More than 15% of Ukrainians noticed that the cost of medicines increased by more than 50% during 2024-2025, while 52% of Ukrainians noted a 20%-50% increase in the cost of medicines.
According to Alexander Pozniy, director of the research company Active Group, this is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center in early February and presented to Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.
Pozniy noted that a third of those surveyed said that medicine prices had remained almost unchanged, while 2.6% said that they had even decreased.
“In general, it can be noted that the cost of medicines has risen quite significantly, and this is noted by almost the absolute majority (of respondents),” he said, explaining that medicines account for about 10-20% of the household budget, which is why the price increase is so noticeable.
Pozniy noted that, according to the survey, when buying medicines, 25% of Ukrainians pay attention to price, while 24.5% pay attention to effectiveness.
“That is, slightly more than half pay attention to the combination of price and effectiveness of the selected medicines. Therefore, people try to find the optimal combination that would provide the best effect and the least financial burden in terms of treatment,” he said.
In addition, Pozniy said that 28.4% of respondents prefer Ukrainian medicines, while 33.4% prefer imported ones. For 38% of respondents, the country of origin of the drugs does not matter.
According to the results, 31.4% of respondents believe that using electronic prescriptions is very convenient, 44% believe it is somewhat convenient, 18.7% believe it is somewhat inconvenient, and only 5.9% believe it is very inconvenient.
For his part, Maksim Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center, noted that the price of medicines is a key factor for Ukrainian citizens.
“Against this backdrop, it is particularly important how state mechanisms for reimbursement and compensation for the cost of medicines work. There is a state reimbursement program, but only 13% of Ukrainians use it. Therefore, reimbursement needs to be promoted among citizens,” he said.
The survey was conducted on the SunFlowerSociology online panel using a representative sample on February 11-12, 2026. The survey involved 1,000 respondents from a representative sample in all regions of Ukraine, except for the temporarily occupied territories.
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, MEDICINE, Pozniy, REFORM, URAKIN
Ukrainians cite the outflow of medical personnel and the destruction of medical infrastructure by the aggressor as the main reasons for the deterioration in the availability of medical services during the war.
According to the results of a survey conducted by the research company Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center in early February and presented to the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Friday, 48% of respondents noted that they felt a deterioration in medical services during the war.
Among the main problems of medicine in wartime, 60% of respondents cited the outflow of medical personnel, 22.7% cited the destruction of medical infrastructure, and 13.4% cited a shortage of medicines.
“Considering that the deterioration in medical services is due to the fact that medical facilities have either been physically destroyed or doctors have left them, the fact that only 48% of respondents felt a deterioration is not a bad result. The main problems in medicine during the war are the outflow of medical personnel, followed by the destruction of infrastructure, and then the shortage of medicines. In other words, we see that the main problem is the shortage of medical personnel,” said Active Group founder Andrey Eremenko.
The reforms carried out in the medical sector in recent years have contributed to the fact that medicine continues to function, and the fact that people talk about the lack of improvement or deterioration in the quality of medical services, according to the expert, is still “not subject to harsh criticism.”
According to the survey, 7.2% currently rate the state of affairs in the healthcare system as very poor, 18.7% as rather poor, 16.7% as rather good, and 2% as very good. At the same time, 54.6% gave it an average rating.
At the same time, 29.5% of respondents completely trust their family doctor, and 61.9% trust them partially.
When assessing the possibility of obtaining consultations from a family doctor in their region, 88.8% of respondents said that it was very easy or easy to do so, while 21% said it was very difficult or difficult.
Just over 10% of respondents noted that their local hospital has a sufficient supply of medicines and modern equipment, while 45.8% said that there is a partial supply.
At the same time, 40% of respondents noted that consultations with a specialist take up to a week, 28.4% take 1-2 weeks, and 11.5% take more than a month. In 2024-2025, 68% of respondents regularly paid for medical services themselves.
At the same time, 16% of respondents noted that they spend less than 5% of their family budget on medicine, while almost 21% of respondents reported spending more than 20%.
“The study revealed both the positive and painful aspects of the Ukrainian healthcare system. The most painful issue is the brain drain. But it is important to see the strengths as well. I was very pleased that the level of trust in family doctors is very high. So, the foundation for the development of the healthcare system is there, although, in particular due to the war, there are economic barriers and barriers to accessibility,” said Maksim Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
50.5% of Ukrainians said they had not seen any improvements after the medical reforms (in particular, the introduction of the National Health Service), 24.7% reported improvements, and another 24.8% were undecided.
