According to a survey conducted by research company Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center in early February, 28.4% of Ukrainians prefer Ukrainian medicines.
According to Alexander Pozniy, CEO and co-founder of Active Group, 33.4% of respondents more often choose imported medicines, while for 38.2% of respondents, the country of origin of the drug is irrelevant.
“For manufacturers, this means that competition is based on reputation, proven effectiveness, and stability of supply, and Ukrainian brands can strengthen their position through quality and clear communication,” said Alexander Pozniy, CEO and co-founder of Active Group.
According to Experts Club founder Maxim Urakin, “the fact that almost a third of consumers choose domestic drugs shows the importance of accessibility and trust in quality in the domestic market.”
The study was conducted on the SunFlowerSociology online panel on 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, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SOLONINKA, SURVEY, URAKIN
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 at the Interfax-Ukraine press center, 31.4% of respondents called electronic prescriptions “very convenient,” 44.1% called them “rather convenient,” 18.7% called them “rather inconvenient,” and 5.9% called them “very inconvenient.”
“Digital tools gain support when they save time and really simplify access to medicines,” said Experts Club founder Maxim Urakin.
“Negative attitudes among some users are usually associated with practical failures and varying levels of digital literacy, and this needs to be taken into account when fine-tuning the service,” said Alexander Pozniy, CEO and co-founder of Active Group.
The study 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, Poznyi, SOCIOLOGY, SOLONINKA, SURVEY, URAKIN, Єременко
According to the results of a survey conducted by the research company Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center and published in the Interfax-Ukraine press center, when buying medicines, 50.5% of respondents primarily focus on the combination of price and effectiveness, 25.0% on price, and 24.5% on effectiveness.
The survey was conducted online on February 11-12, 2026, with 1,000 respondents (18+).
“The choice of ‘price plus effectiveness’ reflects the desire to get results, but within a limited budget,” said Experts Club founder Maxim Urakin.
“Consumers are becoming more rational, and this intensifies competition among manufacturers for trust and affordability,” said Active Group CEO and co-founder Alexander Pozniy.
The study 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, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SOLONINKA, SURVEY, URAKIN
Analysis of the logistics situation in the Middle East and worldwide by the Experts Club analytical center as of March 2, 2026 (the situation is constantly changing).
According to NOTAM monitoring data, as of March 2, the picture is as follows (in parentheses — the duration of current restrictions, which is not a guarantee of reopening): Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria, Israel – “total” closure at the FIR/route level, Saudi Arabia – partial closure of corridors near the border with Iraq and in the Persian Gulf area, UAE – formally not “empty sky,” but ESCAT zones have been introduced and commercial traffic is effectively severely restricted.
EU regulators directly classify the situation as high risk for civil aviation not only over Iran, but also over neighboring countries where air defense actions, interception, and spill-over risks are possible.
The key effect is the shutdown or “semi-shutdown” of major Persian Gulf hubs connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa. Reuters and other publications describe this as one of the most severe shocks to civil aviation in recent years, with thousands of cancellations and mass passenger relocations.
The largest regional carriers (hubs):
1) Emirates: has temporarily suspended all operations to/from Dubai until at least 3 p.m. UAE time on March 3.
2) Etihad: all flights to/from Abu Dhabi suspended until 14:00 UAE time on March 3.
3) Qatar Airways: operations temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatar’s airspace (resumption – after the regulator’s decision).
Large international groups and long-haul carriers are clearing their schedules en masse, as the “hole” in the corridor forces them to either cancel flights or fly long detours (longer, more expensive, with restrictions on crew working hours).
1) Lufthansa Group: flights to a number of destinations in the region suspended until March 8, with some restrictions on Dubai until March 4, plus an announcement that the group will not use airspace (the list includes Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran; separately – the UAE until March 4).
2) British Airways: announces the cancellation of some flights and offers free date changes for London-Abu Dhabi/Amman/Bahrain/Doha/Dubai/Tel Aviv routes for the period until March 15.
3) Air India: suspension of flights to/from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Qatar until 23:59 (India) on March 2, plus some flights to Europe.
What is happening with air cargo
Here, the blow is twofold:
1) Belly capacity is disappearing: when the passenger network through the Gulf hubs “shuts down,” the holds of wide-body passenger flights, which usually carry a significant share of urgent cargo, disappear with it. This quickly pushes rates up and overloads the remaining freighter capacity.
2) Express chains and last mile in Gulf countries are disrupted:
1) FedEx: announces the suspension of flights to/from a number of markets in the region and the temporary suspension of pickup/delivery in Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, and the UAE “until further notice,” warning of increased transit times in other countries in the region.
