nov 7, 2022

The international community must prepare for a post-Putin Russia

By Francis M. O’Donnell

With little hope of a meaningful settlement as long as Vladimir Putin remains in power, the international community should seek pathways to a lasting peace with a future post-Putin Russia, writes Francis O’Donnell.

Civil Society
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
Russia may dodge sanctions by using Putin proxies to invade Ukraine

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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Russia may dodge sanctions by using Putin proxies to invade Ukraine

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
Russia may dodge sanctions by using Putin proxies to invade Ukraine

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

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

UkraineAlert

Feb 10, 2022

Black Sea blockade: Ukraine accuses Russia of major maritime escalation

By Peter Dickinson

While the world watches Ukraine's land borders with Russia and Belarus for signs of Putin's threatened full-scale invasion, Moscow may be in the process of opening a maritime front with a Black Sea blockade.

Economic Sanctions
Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Feb 10, 2022

Defending Ukraine on the energy front

By Olga Bielkova

The idea that we are stronger together has long been a guiding principle in Ukraine-EU relations. Bolstering our shared defenses against Russian aggression on the energy front is an important step towards this vision.

Energy & Environment
Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Feb 8, 2022

With Putin poised to invade, Zelenskyy must prioritize Ukrainian unity

By Kira Rudik

With Russian troops poised to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it is time for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to put personal rivalries to one side and unite the country's political forces, says Kira Rudik.

Conflict
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 8, 2022

Ukraine prepares to unplug from Russian electricity amid invasion fears

By Aura Sabadus

Amid mounting fears of a full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine remains determined to proceed with a planned trial disconnection from the Russian electricity grid in order to progress towards European energy integration.

Conflict
Energy Markets & Governance

UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2022

Still not too late for Germany to honor its commitment to Ukraine

By Eugene Czolij

Germany says a sense of "historical responsibility" over Nazi crimes prevents Berlin from adopting a firmer stand against Russia. Many in Ukraine ask why this logic does not also apply to the millions of Ukrainian WWII victims.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions

UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2022

US delegation: America stands with Ukraine against Russian threat

By Eurasia Center

The Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center organized a delegation to visit Kyiv on January 30-February 1 planned around a major public event organized in concert with Yalta European Strategy and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, a partner of the Eurasia Center.

Conflict
European Union

UkraineAlert

Feb 4, 2022

Russia demands security guarantees but what Putin really wants is Ukraine

By Iulian Romanyshyn

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims to seek security guarantees and an end to NATO expansion but the crisis he has recently engineered is really all about reasserting Kremlin control over Ukraine, says Iulian Romanyshyn.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions
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