According to Experts Club, Lithuania continues to enjoy one of the highest levels of positive perception among Ukrainians: in August 2026, 69.9% of respondents viewed the country positively, while only 3.9% viewed it negatively. At the same time, compared to the previous wave of the survey, the share of positive assessments has decreased, while the share of neutral assessments has increased, reports the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center.
According to the results of the August survey, 37.8% of Ukrainians view Lithuania entirely positively, and 32.1% view it mostly positively. A neutral stance is held by 24.5% of respondents. 3.1% view the country mostly negatively, 0.8% view it entirely negatively, and another 1.8% were undecided.
Based on the rounded figures in the table, the balance between positive and negative assessments is approximately plus 66 percentage points. This means that positive assessments of Lithuania outnumber negative ones by nearly 18 times. The country remains among those with the most favorable public perception among Ukrainians.
Compared to March 2026, the positive attitude has weakened somewhat. At that time, 44.1% of respondents rated Lithuania entirely positively, and another 31% rated it mostly positively, meaning the combined positive rating stood at 75.1%. Twenty-one percent of respondents had a neutral attitude toward the country, while about 3.3% had a negative one.
Thus, over the course of five months, the share of positive assessments decreased by 5.2 percentage points—from 75.1% to 69.9%. The share of neutral responses increased by 3.5 percentage points—from 21% to 24.5%—while the negative segment grew by only about 0.6 percentage points. Consequently, the decline in the positive rating was primarily due to some respondents shifting to a neutral position, rather than a sharp rise in negative attitudes.
The change in the intensity of positive assessments is also significant. The share of respondents with a completely positive attitude fell from 44.1% in March to 37.8% in August, while the share of mostly positive responses actually rose slightly—from 31% to 32.1%. This indicates a certain softening of assessments while maintaining an overall favorable image of Lithuania.
Oleksandr Pozniy, director of the research company Active Group, previously linked the high ratings of European countries to how Ukrainians perceive their support.
“This study confirms the general trend in public sentiment in Ukraine, which has intensified since the start of the full-scale war. Ukrainians clearly associate the support received primarily from European Union countries and the United Kingdom with a positive attitude toward them,” Pozniy noted.
At the same time, commenting on the structure of the responses in the survey, he emphasized: “For Ukrainians, the world is not ‘black and white,’ and the large proportion of neutral assessments regarding a number of countries indicates caution and a desire for balanced judgment rather than indifference.”
The latest round of the survey shows that, in the case of Lithuania, this trend is reflected in an increase in the neutral segment, while negative assessments remain at a very low level. Despite a decline compared to March, approximately seven out of ten Ukrainians continue to view the country positively.
The survey was conducted in August 2026 using self-administered online questionnaires in 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, EUROPEAN UNION, EXPERTS CLUB, international relations, LITHUANIA, PUBLIC OPINION, SOCIOLOGY, THE BALTIC STATES, UKRAINE
From January through September 2026, Ukraine exported insulated wires and cables, including fiber-optic products, worth $1.065 billion, maintaining shipment volumes at virtually the same level as the same period last year.
According to data from the State Customs Service, Germany remains the largest market for Ukrainian cable products. Over the nine-month period, shipments to this country totaled $348.7 million, down 2.8% compared to January–September 2025.
Germany’s share of Ukraine’s total exports of wires and cables decreased by approximately 1 percentage point—to 32.7%—but the country continues to account for nearly one-third of the industry’s total export revenue.
Poland ranks second, with Ukraine supplying $177.1 million worth of products, compared to $168.1 million a year earlier. Thus, exports to Poland increased by approximately 5.4%.
Hungary retained its third position with purchases totaling about $172 million, virtually unchanged from last year’s figure of $172.3 million.
The three largest European markets—Germany, Poland, and Hungary—accounted for a total of nearly $698 million in January–September, or about 65.5% of Ukraine’s total exports of wires and cables.
In September, exports of these products totaled $122.7 million. Compared to September of last year, this figure decreased by 6.6%, but compared to August 2026, it increased by 26%.
The cable industry remains one of the most prominent export-oriented segments of Ukraine’s machine-building and component manufacturing sectors. A significant portion of the products is supplied to companies in the European automotive, electrical engineering, and industrial sectors.
For the full year 2025, Ukraine increased its exports of insulated wires and cables by 10.6%—to $1.41 billion. If shipment rates in the fourth quarter remain close to last year’s levels, the annual export volume in 2026 may also remain at around $1.4 billion.
Another 30 Ukrainian children have arrived in Azerbaijan for rest, health improvement, and psychological rehabilitation, according to the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The new group includes children from the Dnipropetrovsk region and the city of Boyarka in the Kyiv region.
The program will take place in Gabala, one of Azerbaijan’s largest tourist and resort centers. The children will participate in recreational activities, health-improvement programs, and receive psychological support.
Since the start of the full-scale war, 722 Ukrainian children have already had the opportunity to rest and undergo rehabilitation in Azerbaijan.
Yuriy Gusev, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan, thanked the country’s leadership and the Azerbaijani people for their support of Ukrainian children.
“We are sincerely grateful to the leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people for their solidarity, care, hospitality, and support for Ukrainian children. This is yet another demonstration of the genuine friendship between our peoples and the Ukrainian-Azerbaijani strategic partnership,” the ambassador noted.
