Ukraine: Economic and Political Overview
Since he was elected President in April 2019, former actor and television producer Volodymyr Zelensky promised to prioritise two issues highlighted during his campaign, corruption and the conflict in eastern Ukraine (Donbass). The absolute majority obtained at the legislative elections of July 2019 allowed him to launch a reform program but with many challenges, as illustrated by the political crisis that emerged in October 2020. A controversial ruling by the Ukrainian Constitutional Court cancelled key anti-corruption legislation, notably the requirement for government officials to file e-declarations of their assets. This led Ukraine's main donors, including the IMF, to suspend their funding. In its fight against corruption, President Zelensky suspended the country’s chief justice and removed judges from their offices, exceeding his powers and violating the Constitution. Voices expressed their concerns over the changing nature of his regime. However, in 2022, internal divisions were put aside and as Ukraine was united around the political and military goals to restore its territorial integrity and the legally recognised borders of 1991, Zelensky enjoyed broad popular support (Chatham House).
Indeed, the situation escalated considerably since the Russian and Ukrainian presidents met in Paris in December 2019 regarding the Donbass issue. A tripartite meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the EU took place in Minsk in December 2019, leading to the renewal for five years of the contract binding Gazprom and Naftogaz governing the transit of gas from Russia to the EU by Ukraine. However, Russia completed in mid-2021 the construction of its Nord Stream 2 pipeline project linking Russia and Germany and doubling the capacities of Nord Stream 1, which would cause revenue losses for Ukraine of around 3 billion USD per year. Germany warned that the pipeline would not be allowed to come into service in the event of a new escalation in Ukraine, and following Russia’s large scale military invasion of the country launched at the end of February 2022, Nord Stream 2 certification was withhold. Ukraine's government declared martial law, mobilised its armed forces and called on citizens to resist (The Economist Intelligence Unit). Western countries adopted an unprecedented range of sanctions against Russia and provided significant financial and humanitarian support, training and weapons to Ukraine. The recapture of Kherson in November was a major victory for Ukraine, that bolstered military and public morale. Russia responded to the setbacks by mobilizing additional troops and destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure. At the end of December 2022, Zelensky stepped up diplomacy over Russia’s invasion of his country, and managed to secure more funding and strategic arms. The decision of the USA, France and Germany to send battle tanks to Ukraine marked a new stage in the war, and more escalation from Russia can be expected.
The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House
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Latest Update: September 2023
