Editor’s note: This is issue 17 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from March 3–9, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Benchmarks and
Editor’s note: This is issue 16 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from Feb. 24–March 2, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Benchmarks
Editor’s note: This is issue 15 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from Feb. 17–Feb. 23, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Benchmarks
Ukraine's Armed Forces are transitioning to a new organizational structure intended to modernize the army, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 3.
In a small town in Kyiv Oblast, 10th grader Alina Marynenko just beat her entire class to be the most accurate shooter on an AK-47 simulator. "Fourteen out of fifteen! I set a record! We beat the boys!" Marynenko yells out to her class. Marynenko and her classmates fired the
Ukraine’s lengthy efforts to clean up its weapons procurement are in danger of being unwound as the Defense Ministry strangleholds the Defense Procurement Agency, say anti-corruption activists and lawmakers. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced on Jan. 24 that he would not renew the contract of Maryna Bezrukova, the head
Editor’s note: This is issue 4 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from Dec. 2-Dec. 8, 2024. This newsletter was until recently titled “Ukrainian Economy in Brief." The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial
Editor’s note: This is issue 2 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from Nov. 18-24, 2024. This newsletter was until recently titled “Ukrainian Economy in Brief." The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs.
The individual points were focused on the country's unity, front-line situation, arms, finances, energy, security, communities, human capital, cultural sovereignty, and veterans, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on his Telegram channel.
The European Commission has recently praised Ukraine’s progress on critical reforms, including those related to the rule of law, judicial system, and anti-corruption measures, though it emphasizes that further reforms are still required.
The legislation, approved by the parliament last month, was pushed through after prolonged pressure from Western partners and Ukrainian business associations. The reform is also a necessary step toward Kyiv's accession to the EU.
At a time when state coffers are starving for money to fund Ukraine’s survival, illegal smuggling is costing the country billions of dollars a year in lost tax payments. Through bribery or lying, smugglers avoid an estimated $2.4 to $3 billion in customs payments each year as they
The NATO statement came days after Umerov said the ministry was planning to merge the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) and the State Rear Operator (DOT) into one agency.
Gizo Uglava, the second-in-command at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), has been fired following a probe into his alleged pressure on a whistleblower, the bureau said on Sept. 3. Semen Kryvonos, head of the NABU, dismissed his first deputy chief Uglava for violating a public servant's oath, ethics
The future of Ukraine's top anti-corruption agency hung in the balance as its second-in-command lashed out at his boss after a disciplinary commission recommended firing or reprimanding him. Gizo Uglava, first deputy chief of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), continued to deny accusations of wrongdoing as he claimed
The whistleblower, whose name is unknown, revealed information on the NABU allegedly leaking case material to suspects in a high-profile corruption investigation, and warning them about upcoming searches.
The European Commission is assessing a draft law that proposes controversial changes to Ukraine's criminal code, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna told Interfax Ukraine on July 19.
An internal probe into alleged pressure on a whistleblower at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine will be completed this week, Semen Kryvonos, chief of the anti-graft agency also known by its acronym NABU, told a parliamentary committee probing the affair. "The deadline (for the probe into the pressure on
Ukraine faces yet another test in its efforts to meet conditions for joining the European Union – the creation of a credible and trustworthy Constitutional Court. The ongoing selection of new Constitutional Court judges under new rules is in its final stages – the judges have already been chosen and need to
Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote that the law will help introduce a number of changes to help university students have more flexibility and autonomy in higher education.
The EU is set to approve Ukraine's reform plan in May, unlocking an additional 1.9 billion euros ($2.04 billion) in financial aid during late spring.
Ukraine is one of the few among the group of 29 countries evaluated by Freedom House in the Nations in Transit 2024 report that is moving successfully toward democracy amid growing anti-democratic trends.
Ukrainian military personnel will soon have access to a military ombudsman, ensuring they can report violations of their rights, the Defense Ministry announced on April 3.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal's income declaration for 2023 revealed his earnings consisted of a Hr 974,845 ($25,000) salary, while his wife and daughter earned Hr 7,866,994 ($200,800), Ukrinform reported on March 30.
European Council urged to "swiftly adopt" the negotiating frameworks for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova after the first day of the Euro Summit on March 21.
"This is an important step for the implementation of reforms and financial stability on Ukraine's path to the EU," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on X.
The proposed frameworks detail the "principles governing the accession negotiations, (the) substance of the negotiations, and (the) negotiations procedure."
When European leaders agreed to Ukraine’s accession talks in December 2023, the historic move was hailed in Kyiv as a recognition of years of struggle to get closer to the bloc since the EuroMaidan Revolution. The agreement came after a European Commission decision in November 2023 recommending talks begin
Ukraine’s State Investigation Bureau destroyed secret materials in several major criminal investigations immediately after Russia launched its all-out invasion on Feb. 24, the Prosecutor General’s Office said, as cited on July 8 by Iryna Romaliyska, a journalist at Prague-based television channel Current Time TV. The Prosecutor General’s
It looks like Ukraine's military can soon expect a new goodie to stay warm in the nasty weather. The Armed Forces are currently completing field tests of new soldier boots for wintertime. These are expected to outmatch standard-issue models produced by Ukrainian company Talan, a major contractor for the military.
