The total transit of grains and oilseeds from Ukraine through neighboring Moldova, Slovakia, and Hungary increased by 46.5% in September compared to August, but the bulk of the increase came from Moldova and Slovakia, Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
According to his data, transit through Moldova rose by 59.7%—to 107,000 metric tons in September from 67,000 metric tons in August; through Slovakia—by 61.5%, to 336,000 metric tons from 208,000 metric tons; and through Hungary—by 8.5%, to 115,000 metric tons from 106,000 metric tons.
“An increase is possible; we’ll see how much. We’re working on all fronts,” Vysotsky emphasized.
At the same time, he refrained from making any forecasts.
“We’ll report the actual results every month,” the minister noted.
Regarding the prospects for opening a maritime grain corridor, the head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy stated that “there are currently no signals from our partners that could be interpreted as providing any kind of planning horizon.”
“The situation remains unchanged—no more, no less,” Vysotsky said.
Earlier, the minister reported that in September, Ukraine managed to export 2.4 million metric tons of agricultural products, or 46% of what was supposed to be exported, including 1.4 million metric tons of grain (38%), 444,000 metric tons of oilseeds (83%), oil—311,000 metric tons, or 64%, and meal—280,000 metric tons, or 46% of the potential required exports.
EXPORTS, GRAIN, HUNGARY, MOLDOVA, SLOVAKIA, TRANSIT, UKRAINE
On October 20, Hungary blocked the next stage of the negotiation process regarding Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the European Union by refusing to approve the results of the preliminary review of legislation for the last two outstanding negotiation clusters. Budapest’s position was not supported by the remaining 26 EU countries, according to “European Truth,” citing European diplomats.
The decision was discussed at a meeting of the EU Council’s Working Group on Enlargement (COELA) in Brussels. The participants had planned to approve the results of the screening of Ukrainian and Moldovan legislation regarding negotiation clusters No. 4 and No. 5, which is a necessary procedural step before their official opening.
However, the Hungarian representative refused to support the approval of the documents, despite the position of the other EU member states.
As three European diplomats told The Kyiv Independent, representatives from other countries asked the Hungarian delegation to explain the reasons for the refusal. According to one of the publication’s sources, Budapest did not provide any new arguments, stating only that its position remains unchanged.
At the time of publication, Hungary’s official mission to the EU had not provided the publication with a comment.
The fourth negotiation cluster, “Green Agenda and Sustainable Interconnectivity,” covers transportation policy, energy, trans-European networks, environmental legislation, and the fight against climate change.
The fifth cluster, “Resources, Agriculture, and Cohesion Policy,” involves harmonizing regulations in the areas of agricultural policy, food security, veterinary and phytosanitary controls, fisheries, regional development, as well as financial and budgetary provisions.
Both clusters are of significant importance for Ukraine’s economic integration into the EU, as they concern access for agricultural products to the European market, transportation, energy infrastructure, and future mechanisms for the distribution of European budget funds.
This new impasse occurred one week after the previous progress in the negotiation process.
On October 13, the Council of the EU officially opened two negotiation clusters for Ukraine and Moldova: No. 2, “Internal Market,” and No. 3, “Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth.” These clusters encompass 17 negotiation chapters, including issues related to competition, entrepreneurship, and economic regulation.
As reported by the Council of the EU, at that time, four of the six clusters provided for in the accession procedure had been opened for both countries.
The previous decision became possible after Hungary withdrew its objections to the opening of the second and third clusters following the Verkhovna Rada’s adoption on October 12 of amendments to education legislation concerning the rights of national minorities.
Previously, Budapest had linked the progress of negotiations to ensuring the linguistic and educational rights of the Hungarian community in Zakarpattia.
According to The Kyiv Independent, the current delay may prove to be temporary. European diplomats expect that the remaining two negotiation clusters will be officially opened in December 2026.
Ireland, which will hold the EU Council presidency in the second half of 2026, intends to continue discussing this issue at upcoming meetings of the Enlargement Working Group.
However, Hungary’s October decision does not cancel the negotiation clusters that have already been opened and does not mean the end of accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova. It does, however, delay the necessary harmonization of documents required for both countries to move forward.
Ukraine and Moldova were granted EU candidate status in June 2022. In December 2023, the European Council decided to open negotiations, and the first intergovernmental conference took place in June 2024.
The accession process involves aligning national legislation with EU law, implementing institutional reforms, and negotiating 35 chapters, most of which are grouped into six thematic clusters. The opening of all clusters marks a stage in the negotiations but does not in itself signify the completion of the accession process.
EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, EUROPEAN UNION, HUNGARY, MOLDOVA, UKRAINE
According to Experts Club, Moldova continues to be viewed predominantly positively by Ukrainians: in August 2026, 55.4% of respondents had a positive attitude toward the country, while 7.3% had a negative one. At the same time, more than a third of those surveyed—35.6%—hold a neutral view. Compared to March, the share of positive assessments has decreased slightly, reports the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center.
