Content

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

Inflection Points

Jan 20, 2026

At Davos, Trump’s 19th-century instincts will collide with 21st-century uncertainty

By Frederick Kempe

The Greenland dispute has turned the World Economic Forum in Davos into the epicenter of transatlantic discord.

Conflict
Economy & Business

Dispatches

Jan 16, 2026

Why Israel is responding to protests in Iran with caution

By Danny Citrinowicz  

Israel might find itself in danger if the current regime survives and stabilizes, or if the regime is replaced by hardliners.

Conflict
Iran

UkraineAlert

Jan 15, 2026

Ukraine’s enhanced fortifications are increasing the cost of Putin’s invasion

By David Kirichenko

As Ukraine focuses on preventing further Russian advances, Kyiv is investing in a major upgrade of the country’s defenses. This has resulted in what The Economist recently described as a “massive fortification system” covering much of the Ukrainian battlefield, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict
Defense Technologies

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

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2026

Putin is weaponizing winter as Russia tries to freeze Ukraine into submission

By Peter Dickinson

Russia is “going all in” to destroy Ukraine’s power system, Ukrainian Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk said on January 13 following the latest in a series of major bombardments targeting civilian energy infrastructure in cities across the country.

Conflict
Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2026

Putin cannot accept any peace deal that secures Ukrainian statehood

By William Dixon, Maksym Beznosiuk

Putin has no obvious route to victory in 2026 but cannot accept a compromise peace as any settlement that safeguarded Ukrainian independence would be seen in Moscow as an historic Russian defeat, write William Dixon and Maksym Beznosiuk.

Conflict
Nationalism

MENASource

Jan 13, 2026

Eight questions (and expert answers) on the SDF’s withdrawal from Syria’s Aleppo

By Atlantic Council experts

Our experts unpack why violence erupted, what it means for Kurdish safety and integration in Syria, and how Washington is engaging.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Jan 11, 2026

Belarus hosts nuclear-capable Russian missiles despite talk of US thaw

By Mercedes Sapuppo

Russia's recent delivery of nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles to Belarus is a very deliberate act of nuclear saber-rattling that underlines Belarus's continued role in Putin’s war machine as Minsk seeks to improve ties with the US, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Belarus
Conflict

Dispatches

Jan 9, 2026

Neither free nor fair: What Myanmar’s ‘sham’ elections mean for the country and its neighbors

By Rudabeh Shahid

The ongoing election staged by the ruling junta in Myanmar is structured less as a democratic exercise and more as a managed performance of legitimacy.

Conflict
Elections

Experts