More than half of Ukrainians believe that the military should remain outside politics during the war; however, a significant part of society allows their limited participation in public processes, primarily in defense-related issues, according to the results of the study “Military and Politics: the Balance of Media Presence, Influence and State Unity,” presented by Active Group.
According to the presentation, 23.1% of respondents “definitely” support the apolitical nature of the military, another 27.3% “rather support” it, while 37.6% (23.1% “rather no” and 14.5% “definitely no”) allow their participation in politics, and another 12% were undecided.
“We saw that there are two simultaneous demands in society – that the military stay out of politics and that they have influence. And there is no contradiction in this: the majority want the military to remain military during the war, but at the same time allow their participation in processes directly related to state defense. This is more about balance than extremes,” said Active Group director Oleksandr Poznyi at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday.
At the same time, an absolute majority of Ukrainians support a strict system of army management: 41% consider a unified chain of command very important, another 31.5% consider it rather important (a total of 72.5%), while only about 10% do not share this position.
On the issue of decision-making during the war, public opinion is distributed among key centers of authority: 22.4% believe that decisions should be made by the president as Supreme Commander-in-Chief, 25.6% by the Commander-in-Chief, 25.4% by the General Staff, about 14% by lower-level commanders, and 12.9% were undecided.
“These figures show that society trusts the vertical chain of command and expects that strategic decisions are made at the highest level. At the same time, people do not always clearly distinguish the functions of different levels of military leadership. Therefore, we see a certain distribution of answers between the president, the Commander-in-Chief and the General Staff,” explained Active Group founder Andriy Yeremenko.
The study also recorded a demand for a combination of centralization and flexibility: 40.1% of respondents support mainly a vertical management model (16% – exclusively vertical, 24.1% – rather vertical), while 37% support the autonomy of units (29.5% – more autonomy, 7.5% – full autonomy), and another 22.9% were undecided.
“Society is essentially saying: strategy should be formed at the top, but at the level of units there should be freedom of action. This means rejecting micromanagement and at the same time the need for high-quality feedback. People expect that decisions take into account the real situation on the ground,” Yeremenko added.
The most acceptable forms of military participation in public life, according to Ukrainians, are calls to politicians to make decisions in the field of defense (37.3% support), public positions on draft laws (26.3%), and the creation of veteran and public organizations (24.6%). At the same time, the greatest rejection is caused by the use of military authority to influence voters (–30.4% balance), as well as participation in the formation of political decisions or commenting on political processes.
“There is a clear boundary: the military may influence defense decisions, but should not interfere in electoral processes. Attempts to use military authority in political competition are perceived very negatively. This is an important signal for future political campaigns,” Poznyi emphasized.
Among the key qualities of a modern commander, respondents named responsibility for subordinates (64.9%), strategic thinking (59.9%), as well as the ability to execute tasks (37.1%), discipline (35.4%) and interaction with command (33.4%), while media activity received only 2.4% support.
Among the factors that harm the effectiveness of the army, corruption risks dominate: 53.9% pointed to abuses in procurement, 46.1% to abuses in operational planning. Respondents also named fatigue of personnel and insufficient rotation (42.7%), outdated training approaches (35.3%), low motivation (35.1%) and bureaucratic procedures (34%).
“Corruption is traditionally perceived as the main problem in any sphere. But alongside this, we see systemic issues – rotation, motivation, quality of management. This is a set of factors that shape the effectiveness of the army and require systemic solutions,” Yeremenko noted.
At the same time, 76.5% of Ukrainians (47.8% positive, 28.7% rather positive) have a favorable attitude toward units that combine discipline, state subordination and modern approaches to warfare.
In the ranking of units by perceived discipline and effectiveness, the Special Operations Center “A” of the Security Service of Ukraine (“Alpha”) leads with 17.9%, followed by the 3rd Army Corps (14.5%) and “Azov” (13.2%). In terms of trust in fulfilling state tasks, “Azov” ranks first (15.2%), followed by the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (14.7%) and “Alpha” (13.4%).
At the same time, more than 40% of respondents were unable to name specific units, indicating limited public awareness and the significant influence of media presence on the formation of public opinion.
Overall, the study demonstrates a demand in Ukrainian society for the depoliticization of the military, the preservation of a strict chain of command, and at the same time flexibility at the unit level, as well as a clear distinction between influence in the field of defense and participation in political competition.