According to the results of the August survey, 20.4% of Ukrainians view Moldova entirely positively, and 35% view it mostly positively. A neutral attitude was expressed by 35.6% of respondents. 6.1% view the country mostly negatively, 1.2% completely negatively, and another 1.8% were undecided.
According to the rounded data in the table, the balance of positive and negative assessments is approximately plus 48.1 percentage points. Thus, positive attitudes toward Moldova outnumber negative ones by more than seven to one. Among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, it is second only to the Czech Republic in terms of the balance of assessments.
In March 2026, 60.1% of respondents had a positive attitude toward Moldova: 22.8% viewed it entirely positively and 37.3% viewed it mostly positively. A neutral stance was held by 32.9% of respondents, 5.4% viewed the country negatively, and another 1.6% were undecided.
Thus, over the course of five months, the share of positive responses decreased by 4.7 percentage points—from 60.1% to 55.4%. Negative assessments increased by 1.9 percentage points, while the neutral segment grew by 2.7 percentage points. The balance between positive and negative attitudes decreased from approximately plus 54.7 to plus 48.1 percentage points, respectively.
At the same time, Moldova is of great importance to Ukraine not only as a neighboring country but also as a sales market. In the first half of 2026, Ukraine’s trade surplus with Moldova amounted to approximately $467 million, placing it third among partners with the largest trade surpluses, after Spain and Egypt.
Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center and a candidate of economic sciences, emphasizes that it is important for Ukraine not only to maintain a presence in such markets but also to transform the positive trade balance into long-term economic results.
“To establish a foothold in these markets, it is not enough to simply produce a competitive product. We need long-term contracts, affordable insurance against military and commercial risks, export credit facilities, systematic trade diplomacy, harmonization of veterinary and phytosanitary procedures, as well as investments in ports, railways, border infrastructure, and overseas logistics centers. A trade surplus should not merely be a statistical difference between exports and imports, but rather a steady flow of foreign exchange earnings, taxes, investments, and jobs in Ukraine,” Urakin noted.
He also identifies Moldova as one of the markets where Ukraine already has a favorable starting position: “The most promising ‘growth points’ for Ukraine are a combination of markets with an already positive trade balance—Egypt, Moldova, and, to some extent, EU trade hubs—along with tools that reduce barriers: agreements, standardization, and logistics,” Urakin emphasized.
Thus, the latest round of the survey reveals a slight decline in positive attitudes toward Moldova, but no change in the overall picture: more than half of Ukrainians view the country positively, the negative segment remains small, and economic relations are characterized by a significant trade surplus for Ukraine.
ACTIVE GROUP, CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE, EXPERTS CLUB, FOREIGN TRADE, international relations, MOLDOVA, PUBLIC OPINION, SOCIOLOGY, UKRAINE
The Moldovan government will discuss with Ukrainian officials the possibility of signing a long-term contract for the supply of natural gas, Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan said on the eve of his visit to Kyiv.
“Until now, there has been a moratorium on gas exports from Ukraine. Very recently, an initiative was launched to lift this moratorium, as Ukraine also needs budget revenue. Indeed, the country has a certain surplus of gas. It is produced in two regions: Poltava and Ivano-Frankivsk. The volumes available for export are not very large. I’ve heard figures of around 500 million cubic meters of gas, which is roughly the amount we’ll need during the gas year on the regulated market,” said Tofan, as quoted by the state agency “Moldpres.”
According to him, this issue will be discussed during his visit to Kyiv, which is planned for the near future.
The prime minister expects Kyiv to offer Chisinau a competitive price for gas if a long-term contract—for 3 to 5 years—is signed. “We need to understand that Ukraine will sell this gas at market price. The cost can be reduced through an agreement that provides for a longer purchase term. If we buy gas for immediate consumption, we pay the market price or a price close to it. However, Ukrainian gas could be cheaper because our transportation costs will be lower. If we manage to negotiate the terms and conclude an agreement for a longer purchase period—three, four, or five years—by offering them a purchase guarantee, then the price could indeed be lower,” Tofan noted.
On October 7, the Ukrainian government approved the partial resumption of natural gas exports, which had been suspended in 2022. According to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, private producers will be able to export up to 15% of the volume of gas produced in the previous month. This mechanism will not apply to state-controlled companies and is intended to allow private producers to sell gas to foreign markets under regulated conditions.
As previously reported, Moldova entered another round of the energy crisis in August and September, causing domestic gas tariffs to rise 1.7-fold over two months; the country is also facing a sharp increase in the cost of imported petroleum products. A state of emergency in the energy sector has been in effect in Moldova since September 26.
In September, the Moldovan prime minister repeatedly stated the need to conclude long-term direct contracts for gas imports with producers, as opposed to exchange-traded forward contracts on the TTF hub in the Netherlands, under which gas has been supplied to Moldova since 2022. In particular, Tofan initiated negotiations on gas imports from the United States, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. He also stated that Moldova plans to conclude direct contracts for gas supplies in 2027 from Romania, specifically from the Neptun Deep field in the Black Sea.
