According to the results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with Experts Club in April 2025, the attitude of Ukrainians towards Israel is mostly positive.
Thus, 42.1% of respondents expressed a positive attitude toward Israel (33.1% — mostly positive, 9.0% — completely positive). A neutral position was taken by 39.8% of respondents. Negative attitudes toward Israel were expressed by 13.8% of Ukrainians (9.7% — mostly negative, 4.1% — completely negative). Another 4.3% were unable to answer.
“According to Ukrainian citizens, Israel is perceived very positively, both because of historical ties and because of the image of the country as a high-tech state with competent healthcare and a high standard of living,” said Maksim Urakin, candidate of economic sciences and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
Experts note that the positive perception of Israel among Ukrainians may be linked to diplomatic relations, humanitarian aid, and the country’s technological development.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
The mayor of Niš, Dragoslav Pavlović, has announced the prospects of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba coming to southern Serbia. This became possible after the signing of a memorandum of cooperation with the Chinese city of Hangzhou, the birthplace of Alibaba. The document confirms the partnership within the framework of the Digital Silk Road initiative and provides for the intensification of Chinese investment in the region.
According to Pavlovic, the possibility of building an Alibaba logistics center in Nis is being discussed, as well as the implementation of projects in the fields of science and education. However, at this point, there has been no official confirmation from Alibaba or Chinese authorities regarding these plans.
Earlier it was reported that AliExpress, a subsidiary of Alibaba, is considering the possibility of setting up warehouses in Serbia to speed up the delivery of goods to countries in Southeast Europe. According to Serbia Business, such plans were discussed after the Chinese president’s visit to Serbia in 2024.
In addition, as part of the expansion of transport infrastructure in Niš, the Chinese company Shandong Hi-Speed Group has signed a contract to modernize the Constantine the Great Airport. The project, worth more than $153 million, includes the reconstruction of the runway, the expansion of the apron, and the construction of new taxiways.
Thus, Niš is becoming an important center for Chinese-Serbian cooperation, bringing together initiatives in logistics, infrastructure, and digital trade.
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/949
The results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with Experts Club show that 65.2% of Ukrainians have a neutral attitude toward Chile, while another 9.2% were unable to answer the question. This means that for many, the country remains on the periphery of the information space.
At the same time, 19.4% of respondents have a positive attitude toward Chile (15.1% mostly positive, 4.3% completely positive). A negative perception was expressed by 6.2% (5.6% mostly negative, 0.6% completely negative).
“Chile is associated with economic reform, democracy, and attractive tourism. However, due to its geographical remoteness and lack of regular coverage in the Ukrainian media, it does not form a stable emotional background among the population,” notes Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
Chile is mostly seen as neutral by Ukrainians, but positive associations with reforms and stability give it the potential to build a clearer image in Ukrainian minds.
You can check out the study here.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
According to the results of a survey conducted by Active Group and Experts Club, most Ukrainians refrain from actively evaluating Uruguay. 71% of respondents described their attitude as neutral, while another 12.1% were unable to decide.
However, 12.4% of respondents expressed a positive attitude (9.2% mostly positive, 3.2% completely positive). Only 4.4% expressed a negative attitude (3.7% mostly negative, 0.7% completely negative).
“The positive attitude towards Uruguay is linked to its stable democratic image in Latin America. However, the country remains largely unknown to most Ukrainians, which explains the high level of neutrality,” comments Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
Uruguay is perceived by Ukrainians as neutral or moderately positive. The indicators show a lack of stereotypes, but also a low level of awareness about the country.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
Ukraine’s second-largest mobile operator, Vodafone Ukraine (VFU), increased its revenue by 14% in January-March 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, to UAH 6.59 billion, while reducing its net profit by 24% to UAH 697 million.
The 24% decline in net profit compared to the same period last year was due to the restructuring of Eurobonds, increased investments, and higher tax payments, according to a statement posted on VF Ukraine’s official website on Friday.
The main drivers of the company’s revenue growth were increased data usage, growth in the number of Internet users and, as a result, growth in revenues from both mobile and fixed communications. This also contributed to a 5% increase in OIBDA to UAH 3.34 billion, the report said.
ARPU (average revenue per user) in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 15% compared to the first quarter of last year to UAH 128.1/month. At the same time, the subscriber base in the reporting period decreased slightly by 0.6% to 15.7 million users.
The OIBDA margin remained high at 50.7%. It decreased by 4.6 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2024, mainly due to higher electricity costs, increased expenses for ensuring the energy stability of the network, and higher fees for the use of radio frequency resources.
Vodafone Ukraine almost doubled its infrastructure investments in January-March 2025, which grew by 95% compared to the same period in 2024, to UAH 1.59 billion.
Energy independence is among the priority areas in which the company has invested. In the first three months of 2025, Vodafone Ukraine significantly improved the energy resilience of its network, in particular by increasing the number of mobile communication points capable of operating during prolonged power outages by 1.5 times, according to the report.
The company invested in expanding coverage and increasing network capacity, as well as in preparations for next-generation technologies. Vodafone Ukraine launched 1,171 new network standards to improve coverage and connection quality. The operator also began connecting mobile base stations using passive xPON optical networks, which will enable a smoother transition to next-generation mobile technologies—5G and, in the future, possibly 6G.
During the first quarter, work continued on the development and modernization of fixed-line networks. Vodafone Ukraine began upgrading the telecommunications infrastructure of fixed-line operator Frinet and continued to expand fixed broadband networks using modern GPON technology.
In January-March, Vodafone Ukraine’s Home Internet service, which remains operational even during power outages, was launched in another 124,000 households. The company’s total fixed-line coverage across all technologies now exceeds 1.9 million households. The company is actively expanding its presence in new regions – in Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Lviv, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Poltava, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Lutsk, Rivne, and Ternopil, according to the report.
Vodafone Ukraine has also launched its first 3-in-1 tariff line, GigaCombo, which combines mobile communications, fixed Internet, and television in a single tariff package.
In total, since the start of the full-scale war, Vodafone Ukraine has invested over UAH 17 billion in the development of telecommunications infrastructure in Ukraine.
In February 2025, Vodafone Ukraine successfully completed the restructuring of its Eurobonds, repurchasing bonds worth almost $100 million. The remaining liabilities now amount to $300 million, according to the company’s statement.
The Ukrainian brand Smakuli (Lviv) — gluten-free cookies and snacks — is now available in German Rewe supermarkets, according to the Amal Berlin portal.
“We initially built our portfolio in Ukraine and have already implemented international quality and safety standards FSSC 22000, as well as AOECS certification, which certifies that allergens are carefully controlled in production. But that wasn’t enough – the process of entering the German market took almost 11 months,” the publication quotes Ruslana Rymarska, founder of the Smakuli brand and head of the Ukrainian Food Manufacturers Alliance (UFMA).
The Ukrainian company gained the opportunity to be represented in the Rewe network as part of the Startup Lounge project, which offers small businesses and startups the opportunity to introduce their products to the network.
According to Rymarska, work is currently underway to enter the Dutch and Swedish markets.
