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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

Sep 11, 2026

Ukrainian police are preventing Russia from turning civilians into saboteurs

By Andrii Niebytov, Clara Kaluderovic

Since spring 2024, Russia has been waging a campaign far behind the front lines featuring arson, sabotage, and terrorist attacks using Ukrainians who are recruited online, deceived, and discarded, write Andrii Niebytov and Clara Kaluderovic.

Conflict Infrastructure Protection

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2026

Russia’s escalating bombing campaign is terrorizing Ukrainian schoolchildren

By Shelby Magid

Russia's escalating bombardment of Ukrainian cities is terrorizing a generation of Ukrainian schoolchildren who are being prevented from attending classes or forced to spend days in bomb shelters, writes Shelby Magid.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2026

As Russia’s invasion falters, Putin boasts of imaginary victories

By Peter Dickinson

Putin was caught lying about imaginary Russian victories again in September. His habit of exaggerating battlefield gains reflects mounting unease over the credibility gap between the Kremlin’s superpower pretensions and his army’s underwhelming performance in Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Sep 8, 2026

Ukrainian drone strikes are disarming Russia’s energy weapon

By Ana Lejava

For years, Russia wielded its energy capacity as a weapon against its neighbors to manipulate, coerce, and control. Ukraine’s strategic bombing campaign is now turning this energy weapon against Moscow itself, writes Ana Lejava.

Central Asia Conflict

UkraineAlert

Sep 8, 2026

Putin welcomes Trump’s peace envoys but has no intention of ending the war

By Peter Dickinson

Trump’s envoys continue to discuss win-win scenarios, but Putin is playing a zero sum game. His invasion of Ukraine is not a land grab or a geopolitical real estate deal. It is an attempt to reverse the Soviet collapse and revive the Russian Empire, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2026

Putin cannot defeat NATO but he could divide and discredit the alliance

By Peter Dickinson

If Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to attack NATO, his goal will be to divide and discredit the alliance rather than actually defeating it, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2026

Russia is trying to bully Europe into abandoning Ukraine

By Maksym Beznosiuk, Will Dixon

Russia is escalating its campaign of so-called “grey zone” aggression against Europe as Putin attempts to intimidate EU leaders and deter further support for Ukraine, write Maksym Beznosiuk and Will Dixon.

Conflict Drones

UkraineAlert

Sep 1, 2026

For Putin, the ‘root cause’ of the war is the existence of independent Ukraine

By Kateryna Odarchenko

Moscow claims to be ready for peace once the "root causes" of the Russia-Ukraine War are addressed, but Putin's demands confirm that he believes the "root cause" of the war is the existence of an independent Ukraine, writes Kateryna Odarchenko.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Sep 1, 2026

Europe should already start planning for a post-Lukashenka Belarus

By Viktar Baranau

There is nothing about today’s Belarus that suggests a country on the verge of change. Nevertheless, European policymakers would be well-advised to begin preparing for a post-Lukashenka Belarus now, in order to have a plan in place when the moment of transition arrives, writes Viktar Baranau.

Belarus Conflict

UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2026

Ukrainians are not superheroes with endless powers of resilience

By Lauren Van Metre, Elena Davlikanova

By celebrating Ukrainian resilience as an almost superhuman quality, the international community risks obscuring the much less glamorous reality that Ukrainians are actually ordinary people who have endured extraordinary violence for far too long, write Lauren Van Metre and Elena Davlikanova.

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.

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UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2022

With all eyes on Ukraine, Vladimir Putin targets domestic dissidents

By Doug Klain

While international attention focuses on Vladimir Putin’s genocidal war in Ukraine, the Russian government is accelerating its brutal crackdown on any remaining expressions of anti-regime dissent on the domestic front.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 30, 2022

Goodwill gestures and de-Nazification: Decoding Putin’s Ukraine War lexicon

By Peter Dickinson

From “goodwill gestures” to “de-Nazification” and “reclaiming Russian lands,” the Atlantic Council's Peter Dickinson decodes some of the key phrases from the lexicon of Putin’s Ukraine War into plain English.

Central Asia Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s Ukrainian genocide is proceeding in plain view

By Taras Kuzio

Western policymakers should be in no doubt that the many different Russian war crimes currently taking place in Ukraine are all part of a coherent plan developed by Vladimir Putin to commit genocide.

Civil Society Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jun 28, 2022

Fear of confronting Putin will lead to Russian victory in Ukraine

By Richard D. Hooker, Jr.

So far, the war in Ukraine has taught Vladimir Putin that NATO and the EU will go to great lengths to avoid confronting him. This has grave consequences for Ukraine itself and for the wider international community.

Conflict European Union

UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2022

Odesa rejects Russia: Putin’s Ukraine War turns old allies into bitter enemies

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

Putin has long claimed to be the champion of pro-Russian Ukrainians. However, the Ukrainian regions most closely associated with pro-Kremlin sentiment have also been hardest hit by the current invasion.

Conflict Disinformation

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