The results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center show that 63.6% of Ukrainians expressed a neutral attitude towards the Philippines.
A positive assessment was given by 22.2% of respondents, of whom 16.8% chose the option “mostly positive” and 5.4% “completely positive.” Only 4.1% of respondents expressed a negative attitude, of whom 3.4% said “mostly negative” and 0.7% “completely negative.” Another 10.1% of Ukrainians were unable to determine their position.
“This level of neutrality and relatively high positivity indicate a generally friendly, albeit not very informed, attitude of Ukrainians towards the Philippines. It can be assumed that the country is associated more with tourism and nature than with politics,” explains Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
Ukrainians are mostly neutral towards the Philippines, but a fifth of respondents have a favorable opinion of the country. This opens up opportunities for the development of bilateral dialogue, particularly in the humanitarian and tourism sectors.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
DTEK Energy, Ukraine’s largest private energy holding company, has approached the holders of its Eurobonds maturing in 2027 with a proposal to review the existing limited payment arrangements and commit to repurchasing up to $100 million of bonds each year.
“The Group intends to continue its debt reduction strategy and proposes to include additional commitments by the Issuer to reduce its debt,” the company said in a request to the Irish Stock Exchange on Monday, for which it is willing to pay 1% of the nominal value of the bonds.
DTEK Energy clarified that bonds with a nominal value of $930.91 million out of a total issue of $1 billion 466.87 million are currently outstanding.
It is noted that despite the challenges and disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine, the group has proactively reduced its nominal debt by approximately 47%, or $750 million, since the start of the war by combining semi-annual amortization of $8 million to $10 million every six months, bond repurchases in November 2022 under the issuance agreement, as well as voluntary repurchase offers in a Dutch auction in December 2022, March and October 2023, respectively, and other market bond repurchases.
“As of the date of signing the Request for Consent, the Group’s outstanding debt is approximately $931 million,” the document says.
According to the document, the ability to continue the declared debt reduction strategy depends on the current restrictions of the NBU, i.e., the ability of the holding’s Ukrainian subsidiaries to provide the issuer, DTEK Energy B.V., with foreign currency in the required amounts.
As part of the proposal to Eurobond holders, the company will be required to reserve the amounts not used to reduce the debt by the declared $100 million in a separate account in Ukraine, with limited ability to use such funds for short-term investments.
In addition, DTEK Energy is offering to amend its covenant package to enhance the company’s investment attractiveness and improve its financial and operational flexibility to make strategic investments, such as removing restrictions on future business lines and increasing the thresholds for requiring independent valuations and bondholder consent.
“DTEK Energy’s operational and strategic vision is to continue supporting Ukraine’s energy system by generating as much electricity as necessary to meet national demand, as well as providing balancing and other services. In line with this vision, the holding company is continuing its repair campaign to repair or replace damaged or obsolete equipment, which requires significant capital investment,” the document says.
According to the document, the bonds may be repurchased through tender offers or private buybacks, in one or more transactions, and any remaining amount up to the NBU limit will be used to repurchase bonds at par value together with semi-annual amortization of $10 million.
Applications from bondholders will be accepted until May 26 of this year inclusive.
The results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group in cooperation with the Experts Club analytical center show that 68.4% of Ukrainians expressed a neutral attitude toward Myanmar (Burma).
A positive attitude toward this Asian country was expressed by 10.5% of respondents, of whom 7.1% said they were “mostly positive” and 3.4% said they were “completely positive.” A total of 10.8% of respondents have a negative attitude, with 9.0% saying they have a “mostly negative” attitude and 1.9% saying they have a “completely negative” attitude. Another 10.3% of respondents were unable to determine their position.
“The prevailing neutrality towards Myanmar is due to the low level of awareness among Ukrainians about this country. However, the fact that positive and negative assessments are almost equal indicates the absence of a stable image,” said Oleksandr Pozniy, co-founder of Active Group.
