Ukraine's potential as an investment destination is well known in international circles, but so is its reputation for corruption and slow-moving business processes. Action is being taken to tackle both issues, but reversing decades of poor investment policies will not be easy.

Oleksiy Pavlenko, Ukraine's minister of agriculture, is bringing about reform to the sector through a bout of privatisations and a simplification of the licence system. The private sector is responding to this positively, as Karen E Thuermer found out when she caught up with Mr Pavlenko at the US-Ukraine Investment Forum in July.

Former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko is facing what is perhaps his toughest fight as the mayor of Ukraine capital Kiev, given the uncertainty in the country as a result of the Russian annexation of Crimea. Can he succeed in his quest to turn around the city's finances and tackle corruption?

Global instability is nothing new, but the past few years have seen numerous flashpoints come to the fore around the world. This leaves many companies in a quandary over whether to stay in an unsettled location, how to insure themselves, and how to keep the locals on side should they choose to stay put. 

For as long as he has been operating in the country, the founder and co-owner of Istil Group, Mohammad Zahoor, says that Ukraine has faced problems. Which is why, despite having business assets seized as a result of current political frictions, he is pressing ahead with existing projects in the country and optimistically predicting that a resolution to the current hostilities with Russia is on the horizon.

The outlook for Ukraine may seem bleak, but the recent violence and change of government may actually serve to improve the country's FDI prospects if the newly elected leaders implement much-needed reforms.