Why experts assessed Ukraine's foreign policy in 2024 as successful

At the end of last week, the Foreign Policy Council Ukrainian Prism presented its study Wartime Diplomacy on the effectiveness of Ukraine's foreign policy. This is the tenth annual analysis and the third time the work of Ukrainian diplomacy during the full-scale Russian aggression has been evaluated. Paradoxically, despite setbacks in directions that are priorities for Ukraine, the overall assessment of its foreign policy improved.

This is because in several areas that attract less media attention, Ukraine's activity and strategy proved to be significantly more successful than the year before. Read more about the effectiveness of Ukraine's foreign policy in 2024 is the article by Sergiy Sydorenko, European Pravda's editor - From the G7 to Hungary: How experts assessed Ukraine's actions on the global stage over the past year. In 2024, Ukraine's foreign policy received a score of 4.23 out of a possible 5.

That's a solid B+ - and just slightly higher than last year's score of 4.19. This growth was driven by one key factor: strategic communications. Last year, Ukraine scored a B in this category; now it's a B+.

But can we really talk about good performance? That's debatable. In 2024, the focus was on Ukraine's relations with the US and on securing continued military aid, primarily from America.

On one hand, one could argue this was a failure. In 2025, we now know that despite all efforts, US aid did not become a guarantee. On the other hand, Ukraine made progress on alternative fronts.

Throughout the year, there was active work to find alternative sources of weapons supplies due to stock depletion in certain countries. As a result, the "Danish model" of financing purchases from Ukrainian manufacturers emerged, the Prism study notes. There were other achievements too - such as steps toward using frozen Russian assets.

Let's look at the sector-specific details. In relations with the European Union, and in terms of EU integration, Ukraine traditionally received the highest marks - a solid A across all criteria. In the area of NATO integration, the expert assessment in 2024 showed improvement - from 4.5 to 4.75.

Ukraine still hasn't managed to shift the stance of certain member states regarding its invitation to join NATO, Ukrainian Prism notes. Analysts explain that the improved score in 2024 is due to Ukraine's clearer strategic communication regarding future NATO membership: "The President and other high-level officials consistently conveyed to both domestic and international audiences that NATO membership is the best guarantee of security. At the end of the year, as discussions about potential peace talks with Russia began, Ukrainian leadership clearly stated in all speeches and interviews that NATO membership is not a bargaining chip with Moscow."

In 2023, Ukraine's efforts in relations with G7 member states earned top marks for five countries - France, Italy, Canada, the UK and Japan. But in 2024, only two countries remained in the "excellent" category - Japan and the UK. While scores fell slightly in high-profile areas, there was notable growth in Ukraine's relations with other countries.

A striking example - though less visible to European Pravda's readers - is the "opening of India." Ukraine's score for its attention to India skyrocketed from 3 in 2023 to 4.75 in 2024 - nearly the highest possible rating. In Europe, the sharpest changes occurred in Ukraine's relationship with Hungary, where the score jumped from 2.5 to 4 in just one year. There was also slight improvement in Ukraine's policies toward Moldova and Poland - and the latter holds particular significance for Ukraine.

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