Thus, Ukrainians’ attitude toward Myanmar remains mostly neutral. However, positive and negative assessments are now equal, indicating open potential for shaping the country’s image in Ukrainian society.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
The second largest Ukrainian mobile operator, Vodafone Ukraine (VFU), invested UAH 754 million in strengthening the energy resilience of its network in 2024, equipping 65% of its base stations (BS) with backup power systems capable of providing autonomous operation for 4 to 72 hours.
“As of the end of 2024, all of the company’s base stations are equipped with backup power systems, 65% of which are capable of providing backup power for 4 to 72 hours in the event of a planned or emergency power outage,” the company said in a management report on its official website.
Over the past two years, the company has been investing in new types of batteries for its communications facilities, installing lithium-ferrous (LiFePO4) batteries at its base stations. They are much better suited to harsh operating conditions with frequent and prolonged power outages and are capable of providing 13 times more charge cycles, according to the statement.
In 2024, Vodafone Ukraine installed and planned to install 83,400 lithium-iron batteries (20,850 48V batteries with a capacity of 100 Ah), which is 1.5 times more than the capacity of the network at the beginning of 2024. The equipment can operate autonomously for 4 to 20 hours.
The mobile network is also supported by 1,932 generator sets, including its own stationary and mobile generators, as well as generator sets from partners and customers.
During the full-scale war alone, Vodafone Ukraine purchased about 500 mobile generators and the necessary auxiliary equipment for their operation. In 2024-2025, the company plans to further increase their number to comply with the relevant orders of the National Center for Operational and Technical Management of Telecommunications Networks (NCTU). It plans to purchase 250 stationary diesel generator sets (DGS) and 250 mobile generators, according to the company’s statement.
The statement also said that in 2024, Vodafone Ukraine built three solar power plants in the Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Earlier, the company’s CEO Olga Ustinova said that Vodafone Ukraine had invested UAH 2 billion in rechargeable batteries over the past two years to power base stations during power outages.
According to the results of a survey conducted by Active Group in cooperation with the Experts Club think tank, most Ukrainians have a neutral attitude towards Malaysia — 69.0% of respondents chose this option.
A positive attitude was expressed by 16.6% of respondents: 12.5% chose the answer “mostly positive,” and another 4.1% — “completely positive.” In turn, 4.9% of Ukrainians expressed a negative attitude, of which 3.7% said “mostly negative” and 1.1% said “completely negative.” Another 9.5% of respondents were unable to decide on an answer.
“Malaysia remains a relatively unknown country for Ukrainians, which is why neutral attitudes prevail. However, we see that positive assessments are three times higher than negative ones, which indicates a positive image of the country in the minds of Ukrainians,” comments Maksim Urakin, candidate of economic sciences and founder of the Experts Club analytical center.
Ukrainians are mostly neutral about Malaysia, but among those who have a clear idea about the country, positive assessments are three times higher than negative ones. This indicates a friendly background for the development of intergovernmental relations and tourist interest.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
A nationwide sociological survey conducted by Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center in April 2025 examined Ukrainians’ public attitude towards Armenia. The results indicate a moderately positive perception of the country.
38.3% of respondents expressed a positive attitude toward Armenia: of these, 29.9% were mostly positive, and 8.4% were completely positive. At the same time, 49.0% of Ukrainians expressed a neutral position toward the country. Only 7.9% of respondents have a negative attitude: 7.3% are mostly negative, and 0.6% are completely negative. Another 4.9% were unable to give a definite answer.
“Ukrainians’ attitude towards Armenia shows a tendency towards neutrality, which indicates that emotional ties remain limited,” commented Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
© 2016-2025, Open4Business. All rights reserved.
All news and diagrams placed on this Web site is made for internal use. Its reproduction or distribution in any form are welcome in case of placing a direct hyperlink to a source. Reproduction or distribution of information which contains Interfax-Ukraine as a source is prohibited without the written permission from the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Photoes placed on this site are taken from open sources only; rightholder are welcome to make demands to info@open4business.com.ua , in this case we are ready to put your copyright to a photo or replace it.