Serbia is preparing to launch drone production on its territory in cooperation with Israeli company Elbit Systems, the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist” reported, citing a joint investigation by BIRN and Haaretz.
According to the published information, the new enterprise will be established as a joint structure between Elbit Systems and Serbia’s state-owned company Yugoimport SDPR. The Israeli side is expected to receive a 51% stake in the project, while 49% will remain with SDPR.
The facility is expected to produce two types of UAVs — for short-range and long-range missions. According to available information, the production site may be located in the industrial zone of Šimanovci, about 30 km west of Belgrade.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said publicly on March 7, 2026, that the country would get its “first factory of serious drones,” noting that the project was being implemented with a foreign partner from Israel and could start as early as April. At that time, however, the partner’s name was not officially disclosed.
According to the authors of the investigation, the new deal brings military-technical cooperation between Serbia and Israel to a new level. Data cited by Haaretz/BIRN show that over the past two years Serbian arms exports to Israel increased 42-fold and reached EUR114 million in 2025, with a significant share of those deliveries going through SDPR.
For Serbia, the project is important not only as another defence production facility, but also as a channel for gaining access to advanced technologies. One of the sources cited by Haaretz and BIRN said the new UAVs are expected to outperform Serbia’s Pegaz model, while engineers from UTVA are also expected to be involved in the project alongside SDPR.
Hungary has decided to strengthen security around its section of the TurkStream gas pipeline and place it under military control following an incident on Serbian territory, according to the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist”.
According to the report, the decision was made after an emergency meeting of the defence council convened by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said the military would guard the entire Hungarian section of the pipeline — from the border with Serbia to the border with Slovakia.
The move followed an incident in Serbia, where, according to Serbian and Hungarian authorities, powerful explosive devices were found near gas infrastructure through which Russian gas is delivered to Hungary and further into the region.
At the same time, the episode has already triggered political debate. Some publications and commentary in the region question the official version of events and suggest the story may have a political dimension, particularly against the backdrop of the election campaign in Hungary.
Ukraine, for its part, has officially rejected any attempts to link it to the incident in Serbia.
VAT revenue from imported goods rose to 147.6 billion hryvnia in January–March 2026, compared with 118.8 billion hryvnia a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance reported.
VAT on goods produced in Ukraine over the three-month period amounted to 81.8 billion UAH, compared with 85.2 billion UAH a year earlier, whilst VAT refunds increased to 58.8 billion UAH from 42.4 billion UAH. In March, VAT on imported goods amounted to 59.9 billion UAH (44.9 billion UAH a year earlier), VAT on domestic goods to 23.0 billion UAH (26.1 billion UAH), and VAT refunds rose to 18.2 billion UAH from 13.8 billion UAH.
Ukraine’s state budget revenue for January–March 2026 amounted to 1.02 trillion UAH, including 734.6 billion UAH from the general fund, representing increases of 10.2% and 26.3% respectively compared with the previous year, the Ministry of Finance reported, citing provisional data from the State Treasury.
Cash expenditure from the general fund over the three months rose by 7.1% to UAH 914.8 billion, whilst total budget expenditure, including the special fund, fell by 1.1% to UAH 1.15 trillion.
Serbia will allocate EUR2 million to support Ukraine’s energy sector במסגרת a joint project with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist” reported, citing official data.
According to the report, the Government of the Republic of Serbia and UNDP signed an agreement providing for the financing of the procurement and delivery of high-voltage transformers. These are critical pieces of equipment needed to restore electricity transmission systems and ensure stable power supply.
The funds will be provided under UNDP’s green energy recovery programme for Ukraine. The initiative is aimed at supporting basic services in the regions most affected by the war, including electricity, heating and water supply.
Serbian Ambassador to Ukraine Andon Sapundji said that Belgrade’s contribution is intended to support critical infrastructure and help ensure uninterrupted energy supply for the population.
In turn, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Auke Lootsma stressed that Serbia’s assistance will contribute not only to the restoration of damaged facilities, but also to the modernization of Ukraine’s energy system.
According to international estimates, since 2022 Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has suffered extensive destruction. Total losses in the sector are estimated at $88.2 billion, of which about $17.1 billion relates specifically to the power sector, including generation and transmission.
The project is being implemented as part of cooperation between Ukraine and the United Nations in the field of sustainable development and is in line with the strategic goal of transitioning to a more resilient and modern energy system.
