Business news from Ukraine

Italy continues to enjoy one of the highest levels of positive perception among Ukrainians: in August 2026, 70.1% of respondents viewed the country positively, while only 2.9% viewed it negatively. Compared to March, the overall share of positive assessments remained virtually unchanged; however, within this group, there was an increase in the number of respondents with an unequivocally positive attitude. This is evidenced by the results of a study conducted by Active Group and Experts Club, according to the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center.

According to the results of the August survey, 24.3% of Ukrainians have a completely positive attitude toward Italy, and 45.8% have a mostly positive attitude. Twenty-five percent of respondents hold a neutral position. Two point seven percent view the country mostly negatively, only 0.2% completely negatively, and another 2% were undecided.

The balance of positive and negative assessments stands at plus 67.2 percentage points. Based on this indicator, Italy ranks among the countries with the highest level of positive attitudes among Ukrainians and holds a high position among the nations of Western and Southern Europe.

In March 2026, the total share of positive assessments of Italy stood at 70.2%. At that time, 19.3% of respondents described their attitude as entirely positive, and 50.8% as mostly positive. 28.9% had a neutral attitude toward the country, while only about 0.5% had a negative one.

Thus, the overall level of positive attitudes has remained virtually unchanged over the past five months—at around 70%. At the same time, the share of entirely positive assessments rose by approximately 5 percentage points—from 19.3% to 24.3%—while the share of mostly positive assessments fell by roughly the same 5 percentage points. This indicates a certain increase in the intensity of positive perceptions among a segment of respondents.

At the same time, the share of neutral assessments fell from 28.9% to 25%, while negative assessments rose to 2.9%. As a result, the balance of positive and negative attitudes declined from approximately plus 69.7 percentage points in March to plus 67.2 percentage points in August, though it remains very high.

“The consistently high level of positive attitudes among Ukrainians toward Italy is important not only in terms of public sentiment but also in the context of economic ties between the two countries. Italy remains one of Ukraine’s key trading partners in Europe, and a positive perception of the country creates a favorable backdrop for the development of business contacts, investments, tourism, and humanitarian cooperation. It is particularly telling that the share of unequivocally positive assessments is growing, even though the overall level of favorability has remained very high for quite some time,” noted Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.

Italy also carries significant economic weight for Ukraine. In the first half of 2026, it ranked third among individual countries in terms of the volume of Ukrainian goods exports—approximately $1.28 billion. The high level of public favor is thus combined with significant trade and economic ties.

A new wave of the survey shows that this positive image has generally been maintained: about seven out of ten Ukrainians continue to view Italy positively, and the share of unequivocally positive responses has even increased.

The survey was conducted in August 2026 using self-administered online questionnaires in the SunFlowerSociology panel among 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. The sample is representative by age, gender, and region; the maximum theoretical margin of error is ±3.5 percentage points.