According to a survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with Experts Club in August 2025, Ukraine has one of the most positive attitudes toward Japan among countries worldwide.
According to the study, 68.7% of Ukrainians have a positive opinion of Japan (33.0% — mostly positive, 35.7% — completely positive). Only 2.7% have a negative opinion, while 26.7% of respondents are neutral. Another 2.0% admitted that they know little about the country.
“Japan occupies a special place in the perception of Ukrainians. It is seen as an example of a country that has achieved great results through innovation, technological development, and the preservation of traditions. This level of trust can become the basis for further expansion of cooperation between our countries,” emphasized Active Group CEO Oleksandr Pozniy.
In turn, Maksim Urakin, co-founder of Experts Club, emphasized the economic dimension:
“In 2025, the total trade volume between Ukraine and Japan exceeded $521 million. At the same time, Ukrainian exports to Japan amounted to only $18 million, while imports exceeded $502 million.
This resulted in a significant negative balance of $484 million. Such an imbalance is a signal to look for new opportunities for Ukrainian goods to enter the Japanese market,” he stressed.
The study was part of regular monthly monitoring of Ukrainians’ attitudes toward key international partners.
The full video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgC9TPnMoMI&t
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, JAPAN, Pozniy, RELATIONS, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, UKRAINE, URAKIN
Ukraine has the potential to expand bilateral agricultural trade with the US, particularly in the export of meat, eggs, corn, and queen bees, according to the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection following a working visit to the US by the agency’s head, Serhiy Tkachuk.
The State Service noted that during the visit, Tkachuk held meetings with representatives of three departments of the US Department of Agriculture.
Together with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the parties discussed increasing bilateral trade in agricultural products. Ukraine has the potential to replace Russian and Chinese products on the American market, the agency assured. Particular attention was paid to opening the US market for Ukrainian poultry and eggs.
Negotiations with the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) focused on access to the US market for Ukrainian poultry meat and eggs. The State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection has already provided all the necessary information and expressed its readiness to undergo inspections, including online. This practice has been successfully applied in cooperation with the United Kingdom, Canada, and the EU.
The Ukrainian side emphasized the importance of moving forward with applications for the export of pork and beef, and the FSIS confirmed its readiness to begin technical consultations.
The meeting with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) was devoted to the epizootic situation, the procedure for assessing the status of diseases, and inspections.
In addition, the meetings discussed the prospects for exporting Ukrainian corn and queen bees. The American side positively assessed the dynamics regarding corn and promised to consider the issue of bees in the near future.
“These dialogues confirm that even in times of war, the Ukrainian agricultural sector remains a reliable and promising partner. We feel the support of our American colleagues and their willingness to move forward in opening up new opportunities for Ukraine,” concluded the head of the State Food and Consumer Service.
Ukrainians’ attitude towards Belgium is mostly positive, although a significant portion of respondents take a neutral position. This is evidenced by the results of a nationwide sociological survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with Experts Club in August 2025.
According to the results, 54.7% of Ukrainians have a positive attitude towards Belgium (35.3% — mostly positive, 19.3% — completely positive). Only 2.7% of citizens expressed a negative attitude (0.3% — mostly negative, 0.3% — completely negative). At the same time, 43.0% of respondents remain neutral, and 2.3% said they do not have enough information about the country.
“Belgium is perceived by Ukrainians as an important member of the European Union and NATO, a country that consistently supports Ukraine on the international stage. At the same time, its relative remoteness and lack of deep historical ties account for the high proportion of neutral assessments,” explained Active Group founder Oleksandr Pozniy.
In turn, co-founder of Experts Club Maksim Urakin drew attention to the economic component of bilateral relations:
“In the first half of 2025, trade turnover between Ukraine and Belgium amounted to more than $584 million. Ukrainian exports amounted to about $235 million, while imports from Belgium exceeded $348 million. This resulted in a negative balance of $113.8 million, which highlights the Ukrainian market’s dependence on Belgian goods,” he emphasized.
The study is part of a broader project aimed at examining the international sympathies and antipathies of Ukrainians in 2025.
The full video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgC9TPnMoMI&t
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ACTIVE GROUP, BELGIUM, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, URAKIN
Biopharmaceutical company Biopharma (Kyiv) has completed construction of a new pharmaceutical plant in Uzhhorod.
This was announced by Dmytro Kysilevsky, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on economic development.
