The Netherlands is firmly establishing itself among the top countries that Ukrainians consistently support and view positively. This is evidenced by the results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group in April 2025 in collaboration with the information and analytical center Experts Club.
According to the survey, 70.5% of Ukrainians have a positive attitude toward the Netherlands (41.3% — mostly positive, 29.2% — completely positive). Only 2.2% of respondents gave a negative assessment (2.1% — mostly negative, 0.2% — completely negative). Another 24.9% of respondents chose a neutral position, and 2.4% were unable to answer.
“The Netherlands maintains its image as a democratic, open, and progressive country that consistently supports Ukraine in European and international institutions. This is what shapes such a positive attitude,” said Maxim Urakin, founder of the Experts Club.
Thus, the Netherlands is perceived by Ukrainian society as a reliable partner and an example of a successful European development model.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
The state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has planned centralized purchases of fuel, electricity, specialized equipment for forest protection, and infrastructure construction services worth over UAH 3.1 billion for 2025, the press service of the state-owned enterprise reported.
Lisy Ukrainy specified that in 2025, UAH 207 million will be allocated for the purchase of special vehicles for forest protection and IT equipment and software, UAH 590 million for special equipment and components, UAH 872 million for the construction and development of infrastructure, UAH 1.15 billion for fuel and energy resources, and other expenses – UAH 174 million.
The state-owned enterprise said that this year it had improved its procurement system and introduced performance analysis and internal rating.
In addition, in March, the team responsible for procurement at State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” was renewed. Its head, Mykhailo Stayetsky, previously worked at Ukrposhta. The new team’s goal is to increase the efficiency and transparency of procurement, optimize the company’s expenses, and ensure the implementation of the investment program and key initiatives.
“Category managers study and coordinate the internal needs of the enterprise and the external market conditions in which they can be met. To this end, they conduct pre-tender market consultations with manufacturers, importers, official dealers, and major players in the goods and services markets. They formulate procurement conditions that allow a wider range of participants to be invited to tender for the timely and high-quality satisfaction of the company’s needs at an optimal price and without additional risks,” explained the State Enterprise ”Forests of Ukraine.”
The state-owned enterprise drew attention to its updated procurement page. It will feature announcements of open meetings and consultations with potential participants in the most complex and unusual procurements, where their external expertise of suppliers will determine the final terms of the tender.
A separate role has been introduced in the electronic procurement system for internal monitoring of procurement by regional offices, providing them with practical and methodological assistance to improve efficiency.
This will allow for faster identification of weaknesses, implementation of uniform approaches to the preparation of tender documentation, and application of best practices in preventing violations of public procurement legislation,” according to Lisy Ukrainy.
At the same time, the state-owned enterprise will establish procedures and criteria for internal ranking of procurement officers in regional offices. This will motivate the strongest members of the team and support and develop those who are striving to catch up with the leaders.
“This practice has proven itself at Ukrposhta, resulting in the centralization of the procurement team, which has consistently shown excellent results in procurement year after year (2nd place in the 2024 customer index),” Staietsky concluded.
Germany remains among the countries toward which Ukrainians feel deep sympathy, despite some criticism in the early stages of the war. This is evidenced by the results of a public opinion poll conducted by Active Group in April 2025 in cooperation with Experts Club.
According to the data, 68.8% of respondents have a positive attitude toward Germany (45.0% — mostly positive, 23.7% — completely positive). A negative assessment was given by 6.7% of Ukrainians (5.8% mostly negative, 0.9% completely negative). Another 22.4% of respondents expressed a neutral attitude, and 2.1% abstained from answering.
“Attitudes toward Germany demonstrate a transformation in public opinion: from skepticism to gratitude for military and financial assistance, as well as for accepting the largest number of refugees. These processes intensified significantly in 2023–2024,” commented Alexander Pozniy, co-founder of Active Group.
The study also highlights growing trust in partners who have confirmed their support with real actions over time.
