The start of 2020 in Kyiv was initially thought to be a triumphant one. The last weeks of 2019 brought some de-escalation in the war in the Donbas (EADaily, December 30, 2019), new hopes for peace and, importantly, formidable economic successes.
Notably, the United States adopted new sanctions that delayed construction of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, thus forcing Russia to sign a renewed gas transit contract with Ukraine (Ukrinform.net, December 31, 2019) as well as to pay Gazprom’s penalties to Ukraine’s Naftogaz, in line with earlier rulings by a Stockholm arbitration court (Naftogaz.com, December 31, 2019). At the same time, in recent months, fears of a sovereign financial default – widely discussed since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy started his tenure last May (EADaily, May 29, 2019) – have now entirely evaporated.