Recreation and rehabilitation programs for Ukrainian children in Azerbaijan have been implemented since the start of the full-scale war and have become one of the areas of humanitarian cooperation between the two countries.
AZERBAIJAN, child, HUMANITARIAN AID, REHABILITATION, UKRAINE
According to Experts Club, France continues to enjoy one of the highest levels of positive perception among Ukrainians: in August 2026, 72.8% of respondents viewed the country positively, while only 3.7% viewed it negatively. Compared to March, the share of positive assessments has decreased slightly, but at the same time, the share of negative responses has also decreased, reports the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center.
According to the results of the August survey, 28% of Ukrainians view France entirely positively, and 44.8% view it mostly positively. 22.5% of respondents hold a neutral position. 3.5% view the country mostly negatively, only 0.2% view it entirely negatively, and another 1% were undecided.
The balance of positive and negative assessments stands at plus 69.1 percentage points. Thus, positive attitudes toward France outnumber negative ones by nearly 20 to 1. Based on this balance, the country remains among the leaders in the overall ranking of Ukraine’s trading partners.
Compared to the previous survey wave, the changes are relatively minor. In March 2026, 30.3% of respondents had a completely positive attitude toward France, and 44.3% had a mostly positive attitude—meaning the overall positive rating stood at 74.6%. At that time, 20.3% held a neutral position, while 4.7% of respondents expressed a negative attitude.
Thus, over the course of five months, the share of positive assessments decreased by 1.8 percentage points—from 74.6% to 72.8%—but the share of negative assessments also fell—from 4.7% to 3.7%. At the same time, the share of neutral responses increased by 2.2 percentage points—to 22.5%. The balance between positive and negative attitudes changed only slightly—from plus 69.9 to plus 69.1 percentage points.
The internal structure of positive responses is also revealing. The share of those who view France entirely positively decreased from 30.3% to 28%, while the share of mostly positive responses remained virtually unchanged—44.3% in March and 44.8% in August. This indicates that a stable, positive core of public opinion regarding France remains intact.
Oleksandr Pozniy, director of the research firm Active Group, previously attributed France’s high ratings to its established image among the Ukrainian public.
“For many Ukrainians, France is a symbol of support in difficult times, as well as a cultural and political reference point in Europe. These figures demonstrate a high level of trust and respect, which is largely explained by Paris’s active role in European policy toward Ukraine,” Pozniy noted.
According to him, when analyzing these results, it is important to consider more than just current emotional assessments: attitudes toward other countries are shaped by experiences of interaction, the informational context, and Ukrainians’ expectations regarding the future role of a partner country.
The latest wave of the survey shows that attitudes toward France remain consistently positive: a slight decrease in the overall share of favorable assessments is accompanied by a reduction in the negative segment and an increase in the share of neutral responses. In other words, there has been no noticeable shift from a positive to a negative perception.
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 survey wave in March, 800 respondents were also surveyed; the sample was representative by age, gender, and region, with a maximum theoretical margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points for indicators at the 50% confidence level.
ACTIVE GROUP, EUROPEAN UNION, EXPERTS CLUB, FRANCE, international relations, PUBLIC OPINION, SOCIOLOGY, UKRAINE
Both directions of cross-border electricity trade increased during the period of October 5–11: imports rose by 6% compared to the previous week—to 13,100 MWh—while exports rose by 20%—to 176,400 MWh.
“Despite localized restrictions, Ukraine remained a net exporter throughout the week,” the DIXI Group analytical center reported on Tuesday, citing data from Energy Map.
As previously reported, since October 6, due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, power restriction schedules (PRS) for industry and businesses and hourly blackout schedules (HBS) for the general public have been in effect in some regions of Ukraine.
However, even amid localized restrictions, Ukraine remained a net exporter throughout the past week due to a power surplus in other regions. This situation was caused by the inability to transmit power to certain regions and cities because the enemy had damaged transmission grids, substations, and distribution lines—particularly near major cities.
According to Energy Map, Hungary accounted for the largest share of exports that week—84,900 MWh, or 48.1%. Moldova accounted for 56,600 MWh (32.1%), Romania for 33,100 MWh (18.7%), and Poland for 1,800 MWh (1.0%).
Exports to Hungary, Romania, and Moldova increased by 15%–26%, and exports to Poland increased eightfold, though the volumes remained insignificant. No electricity was sold to Slovakia. The average daily export volume for the week was 25.2 thousand MWh.
Hungary remained the main source of imports, accounting for 8.7 thousand MWh (66.6%). Romania accounted for 3.6 thousand MWh (27.6%), Poland for 0.7 thousand MWh (5.5%), and Moldova for 0.05 thousand MWh (0.4%).
Imports from Romania and Moldova increased by 70% and 124%, respectively, while those from Hungary and Poland decreased by 3% and 39%. There were no deliveries from Slovakia for five consecutive weeks. The average daily import volume was 1.9 thousand MWh.
As previously reported, the week before last, from September 28 to October 4, electricity exports rose by 75.6% compared to the previous week—to 147.0 thousand MWh, marking the highest weekly export volume since September 2025.
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