At the same time, 64% of respondents said they had encountered unofficial payments in medical institutions, and 52.2% considered the medical system to be corrupt (another 44.3% considered it to be “partially corrupt”). This is according to the results of a survey conducted by the research company Active Group using the SunFlowerSociology online panel.
Active Group Director Oleksandr Pozniy noted that against the backdrop of more critical assessments of the reform, people often separate their trust in a particular doctor from their trust in the system as a whole.
“We can say that family doctors, especially those who have been specifically and consciously chosen, are trusted. It is quite a common situation when people may not trust the system, but trust a specific doctor they know. At the same time, reform exists when it changes everyday experience, and although some changes have taken place, there is still dissatisfaction with this reform,” he said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Friday.
According to the study, Ukrainians most often assess the state of the healthcare system as “average” (54.6%), “rather poor” (18.7%), or “very poor” (7.2%); 2.9% said “very good” and 16.7% said “rather good.”
At the same time, the level of trust in family doctors remains relatively high: 29.5% of respondents said they completely trust them, 61.9% said they partially trust them, and 8.6% said they do not trust them.
The survey also identified problems with access to medical care and resources at the local level. In particular, 23.8% of respondents believe that it is “very easy” to get a consultation with a family doctor, 55.1% say it is “easy,” 18.1% say it is “difficult,” and 2.9% say it is “very difficult.” Only 10.1% responded that their local hospital has “enough” modern equipment and medicines, 45.8% said “somewhat enough,” and 32.4% said “no.”
In addition, according to respondents, the wait time for an appointment with a specialist exceeds one month in 11.5% of cases, lasts 2–4 weeks in 19.8% of cases, 1–2 weeks in 28.4% of cases, and up to one week in 40.2% of cases.
Active Group founder Andriy Yeremenko attributed some of the negative assessments to the scale of direct household expenses.
“In fact, we see that more than 90% pay for treatment in one way or another, although medicine is formally free. If you don’t have insurance, you still pay — either for medicine or for procedures. Therefore, the issue of financial accessibility remains key for most families,” he said.
According to the survey results, in 2024–2025, 68.2% of respondents said they paid for medical services or medicines themselves on a regular basis, 25.1% said they did so occasionally, and 6.7% said they did not pay.
At the same time, 20.9% reported spending more than 20% of their family budget on medicine, another 23.2% spent 11-20%, 39.8% spent 5-10%, and 16.1% spent less than 5%.
Maksym Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center, commenting on the survey data, said that high proportions of healthcare costs affect not only well-being but also economic stability.
“As an economist, I want to emphasize that medicine is an integral part of a country’s economic stability, and when healthcare costs erode family budgets, it affects consumption and people’s ability to recover. In international monitoring methodology, it is considered catastrophic if a person spends more than 10% of their budget on medicines. And here we see a sign of a serious financial burden,” he stressed.
Separately, participants drew attention to the dynamics of medicine prices and the effectiveness of compensation mechanisms. Thus, 52.3% of respondents said that the prices of medicines they buy regularly had “increased significantly,” 43.9% said they had “increased slightly,” 3.6% said they had “remained unchanged,” and 0.2% said they had “decreased.”
Regarding the state program for reimbursement of the cost of medicines, 13.1% of respondents said they use it, 70.6% said they do not use it, and another 16.3% said they have heard of it but have not used it. Among those who received medicines under the program, 24.7% said they received them free of charge, and 75.3% said they paid extra.
Grigory Soloninka, a member of the board of the Kyiv Regional Organization “VULT” and professor at the Kyiv Medical University, believes that the pandemic and full-scale war have significantly influenced the perception of the reform, but there are also “positive elements.”
“To a certain extent, there are reforms: there are positive aspects and there are negative aspects. But this negativity was largely influenced, first of all, by the pandemic, then by the war — that is, our reforms began, perhaps, at the wrong time. But there are positives from these reforms, and we see that there is a good program for people over 40, screening,” he said.
