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War in Ukraine

Three years on

Three 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

UkraineAlert Feb 4, 2025

Russia’s war against the West will continue until Putin tastes defeat

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is part of a far larger war against the West. If he succeeds in Ukraine, Putin aims to destroy the existing rules-based world order and usher in a new era dominated by a handful of great powers, writes Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

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War in Ukraine

Inflection Points Feb 21, 2025

The week that shook Europe—and the historic test ahead

By Frederick Kempe

Trump has an opportunity to cement his place in history and preserve the hard-won gains of the post–World War II era. But any perceived or actual sellout to Russia’s despot would leave an indelible stain US global leadership.
Conflict Europe & Eurasia
War in Ukraine

New Atlanticist Feb 20, 2025

What Europeans think of Trump’s approach to Ukraine (and what they might do next)

By Atlantic Council experts

European leaders are waking up to calls from the Trump administration to take the lead on security for Ukraine. Atlantic Council experts share what that might look like from Berlin to Vilnius.
Conflict Europe & Eurasia
War in Ukraine

UkraineAlert Feb 20, 2025

Ukrainians are proudly democratic but resoundingly reject wartime elections

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s fight for democracy has been at the heart of the country’s struggle against the past two decades of escalating Russian aggression, but Ukrainians overwhelmingly reject the idea of staging dangerous wartime elections before peace is secured, writes Peter Dickinson.
Civil Society Conflict
War in Ukraine

Issue Brief Feb 20, 2025

Issue brief: A NATO strategy for countering Russia

By Ian Brzezinski, Ryan Arick

Russia poses the most direct and growing threat to NATO member states’ security. This threat now includes the war in Ukraine, militarization in the Arctic, hybrid warfare, and arms control violations. Despite NATO’s military and economic superiority, a unified and effective strategy is essential to counter Russia’s aggression.
Cybersecurity Defense Technologies
War in Ukraine

Issue Brief Feb 13, 2025

To secure Taiwan, the United States must first secure Ukraine

By Brian Kerg

US defense priorities appear to be at a crossroads. Can the United States materially sustain Ukraine in its fight with Russia while preparing for a possible fight with China in defense of Taiwan?
China Conflict

FEATURED EVENTS

Online Event Fri, February 21, 2025 • 11:00 am ET

War and peace: The state of the battlefield and Trump’s diplomacy in Ukraine

The Eurasia Center discusses the state of the war and the prospects for Trump’s diplomacy to achieve a sustainable peace deal.

Conflict Europe & Eurasia Politics & Diplomacy Russia

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.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Online Event Fri, May 16, 2025 • 10:00 am ET

Lucian Kim on “Putin’s Revenge” and Russia’s war on Ukraine
Europe & Eurasia Human Rights Politics & Diplomacy Ukraine

PAST EVENTS

Online Event Fri, February 21, 2025 • 11:00 am ET

War and peace: The state of the battlefield and Trump’s diplomacy in Ukraine
Conflict Europe & Eurasia Politics & Diplomacy Russia
Online Event Tue, February 18, 2025 • 11:30 am ET

How long can Russia sustain its aggression in Ukraine?
Conflict Economic Sanctions Europe & Eurasia International Markets
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Content

UkraineAlert

Apr 29, 2025

Putin announces ceasefire to protect Moscow parade from Ukrainian attack

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin is now so emboldened by Western weakness that he believes he can personally pause the war to host a military parade on Red Square before resuming his invasion three days later, writes Peter Dickinson.

Brazil China

UkraineAlert

Apr 29, 2025

Kyiv accuses China of deepening involvement in Russia’s Ukraine war

By Katherine Spencer

As US-led efforts continue to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Kyiv has recently accused China of deepening its involvement in Moscow’s invasion, writes Katherine Spencer.

China Conflict

EnergySource

Apr 29, 2025

Can Nord Stream really rise from the dead? 

By Alan Riley

Despite recent discussions between Moscow and Washington over restarting the Nord Stream pipelines, legal, financial, and political hurdles make reopening them improbable. Multimillion dollar claims against Gazprom along with US stakes in the European LNG market are likely to severely limit support for Russian gas flows to the EU.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

EnergySource

Apr 28, 2025

If Russian gas returns to Europe, it must go through Ukraine

By Sergiy Makogon

The resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe as part of a potential cease-fire agreement in Ukraine is under discussion, but any such flows would need to transit through Ukraine rather than Nord Stream or other routes. To safeguard regional stability, the EU, Ukraine, and the US must enforce strict safeguards to avoid renewed dependency and prevent Russia from once again weaponizing its energy exports.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Apr 25, 2025

Russia was spared from Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs. This should change.

By Olivia Yanchik

The volume of US-Russia bilateral trade, although low, is still markedly higher than that of other countries that have fallen under the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs.

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 24, 2025

Ukraine’s innovative army can help Europe defend itself against Russia

By David Kirichenko

Faced with an isolationist US and an expansionist Russia, Ukrainians and their European partners are increasingly acknowledging that their collective future security depends on closer cooperation, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict Defense Industry

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2025

Dispatch from the Kaliningrad border: Russia is fighting a long battle of attrition with the West

By Tressa Guenov

Russia has repeatedly shown itself to be a threat to its neighbors and hostile to their ambitions for closer ties with the United States and the rest of Europe.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

UkraineAlert

Apr 24, 2025

A pro-Putin peace deal in Ukraine would destabilize the entire world

By Elena Davlikanova, Lesia Ogryzko

Handing Russia victory in Ukraine may temporarily create the illusion of peace, but in reality it would set the stage for a dangerous new era of international insecurity marked by militarization, nuclear proliferation, and wars of aggression, write Elena Davlikanova and Lesia Ogryzko.

Conflict International Norms

In the News

Apr 24, 2025

Soofer and Massa discuss homeland missile defense on Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory speaker series

By Atlantic Council

On March 6, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Center for GlobalSecurity Research featured Forward Defense senior fellow Robert Soofer and Forward Defense deputy director Mark Massa in their ongoing speaker series. In the dialogue, they discuss the future of homeland missile defense, specifically in reference to their co-authored report, “‘First, we will defend the homeland’: The case […]

China Defense Policy

MENASource

Apr 24, 2025

Can Russia’s defense sector break through in the Gulf?

By Jean-Loup Samaan

Despite speculation, the context is even less favorable today for the Russian defense industry to boom in the region than a decade ago.

Middle East Russia
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