2) DHL Express: has temporarily suspended international shipments to/from Israel due to the closure of Israeli airspace.
For cargo, this usually means: more “transshipments,” more ground legs, shifting of some flows to alternative hubs, queues for capacity, and increased delivery times even where the skies are formally open.
In addition to countries with closed or restricted skies, the following are also significantly affected:
1) markets associated with transshipment through the UAE and Qatar (Europe – Asia – Africa),
2) India and South Asia (many destinations in the Gulf, plus onward transit),
3) ATP and European airlines, which have to cancel flights or reroute them on long detours, which affects the economics of the flight and punctuality.
In terms of scale, this already looks like a systemic network failure, rather than a local “detour zone”:
1) Thousands of flights have been canceled, and recovery is complicated by the fact that aircraft and crews are “scattered” around the world and need to be physically returned to the correct points in the network;
2) costs are rising across several areas: fuel (longer routes), airport charges for unscheduled landings, compensation/accommodation, and schedule changes; this is also reflected in the market through the reaction of carrier and tourism sector stocks.
3) Regulatory factors are amplifying the effect: EASA warns of high risk in the area, and the US has long had bans/restrictions on flights in certain FIRs (e.g., Iran and Iraq due to SFAR and security NOTAM).
The price of gold and other precious metals rose sharply on Monday due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
By 9:57 a.m. ET, April gold futures on the Comex exchange rose about 3.3% to $5,418 per ounce.
Silver futures rose 3.3% to $96.38 per ounce, and platinum futures rose 2% to $2,422 per ounce.
As reported, on Saturday, the US and Israel launched military action against Iran. They carried out more than a thousand missile strikes on Iranian cities, killing Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and a number of Persian Gulf countries. In particular, residential areas of the capital of Bahrain were affected, and damage to a number of hotels and the airport in Dubai was reported.
Meanwhile, the price of aluminum on the London Metal Exchange jumped nearly 3% on Monday to $3,231 per ton. It is noted that Iran’s neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, are major aluminum producers. According to AZ China, the Middle East accounts for about 9% of global production of this metal.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center presented an analysis of the world’s leading gold-producing countries in its video on YouTube channel — https://youtube.com/shorts/DWbzJ1e2tJc?si=BywddHO-JFWFqUFA
EXPERTS CLUB, GOLD, IRAN, ISRAEL, USA
Trade in Ukrainian goods in 2025 remained highly concentrated and with a pronounced import bias, according to a study by the Experts Club analytical center on the top 50 trading partners as of December 31, 2025.
As noted in the study, the top ten countries account for about two-thirds of total trade, with China alone accounting for almost a fifth of turnover. Experts Club founder Maxim Urakin emphasizes: “The overall picture is consistent with the aggregated statistics for 2025: Ukraine’s imports are estimated at about $84.8 billion, exports at about $40.3 billion, and trade turnover at about $125.1 billion.”
China has become Ukraine’s largest partner in terms of trade turnover in the TOP-50 sample – $21.04 billion, with imports of $19.23 billion and exports of $1.82 billion, resulting in a negative balance of $17.41 billion. Urakin believes that “there will be no quick solutions to balance the trade deficit with China without strengthening Ukraine’s industrial export positions” and suggests focusing on localizing part of the supply chains for Ukrainian needs, contract manufacturing, and expanding agricultural and food exports with deeper processing.
Poland ranked second in terms of trade turnover with $13.02 billion, followed by Germany with $9.06 billion, Turkey with $8.95 billion, and the US with $5.69 billion. Commenting on the European direction, Urakin draws attention to the risks of regulation: “The risk factor here is not so much economic as regulatory and political… the issue of quotas and restrictions periodically returns to the agenda.” In his opinion, the key to expanding presence in the EU market is “quality of entry” — standards, traceability, certification, and integration into value chains.
The study also notes the role of markets where Ukraine has a positive trade balance, as well as the importance of trade hubs and logistics. In particular, among the areas that could potentially provide rapid growth with reduced logistics costs and stable maritime routes, the countries where exports already exceed imports stand out, as well as European logistics hubs through which part of Ukraine’s flows pass.
Speaking about the prospects for 2026, Experts Club highlights as key factors the conditions of access to EU markets, institutional agreements with regional partners, and logistics, including the security of sea routes. “The most applicable growth points for Ukraine are a combination of markets with an already positive balance and instruments that reduce barriers: agreements, standardization, and logistics,” Urakin concluded.