The survey also separately assessed the impact of the war on the availability of medical services: 48.1% of respondents reported that they felt access had deteriorated due to the war, 36.9% said no, and 15% were undecided. Respondents identified the outflow of medical personnel (60.3%) as the most acute problem in healthcare during wartime, followed by the destruction of infrastructure (22.7%) and a shortage of medicines (13.4%).
The survey was conducted on February 11–12, 2026, using a self-administered questionnaire, with a sample of 1,000 respondents aged 18 and older throughout Ukraine, excluding temporarily occupied territories. The theoretical statistical error is up to 3.1% with a 95% confidence level.
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SOLONINKA, SURVEY, URAKIN
According to annual statistics from the Ukrainian Flour Millers Union and data from the Experts Club analytical center, in 2025 Ukraine exported 64.9 thousand tons of wheat flour to 25 countries worth $22.62 million. The average export price was about $348 per ton.
Exports remained highly concentrated: the five largest destinations accounted for almost 80% of the volume. The key markets were Moldova (19.4 thousand tons, about 30% of total exports), the Czech Republic (13.7 thousand tons, 21%), the Palestinian Territory (9.8 thousand tons, 15%), Spain (4.5 thousand tons), and Israel (4.2 thousand tons). Next in terms of volume were France (1.9 thousand tons), Poland (1.6 thousand tons), Sweden (1.6 thousand tons), Germany (1.4 thousand tons), and the United Kingdom (1.1 thousand tons).
The European segment stands out separately: deliveries to EU countries in 2025 amounted to 28.5 thousand tons (about 44% of the total volume) worth $10.74 million (47%). At the same time, the average export price to the EU was significantly higher – about $377 per tonne compared to $326 per tonne for non-European destinations.
The price range by destination was significant – from approximately $286 per tonne (Palestinian territories) to $538 per tonne (Georgia, small batches). Among the large markets, the highest price was recorded for deliveries to Poland – about $481 per ton, which may reflect higher requirements for specifications, packaging, and logistics.
The industry emphasizes that access to the European market and predictable trade rules are becoming key to export and investment planning, according to Rodion Rybchinsky, head of the Ukrainian Millers Union, commenting on the EU’s separate tariff quota for Ukrainian flour and investments by export-oriented enterprises in modernization.
The Experts Club analytical center has prepared a video analysis showing how oil production volumes of the world’s largest countries changed over the period 1900–2024, based on internationally comparable series (the Energy Institute Statistical Review and long-term historical databases consolidated by Our World in Data).
Experts Club co-founder, Candidate of Economic Sciences Maksym Urakin, noted that over more than a century “the center of gravity of global production has repeatedly shifted — from the early dominance of the United States to the strengthening role of the Middle East, and then to a new wave of growth in North America amid a technological leap and changes in the structure of demand.”
According to the data used in the analysis, the “oil production” indicator includes oil and liquid hydrocarbons (including condensates and NGL), but excludes biofuels and synthetic derivatives of coal and gas, which makes it possible to compare countries and periods correctly.
According to Energy Institute estimates, global production in 2024 amounted to about 96.9 million bbl/day. The largest producers (million bbl/day) were as follows: the United States — 20.14, Saudi Arabia — 10.86, Russia — 10.75, Canada — 5.89, Iran — 5.06, Iraq — 4.40, China — 4.26, the UAE — 4.01, Brazil — 3.47, Kuwait — 2.72.
Experts Club notes that in 2024 the top three (the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia) accounted for about 43% of global production, and the top 10 for around 74%, underscoring the high concentration of supply and the market’s sensitivity to decisions by a limited number of countries and to geopolitical risks.
More details: see the video on the Experts Club YouTube channel —
The price of gold could rise to $6,000 per ounce by the end of 2026, according to David Wilson of BNP Paribas.
As of 3:43 p.m. on Tuesday, April gold futures on the Comex exchange were down 0.1% at $5,075.5 per ounce. BNP’s forecast predicts an increase of approximately 20%.
The precious metal is supported by demand from central banks around the world. In particular, the Polish Central Bank announced in January its intention to purchase another 150 tons of gold. In addition, gold-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are seeing a steady inflow of client funds, Wilson said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center presented an analysis of the world’s leading gold-producing countries in a video on its YouTube channel — https://youtube.com/shorts/DWbzJ1e2tJc?si=BywddHO-JFWFqUFA