“Biopharma Plasma has completed 80% of the construction of a plant for the production of blood plasma-based medicines in Uzhhorod. The industrial premises have already been fully built, the construction and connection of the energy infrastructure has been completed, and the installation of production equipment will begin in October,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Kysilevsky specified that commissioning work at the plant is scheduled for late 2025-early 2026, with the launch of the first stage of production planned for the first half of 2026.
According to the plan, the volume of blood plasma-based drugs produced in Uzhhorod will be twice that of Bila Tserkva, amounting to 1.5 million liters of blood plasma per year.
Construction of the Biofarma Plasma plant in Uzhhorod began in the fall of 2024. The planned investment in the new production facility is approximately €80 million. The company’s Uzhhorod plant will focus on exports.
Ukrainians’ attitude towards Austria is generally positive, but a significant proportion of respondents remain neutral. These are the results of a nationwide sociological survey conducted by Active Group in cooperation with Experts Club in August 2025.
According to the survey, 48.7% of Ukrainians expressed a positive attitude towards Austria (37.0% — mostly positive, 11.7% — completely positive). Only 4.7% of citizens demonstrated a negative attitude (4.3% — mostly negative, 0.3% — completely negative). At the same time, the largest group — 44.7% of respondents — took a neutral position, while another 2.3% said they did not have enough information about the country.
“Austria is traditionally perceived by Ukrainians as a European country with high social standards, cultural heritage, and a stable political system. Although Austria is not Ukraine’s main partner in foreign policy, the overall level of sympathy remains positive,” emphasized Active Group founder Oleksandr Pozniy.
In turn, co-founder of Experts Club Maksim Urakin drew attention to the economic component:
“In January–June 2025, the total trade volume between Ukraine and Austria amounted to over $701 million. At the same time, exports of Ukrainian goods reached $276 million, while imports from Austria amounted to about $425 million. This led to a negative balance of $148.9 million, which indicates a significant advantage of Austrian exports over Ukrainian ones,” the expert emphasized.
The survey is part of a large-scale study of Ukrainians’ international sympathies and antipathies, reflecting not only political and cultural aspects, but also economic aspects of relations with various countries.
The full video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgC9TPnMoMI&t
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ACTIVE GROUP, AUSTRIA, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, URAKIN
The Naftogaz Group raised UAH 2.445 billion in additional financing as part of a strategic partnership with the state-owned JSC Ukreximbank, the company said on Monday.
“This is another practical aid in preparation for the autumn-winter period. I would like to thank the Cabinet of Ministers and Ukreximbank for their support and trust,” said Serhiy Koretsky, chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine.
As the group recalled, Naftogaz, in partnership with Poland’s ORLEN, has already delivered about 400 million cubic meters of American liquefied natural gas to Ukraine in preparation for the winter of 2025-2026, which is carried out through two terminals – Świnoujście in Poland and Klaipėda in Lithuania. As of mid-September, a total of about 450 million cubic meters of American LNG has been contracted for delivery to Ukraine.
As of the end of last week, the total level of natural gas reserves in Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities (UGS) was 12.3 billion cubic meters (including 4.1 billion cubic meters of long-term storage gas, taking into account gas in temporarily uncontrolled territories, as well as 0.6 billion cubic meters of active long-term storage gas, which was transferred to the “buffer gas” category), which is 1% higher than last year (including 0.08 billion cubic meters of non-resident gas).
According to the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System Operator, since the beginning of September, net gas imports to Ukraine (excluding short-haul transit) have amounted to approximately 23-24 million cubic meters per day from Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
Last week, daily gas consumption in Ukraine fluctuated at 20-21 million cubic meters per day, which, according to AGSI (the European platform Agregated Gas Storage Inventory – IF-U), allowed more than 50 million cubic meters per day to be pumped into UGS facilities.
The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine plans to accumulate 13.2 billion cubic meters (or 8.6 billion cubic meters without taking into account “buffer gas”) by November 1, 2025, which, according to former OGTSU head Serhiy Makogon, is too low and will require additional imports of 1.5 billion cubic meters in winter.
As reported, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that, as part of the ESSF Energy Security Support Program, it will provide a guarantee to Ukreximbank to partially cover the credit risk on new loans to Ukrainian businesses for the implementation of various energy projects in the amount of EUR 100 million.
The bank’s board of directors approved the project on September 9, and it will cover up to 50% of the credit risk.
Ukreximbank is the third largest bank in Ukraine in terms of total assets as of mid-year, with UAH 318.6 billion (8.3% of the system’s total assets).
