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

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

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

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

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

Jun 24, 2022

Ukraine edges closer to EU dream despite horrors of Putin’s war

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine has this week secured official EU candidate status as the country seeks to advance its European integration ambitions while also defending itself against an ongoing Russian invasion.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jun 23, 2022

What Ukrainians need most

By Melinda Haring

Aid efforts in support of Ukrainians are more necessary than ever but as the Russian invasion enters its fifth month there are worrying signs that international attention is now beginning to fade.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 21, 2022

“Historic victory for women’s rights”: Ukraine ratifies Istanbul Convention

By Iryna Slavinska

Ukraine has this week ratified the Istanbul Convention in a major step toward greater protections against domestic and gender-based violence as the country seeks to make further progress in its European integration bid.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 21, 2022

What would EU candidate status mean for Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

Ukrainians expect the country to be granted official EU candidate nation status at this week’s summit of European leaders but what would this mean for Ukraine’s broader ambitions for greater Euro-Atlantic integration?

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 20, 2022

Time for EU leaders to honor Ukraine’s long fight for a European future

By Mark Temnycky

Ukraine hopes to receive official EU candidate nation status this week as the country’s long struggle for a European future enters a new phase while Ukrainian forces continue to defend against Russian invasion.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2022

Croatia’s remarkable national journey is a source of hope for Ukraine

By Vladyslav Rashkovan

Croatia’s journey from war and partial occupation by a more powerful neighbor to membership of the European Union is a source of inspiration for Ukrainians as they fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Jun 19, 2022

EU candidate status for Ukraine is the ideal response to Russian aggression

By Diane Francis

European Union leaders must decide this week whether to grant Ukraine official EU candidate nation status. This is a critically important moment for Ukrainians that will also shape the future direction of the entire continent.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2022

Unholy War: UK sanctions Putin’s Patriarch for backing Ukraine invasion

By Taras Kuzio

This week’s UK decision to impose sanctions on the head of the Russian Orthodox Church highlights international alarm over Patriarch Kirill’s enthusiastic support for Vladimir Putin’s war of imperial aggression in Ukraine.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jun 17, 2022

Why fear of provoking Putin is the most provocative policy of all

By Alyona Getmanchuk

It is now abundantly clear that cautious policies toward Russia driven by a misguided fear of provoking Putin have in fact provoked Europe’s biggest war since the days of Hitler and Stalin, argues Alyona Getmanchuk.

Conflict
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion is the world’s first full-scale cyberwar

By Yurii Shchyhol

The current Russo-Ukrainian War is a major milestone in our developing understanding of cyber security. It is now clear that the invasion unleashed by Vladimir Putin on February 24 is the world’s first full-scale cyberwar.

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

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

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

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

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
European Union

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.

Economy & Business
Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

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
Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

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

UkraineAlert

Feb 3, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine playbook echoes the traditional tactics of Russian imperialism

By Łukasz Adamski

Putin's hybrid war against Ukraine has been portrayed as innovative but Moscow’s approach also echoes more traditional tactics from the golden age of Russian imperialism and the era of Soviet expansionism.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 2, 2022

The new Ukraine needs a new census

By Andrew D’Anieri

Ukraine has not conducted a national census in more than two decades and must address this issue in order to provide up-to-date information reflecting the dramatic changes taking place within Ukrainian society.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions
Load More