International non-governmental human rights watchdog Freedom House, engaged in the support and research of the state of democracy, political freedom and respect for fundamental human rights, has said Ukraine's Democracy Score declined this year for the first time since the 2014 revolution.
"For the first time since the 2014 revolution, Ukraine's Democracy Score declined this year," Freedom House said in its study titled "Nations in Transit 2018. Confronting Illiberalism."
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"Ukraine is at risk of falling into authoritarianism. The window for fundamental reforms may not have closed in Ukraine, but it has narrowed considerably amid political resistance to anticorruption reforms and a series of attacks on civil society and the media," reads the report.
This year, 19 of the 29 countries in the report recorded declines in their Democracy Scores—more than in any previous edition of Nations in Transit, it said.
Nations in Transit 2018 measures progress and setbacks for democratization in 29 countries from Central Europe to Central Asia. This annual study covers events from January 1 through December 31, 2017.
