According to the results of a survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with Experts Club in August 2025, Ukrainians identified priority areas for the development of foreign economic relations.
The majority of respondents – 81.3% – believe that Ukraine should first and foremost develop economic cooperation with the countries of the European Union. The United Kingdom also received a high level of support – 66.5%, while the United States came in third with 62.7%.
Citizens also pay significant attention to Asian countries: 36.2% of respondents support expanding relations with Southeast Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, etc.), and 31.7% with China. At the same time, 29.5% pointed to the importance of deepening cooperation with countries in the Arab and Muslim world.
To a lesser extent, respondents are focused on partnerships with African and South American countries — this direction was supported by 14.8% of Ukrainians. Another 8.3% of respondents were undecided, and 1.0% believe that Ukraine does not need any new economic partnerships.
“These data clearly demonstrate the European and transatlantic orientation of Ukrainians in terms of economic priorities. The EU, the UK, and the US form the basis of foreign economic trust, while Asia and the Arab world are perceived as promising but secondary partners,” commented Active Group Director Oleksandr Pozniy.
According to Experts Club co-founder Maksim Urakin, the survey results confirm the real economic structure of Ukraine’s trade.
“The EU is already Ukraine’s main trading partner, accounting for over 40% of trade turnover, but if we analyze individual countries, China remains the leader. The high levels of support for cooperation with the UK and the US reflect society’s trust in Ukraine’s political and economic partners during this difficult period. At the same time, interest in Asia and the Arab world indicates the need to diversify markets and seek new opportunities in the future,” he stressed.
The survey was conducted using self-completed questionnaires among 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. The sample is representative in terms of age, gender, and region.
ACTIVE GROUP, Arab countries, CHINA, EU, EXPERTS CLUB, GREAT BRITAIN, JAPAN, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SOUTH KOREA, TRADE, UKRAINIAN ECONOMY, URAKIN, USA
Drop from £1,690 driven by fall in wholesale gas prices but household bills still substantially higher than three years ago.
The energy price cap in Great Britain will fall 7% to the equivalent of £1,568 a year this summer after a drop in wholesale gas prices.
Set by the energy regulator, Ofgem, the cap reflects the average annual dual-fuel bill for 29m households and takes effect from July until the end of September.
The cap, which is set quarterly, will fall by £122 in July from its current level of £1,690, easing the pressure on household finances.
Although that represents a fillip for hard-pressed consumers, it still leaves bills far above the £1,154 cap in the summer of 2021, before the energy crisis. Wholesale gas prices began to rise sharply in 2021 and escalated after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Bills have since eased from their peak in 2023 – when the cap reached £4,279 but the government subsidised bills to keep them at £2,500 – but remain above pre-crisis levels, meaning millions of households are expected to remain in fuel poverty.
Jess Ralston, an energy analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Households are still struggling with bills that are hundreds of pounds higher than pre-crisis levels, and estimates suggest bills may rise again as we head into winter.
“Whatever colour the next government is, we’ll be heading into a winter still heavily dependent on volatile gas markets, going backwards on our energy independence. The cost of living, driven in part by energy bills, and the UK’s energy security may well be key election issues – so how the parties choose to tackle them will likely be in the spotlight.”
The price cap is expected to rise slightly in October before falling again in January 2025, according to analysis by the consultancy Cornwall Insight. It had forecast July’s cap would be £1,574 a year.
The coronation ceremony of King Charles III of Great Britain will take place on May 6 next year, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday.
“Buckingham Palace is delighted to announce that the coronation of His Majesty the King will take place on Saturday 6 May 2023,” the royal residence said in a statement.
The ceremony at Westminster Abbey will be officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In addition, Queen Consort Camilla is crowned along with Charles III.
Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96. On September 10, the Council of Succession proclaimed her son as the new monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Charles III.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy and Turkey demonstrate their readiness to become guarantors of Ukraine’s security, but there is still no final answer from anyone
“Today, those who demonstrate that they are ready – we don’t have any signatories yet, but there is a demonstration – from Johnson, from Britain, from the USA, from Italy, from Turkey. I think it will be separate from the European Union,” reports he said, said on Saturday in an interview with the Ukrainian online media outlet Ukrayinska Pravda.
“I spoke separately with Ursula (President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen), separately with Charles Michel (Head of the European Council Charles Michel – UP), France, Germany.
We will do the first circle of conversation in this format for five (Britain, USA, Germany, France, Poland). Then other countries will join,” Zelensky said.
According to the publication, Zelensky believes that Ukraine will not have a problem with weapons or sanctions against the aggressor country, but there will be issues with the military component.
Ukraine and Great Britain have agreed on the joint construction of warships and bases for the domestic Navy, the press service of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine has said.
“On June 21 in Odesa aboard the HMS DEFENDER missile destroyer of the Royal Navy, Defence Procurement Minister of Great Britain Jeremy Quin and Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Myroniuk signed a memorandum on maritime partnership projects between the UK industry consortium and the Ukrainian Navy,” the ministry said.
In particular, the memorandum provides for the joint design and construction of warships in Ukraine and Great Britain, the reconstruction of Ukrainian shipbuilding enterprises and the construction of two bases of the Ukrainian Naval Forces.
In addition, the ceremony was attended by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov; First Sea Lord of Great Britain, Admiral Tony Radakin and British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons.
The ceremony participants watched the joint exercises of the Ukrainian, British and U.S. servicemen aboard the warship.
The HMS DEFENDER destroyer arrived in Odesa last Friday, June 18. This is the second Royal Navy warship to visit Odesa in the last few weeks, after HMS TRENT.
A visa-free regime of entry into Ukraine and a transit via Ukraine was introduced for the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was introduced on a temporary basis from January 31, 2020 to January 30, 2021. Respective decree No.28/2020 as of January 29 signed by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was posted on the president’s website.
“To introduce from January 31, 2020 to January 30, 2021 a visa-free regime of entry into Ukraine and transit via the territory of Ukraine for the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, if their stay in Ukraine does not exceed 90 days within 180 days,” reads the text of the decree.
The decree comes into force on the day it was published.