The Czech Republic and Moldova have the highest net sentiment—the balance of positive and negative attitudes—among Ukrainians among the Central and Eastern European countries included in the study—56.2 and 48.2 percentage points, respectively. At the same time, the balance of attitudes toward Poland turned negative in August 2026, while assessments of Slovakia and Hungary improved significantly compared to previous waves. This is evidenced by the results of the third wave of the study “Ukrainians’ Attitudes Toward Countries Around the World,” conducted by Active Group in collaboration with Experts Club, according to the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center.
The Czech Republic received the highest share of positive assessments in this group—61.3%. 32.1% of respondents have a neutral attitude toward it, 5.1% have a negative attitude, and another 1.6% were undecided. The balance of positive and negative attitudes stands at 56.2 percentage points, compared to 64.4 percentage points in March 2026 and 58.7 percentage points in August 2025.
Regarding Moldova, 55.4% of respondents have a positive attitude, 35.6% are neutral, and 7.2% have a negative attitude. The balance stands at 48.2 percentage points, which is lower than the 54.7 percentage points recorded in March but higher than the 46.6 percentage points recorded in August of last year.
Regarding Romania, 45.2% of respondents expressed a positive attitude, 42.3% were neutral, and 9.8% were negative. The balance fell to 35.4 percentage points from 41.7 percentage points in March. In Bulgaria, positive assessments accounted for 42.7%, neutral ones for 47.6%, and negative ones for 7.4%, with the balance standing at 35.3 percentage points, compared to 51.5 percentage points in March.
Unlike most countries in the group, attitudes toward Slovakia showed a noticeable improvement. It is viewed positively by 40.7% of respondents, negatively by 12.1%, and neutrally by 44.4%. The balance rose to 28.6 percentage points from 16.1 percentage points in March 2026 and just 1.6 percentage points in August 2025.
The sharpest negative trend was recorded regarding Poland. 34.6% of Ukrainians view it positively, 37% negatively, and 25.4% neutrally. As a result, the net balance stands at minus 2.4 percentage points, whereas in March 2026 it was plus 41.7 percentage points, and in August 2025—plus 44 percentage points. The deterioration in attitudes toward Poland was one of the most notable shifts in the third wave of the survey.
Hungary remains in the negative zone: 22.9% of respondents expressed a positive attitude, 35.6% a negative one, and 37.4% a neutral one. At the same time, its balance improved to minus 12.7 percentage points compared to minus 33.6 percentage points in March and minus 39.7 percentage points in August 2025.
Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center, deputy director of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, and candidate of economic sciences, emphasized that public perception of countries must be analyzed in parallel with Ukraine’s actual economic ties.
“That is why it is very important for us to analyze our main partners. The first recommendation is to regularly showcase concrete projects, specific actions, and the presence here of foundations, embassies, teams, and diplomats in the humanitarian sphere and in science. We also need to use our sociological data to draw conclusions and strengthen our relations, particularly trade relations,” Urakin noted.
Oleksandr Pozniy, director of the research firm Active Group, highlighted the practical significance of the study’s findings for economic and diplomatic policy.
“We should focus on developing more than just general awareness. First and foremost, business associations, the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs need to work to develop bilateral relations and improve the balance of trade. We must expand cooperation with countries where we can achieve a positive trade balance,” Pozniy noted.
The survey was conducted in August 2026 using self-administered online questionnaires in the SunFlowerSociology panel among 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. According to the organizers, the sample is representative by age, gender, and region, with a maximum theoretical margin of error of 3.5%. This is the third wave of the study, following surveys conducted in August 2025 and March 2026.
ACTIVE GROUP, BULGARIA, Central Europe, CZECH REPUBLIC, EASTERN EUROPE, EXPERTS CLUB, HUNGARY, MOLDOVA, POLAND, Pozniy, ROMANIA, SLOVAKIA, SOCIOLOGY, UKRAINE, URAKIN
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, and Romanian President Nicușor Dan will hold a trilateral meeting in Chisinau on Thursday, August 27, as part of the events marking the 35th anniversary of Moldova’s independence.
According to the schedule released by the Romanian Presidential Administration, the trilateral meeting between Zelenskyy, Sandu, and Dan is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. at the Presidential Palace in Chisinau. Following the talks, the three heads of state will make joint statements to the press.
The official program from the Moldovan side states that Sandu will meet with the Romanian president at 2:35 p.m. After bilateral talks, Sandu and Dan will take part in a military parade on the Great National Assembly Square, dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the country’s independence. The presidents are scheduled to begin their participation in the parade at 4:45 p.m.
The Moldovan president will meet with Zelenskyy at 6:00 p.m., followed by a trilateral meeting of delegations from Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania.
In the evening, Zelenskyy, Sandu, and Dan will also take part in festive events on the Great National Assembly Square. After 9:00 p.m., the three presidents are scheduled to address the public.
On August 27, Moldova celebrates the 35th anniversary of the declaration of independence. The country’s parliament adopted the Declaration of Independence on August 27, 1991. This year’s events are taking place under the slogan “Independence Unites Us.”
Official source: Office of the President of the Republic of Moldova, statement dated August 26, 2026.
