According to Experts Club, Ukrainians’ attitudes toward Romania remain predominantly positive or neutral; however, in August 2026, the share of positive assessments declined slightly compared to the previous survey wave. 45.2% of respondents view the country positively, 9.8% negatively, while 42.3% hold a neutral stance, reports the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center.
According to the results of the August survey, 13.3% of Ukrainians view Romania entirely positively, and 31.9% view it mostly positively. A neutral attitude was expressed by 42.3% of respondents. 8.4% view the country mostly negatively, 1.4% view it entirely negatively, and another 2.7% were undecided.
The balance of positive and negative assessments stands at plus 35.4 percentage points. Thus, positive responses outnumber negative ones by more than four to one, although respondents with a neutral attitude remain the largest single group.
Compared to March 2026, public perception of Romania has deteriorated slightly. In the previous survey wave, 14.9% of respondents rated the country entirely positively, and 33.8% rated it mostly positively—meaning the total share of positive responses was 48.7%. Seven percent of respondents had a negative view of Romania, and 42.2% were neutral.
Thus, over the course of five months, the positive attitude decreased by 3.5 percentage points—from 48.7% to 45.2%—while the negative attitude increased by 2.8 percentage points—to 9.8%. The share of neutral responses remained virtually unchanged: 42.2% in March and 42.3% in August. The balance between positive and negative assessments decreased from +41.7 to +35.4 percentage points, or by 6.3 percentage points.
These results indicate a moderate weakening of positive perceptions rather than a fundamental shift in attitude. The neutral group remains stable, and negative assessments, despite their increase, still lag significantly behind the positive ones.
Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center and a candidate of economic sciences, commenting on the need to compare public assessments with the actual economic role of international partners, emphasized the deterioration of Ukraine’s overall foreign trade balance.
“For Ukraine, Romania is not an abstract foreign policy partner, but a neighboring country with which logistics, trade, the movement of people, the transit of Ukrainian goods, and humanitarian contacts are intertwined on a daily basis. Therefore, public perception here is shaped not only by political statements but also by concrete experiences of interaction. I would not yet interpret the current decline in positive assessments as a fundamental shift in attitude—the positive balance remains very significant,” Urakin noted.
In the case of Romania, the new wave of the survey shows that the country maintains a positive balance in public opinion, but this margin has narrowed compared to March. At the same time, the virtually unchanged proportion of neutral responses indicates that the main changes occurred specifically between the positive and negative segments.
The survey was conducted in August 2026 using an online self-administered questionnaire via the SunFlowerSociology panel among 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. The previous wave also included 800 respondents, and the sample was representative by age, gender, and region.
ACTIVE GROUP, CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE, EXPERTS CLUB, international relations, PUBLIC OPINION, ROMANIA, SOCIOLOGY, UKRAINE
Spain continues to strengthen its positive image among Ukrainians: in August 2026, 65.2% of respondents expressed a positive attitude toward the country, while only 1.6% expressed a negative one. Compared to the previous survey, the share of positive assessments has increased, while negative attitudes remain at a minimal level, according to the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center.
According to the results of the August survey, 23.9% of Ukrainians have a completely positive attitude toward Spain, and 41.3% have a mostly positive attitude. A neutral stance is held by 31.3% of respondents. 1.4% view the country mostly negatively, only 0.2% view it entirely negatively, and another 2% were undecided.
The balance of positive and negative assessments stands at plus 63.6 percentage points. Thus, positive attitudes toward Spain outweigh negative ones by more than 40 times, and over 96% of respondents view the country positively or neutrally.
Compared to March 2026, attitudes toward Spain have improved. In the previous survey, 18.9% of respondents described their attitude as entirely positive, and 44.8% as mostly positive. The overall positive rating stood at 63.6%, the negative rating at 0.9%, and 33.6% of respondents held a neutral position.
Over the course of five months, the share of positive assessments increased by approximately 1.6 percentage points—to 65.2%. At the same time, there were changes within the positive group: the share of “entirely positive” responses rose by 5 percentage points—from 18.9% to 23.9%—while the share of “mostly positive” responses declined slightly. The share of neutral assessments decreased from 33.6% to 31.3%.
This continues the positive trend observed in previous waves of the survey: in August 2025, the balance of positive and negative attitudes toward Spain stood at approximately plus 52 percentage points; in March 2026, it was approximately plus 62.7 percentage points; and in August, it was plus 63.6 percentage points.
Spain remains not only one of the most positively perceived European countries but also one of Ukraine’s most advantageous trading partners. Recently, Spain has been among the leaders in terms of a trade surplus for Ukraine—that is, Ukrainian exports to this country significantly exceed imports. This makes the Spanish market particularly important in terms of foreign exchange earnings, export diversification, and the presence of Ukrainian businesses in the EU market.