The study can be found at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
The possibilities for increasing exports of Ukrainian mineral fertilizers and controlling their imports, in particular preventing the import of fertilizers from the aggressor country through other countries, were discussed by the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Vitaliy Koval, at a working meeting with representatives of domestic mineral fertilizer producers at the ministry, according to a press release on the ministry’s website.
“This meeting was supposed to answer the question of how to increase exports of Ukrainian fertilizers to Africa, Asia, and further to the EU. Representatives of Ostchem (the largest producer of nitrogen fertilizers) and the Union of Chemists of Ukraine were unanimous at this meeting: imports remain the key problem,” said Oleg Arestarkhov, director of corporate communications at Group DF, to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
According to him, it is imports that prevent Ukrainian companies from expanding production and increasing exports, primarily imports from countries of the former Soviet Union, which have a single market with Russia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan, which account for almost half (300,000 tons) of all nitrogen fertilizer imports.
“They have access to cheap gas, so they can dump prices. Total imports of nitrogen fertilizers in the first four months of 2025 amounted to 1.2 million tons, of which 689,300 tons were nitrogen fertilizers. For comparison, Ukrainian production for the four months will be about 500,000 tons,” Arestarkhov said.
He added that Ukraine is losing the urea market, and a new trend is that China has begun to actively supply low-quality cheap ammonium sulfate.
According to the Ostchem representative, due to growing imports, Ukrainian enterprises are operating at the break-even point, which is holding back capital investment in industrial sites and forcing them to lay off workers.
An additional problem for Ukrainian producers is Russian shelling, after which Ostchem had to shut down its workshops several times in the first quarter due to damage to the external gas and energy infrastructure.
“It is logical that we are waiting for support from the government. We spoke openly about this at the meeting and provided them with all the statistics. The dominance of imports is one of the reasons for the decline in the industry. This is also the reason why Dniproazot and the state-owned Odesa Port Plant cannot start production. If the government lends a helping hand, it will see an increase in exports,” Oleksiy Golubov, president of the Ukrainian Chemists’ Union, told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
In turn, Minister Koval emphasized the instructions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to expand the geography of exports, in particular to the Middle East and Africa, as well as to open a mineral fertilizer hub in South Africa and develop trade between the two countries.
“Ukraine has all the prerequisites for mineral fertilizers to become not only a means of strengthening food security within the country, but also a strategic export commodity,” said the head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
According to the press release, representatives of investment companies, including umgi, also participated in the meeting.
Spain received a predominantly positive assessment from Ukrainians, but the results also indicate a significant proportion of neutral perceptions. These conclusions are contained in the data of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group together with the Experts Club analytical center in April 2025.
According to the results, 55.7% of respondents have a positive attitude toward Spain (40.4% — mostly positive, 15.3% — completely positive). Only 2.2% of respondents expressed a negative attitude (1.9% mostly negative, 0.4% completely negative), while the largest share, 38.9%, took a neutral position. Another 3.2% were undecided.
“Spain has a good image in the minds of our citizens, but unlike countries with consistent foreign policy activity towards Ukraine, its support is perceived less clearly. This explains the high level of neutral assessments,” commented Alexander Pozniy, co-founder of Active Group.
The poll shows that even against a positive backdrop, Ukrainians are carefully analyzing the degree of real involvement of international partners in deciding the fate of their country.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
Italy is among the countries that Ukrainians treat with respect and sympathy, but at the same time they are cautious. These data were obtained during a sociological survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with Experts Club in April 2025.
According to the results, 59.6% of respondents have a positive perception of Italy (42.6% — mostly positive, 17% — completely positive). Only 3% of Ukrainians expressed a negative attitude (2.8% mostly negative, 0.2% completely negative), while a significant proportion — 35.1% — chose a neutral position. Another 2.2% were unable to answer.
“Italy remains in the minds of Ukrainians as a country of traditional culture, historical monuments, and hospitality. At the same time, the relatively high proportion of neutral assessments indicates Italy’s lack of activity in the political or humanitarian sphere compared to other partners,” explained Maxim Urakin, founder of Experts Club.
The study shows that in order to deepen the positive image in Ukrainian society, it is important not only to have a good image, but also to provide concrete support at critical moments.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
