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May 1, 2020

Zelenskyy’s foreign policy: One year in

By Atlantic Council Eurasia Center

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy swept into office on the promise that he would do three things: Make Ukraine rich, slay corruption, and finally bring peace to Ukraine’s east by getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his forces from the Donbas. A year after his administration began—and an eventful year, at that—how has Zelenskyy done?

This is the beginning of a two-part series looking at Zelenskyy’s first year. This episode, John Herbst, former US Ambassador to Ukraine and the director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, and Dr. Hanna Shelest, the director of security studies at the Foreign Policy Council Ukrainian Prism give insight into Zelenskyy’s foreign policy, diving into questions of Zelenskyy’s efforts at peace, allegations of his top advisor’s business ties to the Kremlin, and what lies ahead for Kyiv on the world stage.

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The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting policies that strengthen stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.

Related Experts: Melinda Haring and John E. Herbst