Maksym Urakin, founder of the information and analytical center Experts Club, notes that in this case, the country’s positive public image is combined with real economic benefits for Ukraine.
“Spain is not only a country with a consistently positive image among Ukrainians but also one of Ukraine’s most advantageous economic partners. Recently, it has demonstrated a very strong position in bilateral trade and stands out as one of the leaders in terms of a trade surplus favorable to Ukraine. The combination of economic benefits, political support, humanitarian openness, and a positive public attitude forms a very solid foundation for the further development of Ukrainian-Spanish relations,” Urakin noted.
Oleksandr Pozniy, director of the research company Active Group, attributed the positive perception of Spain to a combination of political, humanitarian, and social factors.
“Spain actively supports Ukraine on the international stage, provides humanitarian aid, and creates favorable conditions for Ukrainian displaced persons. At the same time, cultural openness and traditional ties between our peoples reinforce this positive image. Therefore, there is virtually no mistrust or criticism of Spain within Ukrainian society,” Pozniy noted.
The latest wave of the survey generally confirms this trend. The increase in the share of entirely positive assessments, coupled with an extremely low level of negative sentiment, indicates that Spain continues to enjoy a consistently positive image among the Ukrainian public.
The survey was conducted in August 2026 using self-administered online questionnaires in the SunFlowerSociology panel among 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. In the previous wave conducted in March, 800 respondents were also surveyed, and the sample was representative by age, gender, and region.
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, international relations, Pozniy, PUBLIC OPINION, SOCIOLOGY, SPAIN, TRADE, UKRAINE, URAKIN
Ukrainians’ attitude toward Slovakia in August 2026 improved significantly compared to the previous survey: the share of positive assessments rose to 40.7%, while negative assessments fell to 12.2%. Respondents with a neutral attitude remain the largest group—44.4%, according to the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center. Experts.news
According to the results of the August survey, 9.8% of Ukrainians have a completely positive attitude toward Slovakia, and 30.9% have a mostly positive attitude. A neutral attitude was expressed by 44.4% of respondents. 10.8% view the country mostly negatively, 1.4% view it entirely negatively, and another 2.7% were undecided.
Based on the rounded figures in the table, the balance of positive and negative assessments is approximately plus 28.5 percentage points, while in the consolidated survey results it is reported at plus 28.6 percentage points. This is one of the most notable examples of improved public perception among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
In March 2026, 34.3% of respondents viewed Slovakia positively: 8.9% viewed it entirely positively and 25.4% viewed it mostly positively. At that time, 18.2% of respondents expressed a negative attitude, while 43.6% were neutral.
Thus, over the course of five months, the share of positive assessments increased by 6.4 percentage points—from 34.3% to 40.7%—while negative assessments decreased by approximately 6 percentage points—from 18.2% to 12.2%. The neutral group remained virtually unchanged—43.6% in March versus 44.4% in August.
Even more noticeable is the shift in the balance between positive and negative assessments: it rose from approximately plus 16.1 percentage points to plus 28.6 percentage points, or by more than 12 percentage points. Unlike a number of other countries in the region, where August saw a deterioration or largely stable trends, the survey shows a shift toward a more favorable perception in the case of Slovakia.
Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center and a candidate of economic sciences, believes that the improvement in attitudes toward Slovakia may be linked to a gradual shift from an emotional perception of political rhetoric to a more pragmatic assessment of the actual relations between the two countries.
“For Ukraine, Slovakia is a neighboring country with which there are very concrete daily ties: trade, transit, energy, border cooperation, humanitarian contacts, and the movement of people. When the public sees these practical ties and they remain stable, it gradually softens even a rather tense political backdrop. In my opinion, the current increase in positive assessments indicates precisely this shift toward a more pragmatic perception of Slovakia,” noted Maksym Urakin.
According to him, the simultaneous growth of the positive segment and the decline in the negative segment are particularly telling.
“It’s not just the shift in the overall balance that’s important here. Over the course of five months, the share of negative assessments has fallen by about a third, while positive assessments have increased significantly. This means that some of the people who previously viewed Slovakia critically are shifting not just to the neutral group, but to the positive one as well. At the same time, the 44.4% of neutral responses indicate that there remains significant potential for further shaping the country’s image in Ukraine,” added Urakin.
The survey was conducted in August 2026 using an online self-administered questionnaire via the SunFlowerSociology panel among 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. The previous wave in March also included 800 respondents; the sample was representative by age, gender, and region, with a maximum theoretical margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points for a 50% indicator.
