War in Ukraine

Experts from across the Atlantic Council are assessing the consequences of Russia’s February 2022 invasion, including what it means for Ukraine’s sovereignty, Europe’s security, and the United States’ leadership.

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War in Ukraine

Four years on

Four years since the invasion, Atlantic Council experts are assessing the state of the war and the prospects for peace—and forecasting what the future holds for Ukraine, Russia, NATO, the United States.

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War in Ukraine

Dispatches Aug 21, 2026

What it feels like under a Russian missile attack, and what the US can do about it

An Atlantic Council fellow shares her first-hand account of being under attack in Kyiv as ballistic missiles struck.

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War in Ukraine

Dispatches Sep 1, 2026

Where and how Putin could expand his war in Europe beyond Ukraine

By Atlantic Council experts

The CIA director’s recent unannounced visit to Moscow has raised speculation about Russian plans to escalate attacks.
Conflict Eastern Europe
War in Ukraine

UkraineAlert Aug 13, 2026

Russia’s escalating bombardment of Ukraine is not ‘retaliation’

By Zahar Hryniv

Russia is attempting to portray the bombardment of Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure as “retaliation” for Ukraine’s own efforts to defend itself against Putin’s invasion. This “retaliation” narrative is dangerously misleading, writes Zahar Hryniv.
Conflict Defense Technologies
War in Ukraine

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
War in Ukraine

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
War in Ukraine

UkraineAlert Aug 25, 2026

A cultural renaissance is reshaping national identity in wartime Ukraine

By Davis Richardson

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is fueling a defiant cultural outpouring that is redefining and strengthening Ukrainian national identity in ways that challenge centuries of Kremlin imperialism, writes Davis Richardson.
Civil Society Conflict

WATCH

“Putin’s endgame: The stakes beyond Ukraine,” an Atlantic Council documentary

Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine may be closer to its end than its beginning. How it ends will matter not only for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe and the wider world. The first-ever documentary from the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, “Putin’s endgame: The stakes beyond Ukraine,” discusses the threat of Russian aggression beyond Ukraine and the dangers it poses to US interests today and in the future.

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Content

New Atlanticist

Jul 9, 2009

Iran, Russia and U.S. Nonproliferation Efforts

By Brendan Boundy

Despite the apparent failure of the “reset button” for U.S.-Russian relations, the nuclear arms agreement signed by Obama and Medvedev will significantly reduce each country’s respective nuclear weapons arsenals and strengthen U.S.-led efforts to address a far more pressing issue: Iran’s continuing uranium enrichment and the concomitant threat of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

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New Atlanticist

Jul 7, 2009

Obama and Medvedev (Re)set Arms Limits

By Andrew Kessinger

Yesterday’s highly anticipated meeting between Presidents Obama and Medvedev, while hardly the so-called “reset” moment in U.S.-Russian relations, does shift the tone.

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New Atlanticist

Jul 7, 2009

Russia Summit Achieves Little, As Expected

By James Joyner

Naval War College professor Nick Gvosdev, a contributing editor at the Atlantic Council, argued in advance of the trip that “Despite all the promises about a ‘reset’ in the U.S.-Russia relationship, the Obama administration still seems to be following a script crafted by its predecessor” but predicted that the visit would be “symbolically triumphal.”  He […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Jul 6, 2009

Russia and the West: Mindset, not Reset

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

When President Obama arrives in Moscow today for his much-anticipated summit with President Medvedev, he should temper his expectations. A dramatic improvement in the West’s relationship with Russia is unlikely to take place unless the “reset” moment is accompanied by a change in mindset from both parties.

Russia

NATOSource

Jul 5, 2009

Ukraine’s president rules out hosting NATO bases

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti: Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said on Sunday that Ukraine will not host foreign military bases, and its territory will not be used against Russia, when the country joins NATO. “Ukraine guarantees that there will be no foreign soldiers of any bloc or any country. This is implied by the Constitution of Ukraine […]

Ukraine

NATOSource

Jun 23, 2009

U.S.-led “Sea Breeze” Combined Exercise Canceled in Ukraine

By the Jamestown Foundation

From the Jamestown Foundation: On June 22 Ukrainian Naval Headquarters confirmed unofficially that the country’s political deadlock has doomed the multinational military exercise Sea Breeze-2009. According to the Ukrainian headquarters sources, the U.S. Armed Forces European Command (EUCOM) and the U.S. Sixth Fleet notified Ukraine’s defense ministry on June 17 officially that foreign military units […]

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NATOSource

Jun 17, 2009

NATOSource: State Department view of the future of Ukraine and Georgia in NATO

By U.S. Department of State

Statement by Philip H. Gordon, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, before the Subcommittee on Europe of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. From U.S. Department of State: “The United States strongly supports the right of both Ukraine and Georgia to pursue their membership aspirations in NATO. To achieve NATO membership, both countries […]

Ukraine United States and Canada

NATOSource

Jun 17, 2009

U.S. expert says Ukraine’s joining NATO won’t guarantee support in case of military intervention

By Kyiv Post

From Kyiv Post: “A senior fellow at the Cato Institute (Washington, the United States), Doug Bandow, has said that Ukraine’s joining NATO will not guarantee the country full-scale protection in the case of any military attack. ‘The fundamental question during Ukraine’s accession to NATO is how much such an action would really ensure the country’s […]

Ukraine United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jun 11, 2009

Why Obama Can’t Reset Relations with Putin’s Russia

By Alexander Motyl

U.S. President Barack Obama wants to “reset” America’s relations with Russia, but the nature of the Russian regime won’t permit much change. Obama can easily reject the style and correct the mistakes of his predecessor, George W. Bush, but doing so will not alter the fact that Putin’s Russia must engage in imperialist rhetoric and […]

Russia United States and Canada

NATOSource

Jun 5, 2009

Azerbaijan: Baku Can Leapfrog over Ukraine, Georgia for NATO Membership

By eurasianet.org

From eurasianet.org: “A senior source within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Joint Force Command has told EurasiaNet that Azerbaijan stands a better chance of gaining NATO membership in the near future than either Georgia or Ukraine.‘Earlier, the perception in both Brussels [North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] headquarters] and Baku was that Georgia should integrate into […]

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