When President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked last week that elections are impossible before the end of martial law, he was not merely stating a legal technicality. He was intervening in a growing international debate—fueled by commentary in Washington and recent reporting in the Financial Times—suggesting that Ukraine ought to demonstrate herContinue Reading
In an apartment block in Kharkiv, Serhiy Zhadan counts what remains: empty flats, ageing neighbours, families scattered by war — and a building that, after each strike, “falls silent” as heat, water, and light vanish. In ten theses delivered at the Munich Security Conference on 12 February 2026, he arguesContinue Reading
Ukraine’s former energy and justice minister, Herman Halushchenko, has been charged with money laundering and participation in a criminal organization as part of Operation Midas, after anti-corruption detectives detained him trying to cross the border on the night of 14-15 February, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) announced on 16 February.Continue Reading
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko—who spearheaded last summer’s crackdown on anti-corruption agencies in the name of fighting “Russian influence”—has direct family ties to Russia himself, as do three of his five deputies, an investigation by the Mezha Anti-Corruption Center found. The investigation shows the “Russian trace” ran through his ownContinue Reading
Hours after anonymous Presidential Office sources denied a Financial Times report that he planned to announce elections and a referendum on 24 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weighed in personally—and went further than his aides. “By the way, they do not link elections with security guarantees.” In written responses to UkrainianContinue Reading
Ukraine’s central bank cut its key interest rate for the first time since April 2024—lowering it from 15.5% to 15% on 28 January—but the decision split the monetary policy committee three ways, according to National Bank of Ukraine minutes published on 9 February. Ukraine is now running a looser monetaryContinue Reading
A Greek joint venture has signed its first deal to supply American liquefied natural gas to Ukraine—through the same Southeastern European pipeline network that for decades carried Russian gas in the opposite direction. Atlantic See LNG Trade, a company formed by Greek construction group Aktor (60%) and state gas supplierContinue Reading
Ukraine added $47.3 billion to its public debt in 2025—but slashed its borrowing costs by nearly half. The reason: most of that money came from Russia. Of the new financing, $37.9 billion arrived as ERA loans from G7 countries, backed by profits from frozen Russian central bank assets. Another $12.1Continue Reading
Russia’s oil and gas revenues fell 24% in 2025 to their lowest level since 2020. Sanctions, a strong ruble, and falling global prices came together to squeeze the Kremlin’s primary source of war funding. The revenue collapse pushed Russia’s budget deficit to 5.65 trillion rubles ($72 billion)—the highest since 2009—evenContinue Reading