ACTIVE GROUP, Central Europe, EXPERTS CLUB, international relations, PUBLIC OPINION, SLOVAKIA, SOCIOLOGY, UKRAINE, URAKIN
The Czech Republic continues to enjoy a high level of positive perception among Ukrainians, although in August 2026 the share of favorable assessments decreased compared to March. 61.3% of respondents view the country positively, 5.1% negatively, while nearly one-third of respondents hold a neutral stance, according to the Experts Club information and analytical center.
According to the results of the August survey, 18.8% of Ukrainians view the Czech Republic entirely positively, and 42.5% view it mostly positively. A neutral stance was chosen by 32.1% of respondents. 4.1% view the country mostly negatively, 1% view it entirely negatively, and another 1.6% were undecided.
The balance of positive and negative assessments stands at plus 56.2 percentage points. This is the highest figure among the Central and Eastern European countries included in the study. Following the Czech Republic in this regional group are Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia.
Compared to the previous wave of the survey, attitudes toward the Czech Republic have deteriorated somewhat. In March 2026, 23.3% of respondents rated the country entirely positively, and 44.1% rated it mostly positively—meaning the total share of positive responses was 67.4%. 28.2% had a neutral attitude, and about 3% had a negative one.
Thus, over the course of five months, the share of positive assessments fell by 6.1 percentage points—from 67.4% to 61.3%. Negative responses increased by approximately 2.1 percentage points, while neutral responses rose by 3.9 percentage points. The balance between positive and negative attitudes decreased from approximately plus 64.4 percentage points to plus 56.2 percentage points.
At the same time, these changes do not indicate a fundamental shift in Ukrainians’ attitudes toward the Czech Republic. Positive assessments outnumber negative ones by more than 12 to 1, and the main shift in responses was toward a neutral stance. The Czech Republic also remains significantly higher than most other countries in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of the balance of public perception.
Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center and a candidate of economic sciences, commenting on the results of a previous study on the Czech Republic, attributed the high level of positive sentiment to the nature of bilateral relations.
“Ukrainians’ positive attitude toward the Czech Republic is explained not only by historical proximity but also by Prague’s active support for Ukraine. At the same time, economic relations between the countries are characterized by a significant imbalance—imports from the Czech Republic substantially exceed exports. This creates opportunities for developing new areas of cooperation, particularly in the fields of high technology, investment projects, and energy,” Urakin noted.
The latest wave of the survey shows that the overall positive image of the Czech Republic among Ukrainians remains, although its intensity has decreased compared to the spring. At the same time, the increase in neutral assessments is more noticeable than the rise in negative ones.
The survey, conducted in August 2026, used self-administered online questionnaires from the SunFlowerSociology panel among 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. The previous survey in March also included 800 respondents; the sample was representative by age, gender, and region, and the maximum theoretical margin of error for indicators at the 50% confidence level was ±3.5 percentage points.
ACTIVE GROUP, Central Europe, CZECH REPUBLIC, EXPERTS CLUB, international relations, PUBLIC OPINION, SOCIOLOGY, UKRAINE, URAKIN
The Netherlands continues to enjoy one of the highest levels of positive perception among Ukrainians: in August 2026, a total of 71.3% of respondents expressed a positive attitude toward the country, while only 1.6% expressed a negative one. Compared to March, the share of positive assessments declined slightly, but the net sentiment remains one of the highest among the countries surveyed, according to the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center. Experts.news
According to the results of the August survey, 28.4% of Ukrainians have a completely positive attitude toward the Netherlands, and 42.9% have a mostly positive attitude. A neutral stance is held by 26.4% of respondents. 1.4% view the country mostly negatively, only 0.2% view it entirely negatively, and another 0.8% were undecided.
The net balance of positive and negative assessments, based on rounded figures, stands at plus 69.7 percentage points. Based on this indicator, the Netherlands ranks among the countries with the most favorable public perception among Ukrainians, trailing only Canada and Sweden in the overall ranking.
A previous survey conducted in March 2026 also showed a very high level of favorability. At that time, 34.3% of respondents viewed the Netherlands entirely positively, 38.5% viewed it mostly positively, and 24.2% held a neutral position. In the aggregated results, the share of positive assessments was reported at 72.7%, while negative assessments accounted for only 1.2%.
Thus, between March and August, the overall share of positive assessments decreased by approximately 1.4 percentage points. At the same time, the structure of positive attitudes changed more noticeably: the share of entirely positive responses decreased by 5.9 percentage points, while that of mostly positive responses increased by 4.4 percentage points. The share of neutral assessments increased by approximately 2.2 percentage points. Overall, these changes do not indicate a significant deterioration in attitudes—the negative segment remains minimal.
Oleksandr Pozniy, director of the research firm Active Group, had previously highlighted the stability of the Netherlands’ positive image. He attributed the high ratings to the country’s consistent stance and a nature of engagement that is understandable to Ukrainian society. In his view, stable indicators across several survey waves are more important than minor fluctuations between individual measurements.
