The best newsletters about Ukraine

Timothy Garton Ash's newsletter offers personal and analytical reflections from a European 'historian of the present' on current events, history, and European politics. Readers get essays tying contemporary issues like Russian aggression toward Ukraine, French student protests, and tributes to figures like Adam Michnik to deeper historical context.

Persuasion is a community newsletter covering politics, culture, and the defense of free societies, including first-person war reporting from Ukraine, conversations with public intellectuals, and investigative pieces. Readers get analysis of current events, perspectives on reading and AI's cultural effects, and firsthand accounts from frontline-adjacent civilians.

Anne Applebaum's personal newsletter offers long-form commentary on US foreign policy toward Russia and Ukraine, transatlantic politics, corruption and democracy. Readers get her sharp, sourced analysis of Trump administration decisions and their conflicts of interest.

The UnPopulist is a political newsletter defending liberal democracy against authoritarianism in the U.S. and abroad. Recent issues cover U.S. policy toward Ukraine, alleged executive pressure on Rep. Ilhan Omar, and book-length analysis of populism in Europe.

A personal essay newsletter by an American writer living in Ukraine, exploring what Americans can learn from Ukrainians about hope, civic life and resilience, including reporting on the Russian capture of Ukrainian children. Each issue pairs first-person reflection with interviews and comparisons to places like Maine and Ukrainian community projects.

Public Notice is a daily-ish independent newsletter offering sharp, opinionated coverage of US politics and media, with a strong anti-Trump editorial stance. Readers get pointed commentary on executive power, foreign policy toward Ukraine and Europe, and the personnel and conduct of the Trump administration.

A retired trial lawyer's newsletter that cross-examines political figures and explains the legal and policy background behind current headlines, with a strongly critical stance toward the Trump administration's handling of Russia and Ukraine. Readers get argumentative, jury-style breakdowns of sanctions, military technology and geopolitics.

A long-running newsletter by Phillips O'Brien offering a critical, strongly opinionated take on US policy toward Russia and Ukraine under Trump, with weekly updates and reality-check essays. Readers get a pointed, partisan analysis of sanctions, alliances and the front-line war.

Nashe Pravo is a daily-style English newsletter giving Western readers a Ukrainian perspective on the war, covering energy infrastructure damage, diplomacy and military intelligence. Issues combine reported news with analysis of how the conflict affects Ukraine's partners and the wider region.

A newsletter from the Renew Democracy Initiative offering political analysis of Western responses to Russia, Ukraine and authoritarian threats, with a strong focus on US policy under Trump. It pairs op-ed-style commentary by Garry Kasparov and others with podcast interviews and calls for specific policy action.

A weekly news briefing from New Eastern Europe covering politics, security and economics across Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Ukraine, with top-stories roundups, an expert opinion piece and a regional opportunities section. Readers get a digest of the week's regional developments plus analytical commentary and event and job listings.

Scott Ritter's Substack offers geopolitical commentary and analysis, often critical of Western policy toward Russia and Ukraine, alongside video episodes like Trump Watch and The Russia House. Readers get a strongly opinionated, former-weapons-inspector perspective on Middle East, European and US-Russia affairs.

Glenn Diesen's Substack publishes video interviews and podcast-style conversations with geopolitical commentators on US decline, Russia, Ukraine, NATO and the EU. Each issue is mostly a short description plus a link-heavy support and merchandise footer, with the substance delivered through the embedded discussion.

Simplicius's Garden of Knowledge is a Substack newsletter offering pro-Russian-leaning geopolitical commentary on the Ukraine war, western diplomacy and conflict events. Readers get a running take on peace negotiations, Ukrainian strikes inside Russia and reporting-based claims about US and European policy toward Kyiv.

A daily progressive news and commentary podcast, delivered via Substack, that recaps political events such as Trump administration actions, Ukraine policy and midterm campaigns. The newsletter mostly promotes the show, its bonus episodes and membership offers rather than offering original analysis.

A daily-style political news roundup focused on Trump administration actions, Ukraine, Russia policy, Elon Musk, and the 2026 midterm elections, written from a strongly anti-Trump perspective. Each issue pairs short updates with a call for paid subscriptions and promised investigations.

A partisan progressive political newsletter by Cliff Schecter and David Shuster that attacks Trump's economic and foreign policy claims and promotes paid subscriptions. Readers get opinionated commentary on current US politics, with much of the substance behind a paywall.

Dean Blundell's Substack is a partisan daily commentary covering Russia's war in Ukraine, Trump's remarks about it, and Alberta's separatism referendum, written in a combative, profanity-laced voice. Readers get strong opinions, interviews such as a live talk with Ken Harbaugh, and reactions to current politics rather than deep reporting.

A daily news-headline podcast companion that lists the day's US political and legal stories, each linked to sources, plus guest interviews with commentators and judges. Readers get a fast digest of mainly Trump-administration and congressional developments, framed from a progressive perspective.

A Substack from former FBI counterintelligence official Frank Figliuzzi, mostly promoting live video conversations with guests on national security, Russia policy and the Trump administration. Issues are largely show announcements and chapter listings, with little written analysis in the excerpts.

Roger Stone's Substack presents hard-right political commentary, arguing against Ukraine aid, attacking the Democratic left, and framing Muslim population growth in Texas as a cultural threat. The posts are polemical and built on selective claims rather than reporting or original analysis a reader could not find in mainstream sources.