On June 1, 2025, the Agreement on the mutual abolition of visas between Uzbekistan and China will come into force.
Under the Agreement, citizens of the Parties shall be exempt from visa requirements for entry, exit, or transit through the territories of both countries for a period of up to 30 days for each separate stay and a total of up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
At the same time, the period of each entry and stay in the territory of the Parties shall not exceed 30 days.
The visa-free regime does not apply to employment, study, media activities, or other activities that require prior approval by the competent authorities of the other Party.
On Tuesday, May 27, the Council of the European Union will hold a hearing on depriving Hungary of its voting rights in the Council, according to the agenda of the General Affairs Council of the European Union. This will be the eighth hearing on Hungary’s violations.
The procedure regarding Hungary’s possible violation of Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union was launched back in 2018. At that time, the European Parliament expressed its concern about the situation in Hungary, in particular regarding the functioning of the constitutional and electoral systems, the independence of the judiciary and other institutions, the rights of judges, corruption and conflicts of interest, confidentiality and data protection, freedom of expression, academic freedom, freedom of religion, freedom of association, the right to equal treatment, the rights of persons belonging to minorities, including Roma and Jews, and protection against hate speech against such minorities, the fundamental rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, as well as economic and social rights.
In April 2025, Active Group, in collaboration with the Experts Club think tank and the SunFlower Sociology platform, conducted a survey on the attitudes of Ukrainian citizens toward Central Asian and Caucasian countries. The results show a predominantly neutral or moderately positive perception of the region, with Georgia and Kazakhstan as clear leaders in terms of favorability.
Georgia received the largest share of positive ratings: 16.8% of Ukrainians said they had a completely positive attitude, and another 37.0% said they were mostly positive. Together, this forms a positive balance of 40%. Kazakhstan has a similar level of sympathy: 11.6% completely positive, 34.2% mostly positive, with a net balance of 41.9%. Azerbaijan ranks third with a total positive rating of 42.4%, although neutral assessments significantly prevail there — 45.4%.
In contrast, the countries of Central Asia are dominated by neutral responses: 63.4%, 64.3%, 66.4%, and 61.3% in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, respectively. All of them have a balance of sympathy below 12%, and Turkmenistan even shows zero support (-0.2%), mainly due to low awareness.
On the other hand, 8.4% have a completely positive attitude towards Armenia and 29.9% have a mostly positive attitude, putting it in fourth place with a balance of 35.5%.
“Despite their shared Soviet heritage, Ukrainian society views Central Asian countries mostly through the prism of caution or indifference. At the same time, the examples of Georgia and Kazakhstan demonstrate that close intergovernmental ties and a positive media presence can significantly influence public opinion,” comments Maxim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of Experts Club.
Thus, the study’s conclusions indicate that in a region with potential for interaction with Ukraine, the key factor is not only historical memory, but also contemporary diplomatic and cultural activity.
On May 22, KP “Mykolaizaliznyk” announced a tender for the purchase of compulsory civil liability insurance services for owners of ground vehicles (OSAGO) for trolleybuses.
According to the announcement in the Prozorro electronic public procurement system, the expected cost is UAH 739,498 thousand. Documents will be accepted until May 30.
The results of the latest sociological survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club analytical center and the SunFlower Sociology platform show that Ukrainians generally have a cautious or wary attitude toward Arab and Muslim countries. The survey covered 800 respondents in April 2025.
The most positive attitude among those surveyed was toward Turkey — 6% of Ukrainians expressed a completely positive attitude, and another 40.4% — mostly positive. The overall positive balance is 34.4%. Israel was the second most popular country among Ukrainians, with 9% of respondents expressing a completely positive attitude and 33.1% expressing a mostly positive attitude, although the positive balance here is slightly lower at 28.2%.
Next in terms of favorability are the United Arab Emirates (with a total positive rating of 24.9%) and Saudi Arabia (15.7%). It should be noted that almost 69% of Ukrainians took a neutral position on Saudi Arabia, which is one of the highest figures among all countries surveyed.
As for Egypt, Qatar, Tunisia, Jordan, Algeria, and Kuwait, neutral or indifferent assessments dominate, with a positive balance ranging from 6.5% to -3.6%. Attitudes toward Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Iran are even more critical, with negative views outweighing positive ones by tens of percentage points. For example, Iran has the lowest score, with only 2.2% of responses being entirely positive, 7.2% mostly positive, and a full 30.1% negative, giving a net balance of -55.9%. The situation is similar for Iraq (-34.2%) and Palestine (-32.1%).
“Mass neutrality, and in some cases open negativity, towards many Muslim countries indicates a lack of information links, as well as an ambiguous perception of the role of these states in global politics. Against this backdrop, Turkey and Israel have the opportunity to strengthen humanitarian and economic ties with Ukraine,” comments Maxim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of Experts Club.
Thus, the data emphasizes that the depth of ties and real actions of countries in times of trial determine the level of public trust in Ukraine — even in geographically remote regions.
Ukrainian citizens demonstrate the highest level of sympathy toward Canada, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. These are the results of a study conducted by Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club think tank and the SunFlower Sociology platform in April 2025. Canada came out on top in terms of positive image: 40.6% of Ukrainians expressed a completely positive attitude, with another 35.7% expressing a mostly positive attitude. The overall positive balance was a record 73.5%.
The United Kingdom ranks second with a total positive rating of 68.6%. Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands are also at the top of the ranking with similarly high levels of positive perception — over 68% of the total positive rating.
France and Germany remain strong, but their positions are less clear-cut. In France, the share of “mostly positive” attitudes is particularly high at 47.7%, although only 26.4% view it as “completely positive.” In Germany, 23.7% of respondents indicated a completely positive attitude, but the level of distrust has increased, with 7.9% of Ukrainians assessing it negatively.
The US elicited a mixed reaction: only 6.7% of Ukrainians rated this country completely positively, while 26.5% expressed a negative attitude. The image balance in the US is one of the lowest among Western partners — only 5.3%. Ukrainians showed a similar level of disappointment with Central European countries: Hungary has the worst image of all, with only 4.1% of completely positive responses and as many as 47.7% negative, giving a net image balance of -43.6%. Slovakia also has a negative rating of -14.8%.
“These results are not only a reflection of public opinion, but also a benchmark for diplomatic activity. Countries with high levels of support have the best conditions for strengthening bilateral ties with Ukraine in the humanitarian, security, and economic spheres,” comments Maxim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of Experts Club.
Overall, the survey results clearly demonstrate that international support for Ukraine in difficult times directly shapes citizens’ trust. Ukrainians’ attitudes are not only based on historical or cultural ties, but also depend to a large extent on the specific actions of foreign states during the war.