This positive public perception is also coupled with trade figures that are favorable to Ukraine. In the first half of 2026, trade with the Netherlands totaled approximately $1.82 billion, with Ukrainian exports exceeding $1 billion and a trade surplus for Ukraine of about $221.5 million.
Thus, the Netherlands remains an example of a country where a high level of public support is combined with its important role as a market for Ukrainian exports. A slight decline in the positive rating compared to March does not currently change the overall picture: only a small portion of respondents view the country negatively.
ACTIVE GROUP, EUROPEAN UNION, EXPERTS CLUB, FOREIGN TRADE, international relations, NETHERLANDS, Pozniy, PUBLIC OPINION, SOCIOLOGY, UKRAINE
Ukrainians’ attitude toward Serbia in August 2026 remains predominantly neutral: 53.4% of respondents hold this view. 22.7% of those surveyed view the country positively, while 20.3% view it negatively. Compared to March, the figures have changed only slightly; however, on a year-over-year basis, perceptions of Serbia have improved noticeably, according to the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center.
According to the results of the August survey, 5.5% of Ukrainians view Serbia entirely positively, while 17.2% view it mostly positively. A neutral response was chosen by 53.4%. The country is viewed mostly negatively by 17.6%, entirely negatively by 2.7%, and another 3.5% were undecided.
According to the rounded data in the table, the balance between positive and negative attitudes is approximately plus 2.4 percentage points. Thus, positive assessments already slightly outweigh negative ones, although the difference remains small, and more than half of Ukrainians continue to hold a neutral position.
In March 2026, 21.7% of respondents viewed Serbia positively: 5.6% viewed it entirely positively and 16.1% viewed it mostly positively. Fifty-five percent held a neutral position, 19.6% viewed the country negatively, and another 3.7% were undecided.
Thus, over the course of five months, the positive segment grew by approximately 1 percentage point—to 22.7%—while the negative segment also increased slightly—by about 0.7 percentage points—and the share of neutral responses decreased by 1.6 percentage points. In fact, following a noticeable improvement recorded in the spring, attitudes have stabilized.
The annual trend is much more pronounced. In August 2025, only 13.7% of Ukrainians had a positive attitude toward Serbia, while 26% had a negative one. By March 2026, the positive figure had risen to 21.7%, while the negative figure had fallen to 19.6%. Thus, compared to August of last year, positive attitudes are now approximately 9 percentage points higher, while negative attitudes are nearly 6 percentage points lower.
Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center and a candidate of economic sciences, attributed this positive trend, in particular, to the more active work of Serbia’s diplomatic mission in Ukraine, headed by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Andon Sapundži. The Serbian Embassy resumed operations in Kyiv in 2025, and Sapundži publicly emphasized the need to restore active cooperation between the two countries.
“The results regarding Serbia show that Ukrainian society reacts quite sensitively to the foreign policy behavior of other countries. The increase in positive assessments indicates a certain softening of perceptions, but the high level of neutrality means that the country’s image remains ambiguous. In such cases, consistency in actions and signals that build trust at the societal level plays a key role. “The active involvement of the Serbian diplomatic mission, led by the new ambassador, in humanitarian and economic initiatives and in establishing intergovernmental dialogue has undoubtedly had a positive impact on Ukrainians’ attitudes toward this Balkan country,” Urakin noted.
According to Maksym Urakin, an additional factor in 2026 was the noticeable revival of political and economic contacts between Kyiv and Belgrade. In May, a Serbian-Ukrainian business forum was held in Belgrade, attended by more than 40 representatives of companies from both countries. The forum discussed the resumption of negotiations on a free trade zone, the expansion of trade, and the possibility of using Serbia as one of the logistics and business hubs for Ukrainian companies in the Balkans.
In addition, in July, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić traveled to Kyiv for the Ukraine–Southeast Europe Summit, and in September he visited Ukraine again to participate in the Carpathian Summit.
In the first half of 2026, Ukraine’s trade turnover with Serbia totaled approximately $345.9 million, of which $102.7 million came from Ukrainian exports and $243.2 million from imports of Serbian goods. The trade deficit for Ukraine amounted to approximately $140.5 million.
Current results indicate that the long-term trend in attitudes toward Serbia is more positive than it was a year ago, but a significant neutral group—more than half of those surveyed—leaves considerable potential for further shaping the country’s image through diplomatic, humanitarian, cultural, and economic contacts.
ACTIVE GROUP, Andon Sapundži, EXPERTS CLUB, international relations, PUBLIC OPINION, SERBIA, SOCIOLOGY, the Balkans, UKRAINE, URAKIN
